the Freep.com
January 7, 2007
Macomb Twp. plans big central district with small-town feel
Like many rapidly developing rural communities, Macomb Township would like to be known for more than suburban sprawl. So in recent years the community some 25 miles northeast of downtown Detroit mapped out a plan for a ready-made urban center. Not much is built yet on the muddy landscape in central Macomb County, but there's a new city hall and an ice-skating arena near Broughton Road and 25 Mile. Moreover, home builder Jerry Manzella of Manzella Building Co. just broke ground on the first of what promises to become as many as 2,000 houses, condos and town houses in the planned Macomb Township Center. Most significantly, the township wants the new district to be built according to the principles of New Urbanism -- a movement that marries historical architecture styles to walkable neighborhoods clustered around a mix of shops and civic buildings. The goal: create an updated version of the classic American small town.
"Normally you drive through a subdivision, you see everybody's garage," Manzella said last week. In the planned Township Center, he said, "These are set up for the house to be up front, the porch to be closer to the street, and the garages are set back. You get more community. There are parks through the subdivision that kids can go to. It's going to be a downtown, a city feel."
Disappointing precedents
Urban planners agree that the design, mapped by Birmingham-based Gibbs Planning Group, is exciting. But they caution that Macomb Township might find what Novi, Southfield and many other communities discovered when they tried to create instant downtowns in the cornfields: Most such districts fall short of the real thing.
"From what I've seen, they haven't really been able to create a realistic downtown," Edward Hustoles, a retired urban planner who spent much of his career trying to map out livable communities in metro Detroit, said of such efforts. "They have parts of the downtown. But to create it from scratch, I really don't know of any that have been able to do it."
Conan Smith, executive director of the nonprofit Michigan Suburbs Alliance, agreed.
"I think it's actually fairly mixed," he said of the record of New Urbanism-style communities in metro Detroit and elsewhere. In many cases, he added, such efforts do little more than apply an architectural gloss to the usual array of strip malls and cul-de-sac neighborhoods. "It's really elegantly designed urban sprawl," he said.
Township Clerk Michael Koehs said that no one should look at the Township Center as the answer to suburban sprawl.
"We've known since we did our original investigation that this type of development typically appeals to about 30% of the people. This is an option," he said. For those who prefer a more suburban-style environment, "There's still 35 other square miles you can choose to live in here."
Unbounded growth
Whether Macomb Township succeeds where other communities haven't, this much is clear: Development has been overtaking the rural community for years. With an estimated population of nearly 74,000 as of December, Macomb Township's population grew almost 50% in just six years. Already it is Macomb County's fourth largest community by population, ranking behind only Warren, Sterling Heights and Clinton Township.
Seeing the growth coming their way, township planners as far back as the early 1970s had envisioned a town center built around government offices. The township's 2002 master plan spelled out the ideas in detail.
In line with New Urbanism philosophy, the township enacted strict building codes to define the district. Residential neighborhoods must include a mix of single-family houses and attached town house and condo projects. Higher densities will be permitted than in some other suburban districts.
As for style, the codes more or less prohibit modern architecture. Instead, the township requires houses in the Township Center district to follow historical styles fashioned after Victorian, Queen Anne, shingle, Greek Revival and other models.
Nor will just any retail stores be permitted in the new town center's commercial district. The codes restrict retail uses to those that typically serve nearby residents, including grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware stores, bakeries and coffee shops, banks, barbershops, bookstores and restaurants.
Nick Kasotakis, 33, who bought a house in Macomb Township in December, likes what he's heard about the new town center.
A quality control specialist for an auto supplier, Kasotakis grew up in Sioux City, Iowa, and prefers the higher densities and more urban feel that he remembers.
"I'm used to the traditional city center, a real downtown, not just a strip. It's nice to have that hometown feeling," he said.
New Urbanism, old lifestyle
With detailed codes in place and the population continuing to grow, what could block the township's plans? Hustoles said much has changed in recent decades about how Americans live, work and shop, and these changes hinder much of what the New Urbanism movement has tried to accomplish.
When Hustoles, now in his 80s, grew up in Chicago, neighbors really did sit out on their front porches -- because air-conditioning wasn't widely available yet. They really did walk to corner grocery stores every day -- because modern refrigeration wasn't widely available to store food for more than a day or two.
Hustoles said it is difficult now "to get people to walk when they've now had two or three generations of driving, when they now have refrigerators and they shop once every two weeks. And they don't have to go out walking every day."
As a result, he and Smith say many attempts to create instant downtown-like centers wind up as little more than a series of artfully designed strip malls.
But Smith said the township deserves credit for trying.
"I think the big story is you're probably seeing a much higher sensitivity on the part of local government officials to urban-sprawl issues and land use," he said.
Contact JOHN GALLAGHER at 313-222-5173 or gallagher@freepress.com.
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