The Village of Milford is participating in a statewide program that aims to promote investment and redevelopment within a community.

At a Planning Commission meeting Tuesday, Village Manager Christian Wuerth informed commissioners that the Village Council has recently adopted a resolution authorizing the municipality’s participation in the Redevelopment Ready Communities program. RRC is a program through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation with a goal to revitalize communities by attracting and retaining businesses, entrepreneurs and talent.

The program measures and then certifies communities that integrate transparency, predictability and efficiency into their daily development practices. The program’s six best practice areas include Community Plans and Public Outreach, Zoning Regulations, Development Review Process, Recruitment and Education, Redevelopment Ready Sites, and Community Prosperity. The certification is a formal recognition that a community has a vision for the future and the fundamental practices in place to get there.

Wuerth says officials felt it was important to participate in the program for a number of reasons; one being that there are several projects in the village that could qualify to receive matching funds through the MEDC. He adds that officials also want to have the RRC framework in order to discuss best practices and how they operate from a planning, zoning and building permit process.

Part of the process requires a community to conduct a self-assessment, which Wuerth says has already been done, along with staff training. During the self-assessment, Wuerth says officials found that public participation is a major component of the framework that they’d like to work on. He says they are looking to develop a formal plan that will help better engage the community in discussions about the village’s future.

The MEDC is currently conducting their own assessment of the village and plans to present their findings to Council, the Planning Commission and Downtown Development Authority closer to the fall.

The Village of Pinckney, and more recently the City of Howell, were previously named as Redevelopment Ready Communities. (DK)