Leelanau workshop scheduled May 7th.

In the past week, thousands of Leelanau County residents have received postcards in the mail, inviting them to participate in a regional land use and transportation study known as “The Grand Vision.”

The effort is being underwritten primarily with federal transportation dollars and is an outgrowth of an effort that began several years ago in Traverse City. Until late last year, the effort focused entirely on Grand Traverse County.

Project organizers last year expanded “The Grand Vision” to five counties adjacent to Grand Traverse – Kalkaska, Leelanau, Antrim, Wexford and Benzie counties. In December 2007, the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners voted to contribute $6,000 to a help fund a $240,000 amendment to a contract with consultants working on the study, allowing them to include Leelanau County in the effort.

A number of “Grand Vision” workshops have been held so far this year in Grand Traverse county, with workshops now scheduled in the five additional counties. The Leelanau County workshop will be held next Thursday, May 7, at 6:30 p.m. in the Suttons Bay High School cafeteria.

Regionally, more than 1,500 residents have shown up at Grand Vision workshops. Working with consultants and with state-of-the-art computerized graphics, participants brainstorm what the region might look like in the future if local governments follow various plans, and mark up maps that have been prepared for the study.

Those interested in learning more or viewing what has been done thus far can do so online at www.thegrandvision.org.

Based on data collected during citizen workshops this spring, the Grand Vision team of consultants will prepare various “scenarios” of what the region may look like in the future. In September residents will have opportunities to view all of the scenarios, and participate in a process to choose a “preferred growth strategy.” Following an additional workshop and other planning meetings, a “final recommended land use and transportation strategy” will be released; and citizens will be called upon to convince local officials to implement the report’s strategies.

The result of the study will be “a 50-year growth plan for the entire region that lots of people know about and strongly support,” according to materials prepared by Grand Vision consultants. “The Grand Vision team will convert those broad plans into specific, customized ordinances and other government policies and incentives that local officials can use to transform the Vision into a reality.