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| Village of Northport Land Use Plan | |||
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VILLAGE OF NORTHPORT MASTER PLAN DRAFT June 2003 Prepared by: GOSLING CZUBAK ENGINEERING SCIENCES, INC. 1280 Business Park Drive Traverse City, MI 49686 231-946-9191 Telephone 231-941-4603 Fax VILLAGE OF NORTHPORT VISION – 2020 Think of how you would want the Village to look, feel, and function 20 years into the future as though they had already been accomplished. Is this what you would hope this place to be? Northport is a small town with a strong “sense of place” because of its rather distant location at the northern tip of the Leelanau peninsula and its repose on the shores of Northport Bay. Its signature is its marina, the Bay, and historic downtown. This is a marine recreation community that explodes with activity in the summer and then appears to sleep throughout the winter, masking a vibrant and diversified local all-season economy that is buoyed by the Medical center, the school, and a variety of small traditional and home-based businesses. Downtown is a gathering place, a place where people greet one another on the street; a place of meeting where decisions are made; a place to shop, to play, to work, to live and be entertained. Downtown and the marina are inseparable and buildings of architectural and historical significance define the streets. Here, most buildings are small and vertical, appearing to be two stories tall and built near the street line where merchandise can be viewed through windows from the sidewalk and parking is convenient yet secondary to the primary functions of downtown. Once used for sewage disposal, rear yards in downtown now accommodate other things, thus increasing business opportunity. Neighborhoods are strong, healthy, and quiet and a variety of alternative housing types are available for those whose lifestyles may change. This place is also defined, in part, by an agricultural and wooded edge that creates a sense of arrival and reinforces the meaning of place. The waters of Northport Bay and Creek are clean and pure, businesses are vibrant, and overnight accommodations are available, attributable to the treatment of wastewater several years ago. This is a place that is connected and public and nonmotorized biking and walking paths are available to augment the automobile, satisfying the needs of both residents and visitors. Here residents are able to safely walk and bike anywhere in the Village, even to Traverse City and beyond. The seemingly unchanging patterns of movement and the historic character of buildings throughout the Village continue to reinforce this as an enduring and recognizable destination for seasonal residents and tourists and a hometown for those who remain year-round. It is because the Community understood the character and “place making” qualities of the Village early in the new century that they were preserved, making Northport a memorable, recognizable and almost timeless place. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The following Village Officials and Staff contributed to the formulation of this Master Plan Village Planning Commission Ray Kellogg, Chairman Paula LaClair Raealfa Kudulock Kevin Sauvage Mary Frank Grafton Thomas Lynn Anderson Gailen Charters John Pierce With special thanks and remembrance to Marlene Carroll, Recording Secretary Village Council Michael Roger, Sr., President William Brendel Richard Burmeister Betty Mork Kevin Sauvage Frederick Thomas Stephen Wetherbee Village Administrator: Gregory King Clerk: Laura Weiss Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 – Introduction 1-1 Background and Purpose 1-1 General Goals 1-1 Function of the Plan 1-2 Plan Concept 1-3 Chapter 2 - Community Profile 2-1 Location History 2-1 Environment 2-2 Existing Land Use 2-2 Population Characteristics 2-4 Population Trends 2-8 Population Projections 2-12 Housing Characteristics 2-13 Building and Zoning History 2-14 Recreation 2-15 Community Facilities and Services 2-15 Chapter 3 - General Land Use Policies 3-1 Residential Development 3-1 Commercial Development 3-2 Industrial Development 3-5 Environment 3-6 Chapter 4 – Facilities and Services 4-1 General Policies 4-1 Facility and Services Standards 4-2 Chapter 5 – Guiding Principles 5-1 Chapter 6- Land Use and Development Plan 6-1 Planning Considerations 6-1 Planning Areas 6-2 Community Services 6-14 Chapter 7- Implementation 7-1 Accomplishing Planning Objectives 7-1 Maintaining the Plan 7-4 Documents/Forms: |
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This page last updated on 5/3/2006.