Frequently Asked Questions
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The State of Michigan requires each community to have a Master Plan on file. In general, a Master Plan is a document that is used by a community to help guide decisions relating to land use, transportation, housing, capital improvements, preservation tactics, and more. A Master Plan is not law, unlike zoning, but is a high-level visioning document that sets the foundation for a consensus community vision. The purview of a Master Plan spans between 10-30 years. The State requires each community to review and update their Master Plan annually and rewrite it every 5 years. In the context of Port Sheldon Township, some of the key aspects this Master Plan will cover includes:
• Future land uses. Such as potential opportunities for new housing, businesses, and other types of uses. This will analyze areas of the Township where new development or redevelopment may be the most appropriate.
• Parks and Recreation. The Plan will analyze the Township’s current parks and recreation amenities and discuss where new facilities might be appropriate, or where upgrades should be prioritized.
• Transportation. The Plan will discuss the Township’s major road corridors and explain road classifications and how that can translate into improvement and funding opportunities.
• Preservation. Acknowledging the Township’s natural beauty and scenery, this Plan will ensure that the integrity of these important areas is preserved and protected to the highest extent possible.
• Support for Farmland. The Plan will discuss tactics and mechanisms to support existing local farms and agriculture activities.
• Coastal Resiliency. Understanding that the Township notable areas of critical shoreline dunes and frontage on Lake Michigan, the Plan will discuss tools, methods, and mechanisms to encourage coastal resiliency and environmental sustainability.
• Housing. Given the substantial growth of Ottawa County, the Township, and West Michigan, a portion of this Plan will discuss housing and how the Township can help address housing gaps in the region. This will support the balance between welcoming new residents and expanding tax bases, while protecting the rural nature of the Township.
• JH Campbell Plant. This Master Plan will include a “subarea plan” of the JH Cambell Plant properties. In light of the closure scheduled for 2025, the Master Plan will include a deep dive into the possibilities for these properties. This takes into account the highest and best use for those properties, as well as what future land uses the Township’s current residents are supportive of.
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A Master Plan does NOT rezone private property anywhere in the Township. The Master Plan is not a law and does not function like a zoning ordinance. The Master Plan is put in place to guide future laws and policies as they relate to zoning and land use decisions. A Master Plan does not have any affect on property taxes, property values, or any financial implications to Township property owners.
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In conjunction with the Master Plan update, the Township is embarking on an Economic Resiliency Plan, in light of the JH Campbell Plant closure. The Township understands the Plant decommissioning will have major implications to the region in terms of loss of jobs, vacant industrial brownfields, loss of tax revenue, environmental considerations, ancillary industry affects (e.g., rail and freight) and other important considerations. The goal of the Economic Resiliency Plan is to analyze all potential impacts regarding the closure of the Plant – and how to mitigate them. This includes long term, medium term, and short term impacts, analyzing market gaps, new market opportunities, job loss, how to replace tax revenue loss, and other important aspects. The Economic Resiliency Plan will functions as a separate document to the Master Plan, but both are commencing simultaneously.
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The Master Plan and JH Campbell Plant subarea plan are a public-facing process that will be used to figure out what should happen with those properties. This webpage includes additional information on previous studies and ideas produced by Consumers Energy pertaining to the future of these properties and what is possible. Those studies/ideas will be used as background context for this Master Plan, but in many ways, this Master Plan is considered a “blank slate” for considerations to the JH Campbell Plant properties.
It is also important to note that Consumers Energy and Port Sheldon Township DO NOT have a plan in place already for what will be done with these properties once the plant is fully decommissioned. This Master Plan is intended to be a fully transparent and public-facing decision-making process to ensure that all Township residents and taxpayers have the opportunity to participate and submit feedback.
Lastly, the decommissioning of the plant will NOT have any effect on the distribution or availability of power to residents and businesses. Consumers Energy will ensure that power is adequately distributed across the grid without any gaps to Port Sheldon Township or nearby areas.
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Zoning information can be found on the Township’s website here: https://www.portsheldontwp.org/forms-documents/
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The timeline for the Master Plan is approximately 15 months. After the adoption of the Master Plan, the Township will begin the implementation phase. Typically, implementation begins with Zoning Ordinance updates, capital improvement plans, Parks and Recreation Plan updates, and other important community documents. Regarding the JH Campbell Plant site, implementation may include engaging with brownfield programming, parks and recreation programming, public space acquisition tasks, or other projects. Implementation tasks for the site are largely dependent on the subarea plan efforts and results.
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Keep monitoring this website from time-to-time. We will be frequently updating this site’s content to ensure the public has access to all important information, project tasks, timelines, upcoming meetings, public engagement opportunities, and more.