- Home
- Government
- Departments
- Planning Services
- Master Plan
Master Plan
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Canton Master Plan Community Survey! Over the past two months, we have received over 1,300 responses from residents, property owners, business owners, and community stakeholders. We are so grateful that you took the time to share your thoughts and feelings with us about what you like about Canton and what can be improved. Responses will serve as the foundation for future engagement opportunities and will guide the Master Plan Advisory Board, Planning Commission, and Township Board when drafting goals, policies, objectives, and initiatives in the Master Plan.
So, what now?
Planning staff and consultants will review and analyze the survey results. A Community Survey Summary Report will be available in the coming weeks, which will highlight the topics and themes that are most important for the Master Plan Advisory Board and Planning Commission to discuss at their upcoming meetings. Scroll down to learn more about the Master Plan Advisory Board.
In addition, Planning staff is also scheduling stakeholder discussions with members of the community to garner input on topics related to neighborhoods and housing, transportation, environmental preservation, and more.
In April, a joint meeting was held between the Board of Trustees, Planning Commission, and Master Plan Advisory Board to discuss Canton’s Town Square project in Cherry Hill Village. View a copy of presentation Cherry Hill Village Stakeholder Discussion 05242023.
If you would like to be considered for a stakeholder discussion email erin.schlutow@cantonmi.gov or call 394-5170.
Planning Services is in the process of updating Canton’s Comprehensive Master Plan. The Master Plan is a long-range policy document that guides the community for the next 10 – 20 years on a variety of topics, such as land use, development, housing and neighborhoods, infrastructure, transportation and corridors, environmental preservation, and more.
The update is expected to take 12 – 18 months and will include a robust public engagement strategy to gather feedback from Canton residents, business owners, property owners, and other community stakeholders.
All updates and information posted here. You may also email questions and comments to masterplan@cantonmi.gov.
- What is a Master Plan
- Why Does Canton need a Master Plan
- What is the difference between a Master Plan and Zoning Ordinance
The Master Plan is a long-range guiding policy document that focuses on land use and plans for future development in a community. The Master Plan also outlines goals and objectives for the community, as well as specific guidelines related to transportation, utilities, recreation, public services, and more. The Master Plan provides a legal basis for all land development regulations, including zoning ordinances, and also designates the location and intensity of future development.
A Master Plan is the legal basis for zoning ordinance language, the Zoning Map, and policy documents. The Michigan Zoning Enabling Act requires that all zoning ordinances be based on a plan – the Master Plan. To ensure that the Master Plan continues to reflect the needs and wants of the community members and strives to meet the goals and objectives for land use development, the policy document should be reviewed every 5 years by the Planning Commission.
In 2021, Canton Township Planning Commission and Board of Trustees reviewed the current Master Plan, adopted in 2018, and determined that there have been significant changes to the community and desired to review and refresh the goals and objectives of the document, and so warranted an update to the Master Plan.
The Master Plan is a long-term guiding policy document that focuses on land use and plans for future development in a community. The Master Plan also outlines goals and objectives for the community, as well as specific guidelines related to transportation, utilities, recreation, public services, and more. The Planning Commission and Township Board work together to implement the goals and objectives so as to best serve the residents and business community in Canton Township. The Master Plan is a guide – it is not a law or ordinance.
The Zoning Ordinance is a set of laws that are in place to regulate land use, building size, form, design, placement, parking, landscaping, and more. By State law, the Zoning Ordinance must be based on a plan – the Master Plan. The Zoning Ordinance is the framework by which the goals and objectives are to be carried out within a community.
The process to update a community’s Master Plan is a long-term project that can span 12-24 months, or longer if needed. The length of the project is determined by the scale and scope of land use analysis, design of conceptual renderings for designated areas of the community, and overall public engagement.
Canton Township will contract with a planning consultant firm to aid in the design and development of the Master Plan. The Canton Township Master Plan update is anticipated to take 12-18 months, with a robust and comprehensive public engagement strategy designed to garner as much public feedback and input as possible.
A Master Plan Advisory Board will work with the planning consultant team and Planning Division staff to advise the Planning Commission and Township Board on conceptual design renderings, development of maps, and overall text.
When the document has been drafted, the Planning Commission will recommend to the Township Board to distribute the draft text to the public, adjacent communities, and regional agencies for public comment. The Township Board shall review the recommendation from the Planning Commission and determine if the document is complete and ready for public review.
Upon determining that the draft document is ready to be distributed to the public, the Board of Trustees will approve the distribution of the draft document for 63- days, in accordance with the Michigan Planning Enabling Act. After the required 63 days, Township staff will collect all public comments received and send them to the Planning Commission for review.
The Planning Commission will review the comments and determine if further work is required by the Planning Commission and Master Plan Advisory Board. When the Planning Commission is satisfied with the draft document, the Planning Commission will set the public hearing, in accordance with the Michigan Planning Enabling Act.
After the conclusion of the public hearing, the Planning Commission will make a recommendation to the Township Board to adopt the Master Plan. The Board of Trustees will have the authority to adopt the Master Plan.
In order to ensure that the Master Plan reflects the needs and wants of the community, Canton Township is focused on implementing a comprehensive and robust public engagement strategy.
Canton Township will be utilizing a plethora of engagement techniques so as to garner as much feedback from as many community stakeholders, business owners, property owners, and residents as possible. Such techniques include community surveys, public meetings, stakeholder discussions, email blasts, newspaper and television articles, interviews, open houses, pop-up events at community activities, and more.
Engagement events and activities will be advertised in the Focus Newsletter, as well as on the Township website.
Questions and comments can be submitted to masterplan@canton-mi.org.