Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Genoa Township is making a final push for residents, businesses, stakeholders, and others to offer input via a survey regarding the master plan and long-range vision for the community.

A master plan is a long-range vision for the future of the community, which is updated every five years.

The survey will be “the major guide for the Genoa Township Planning Commission as they evaluate community preferences and priorities in determining how to preserve and enhance community character, ensure preparedness for the future and take actions to strengthen the local economy for all current and future residents”.

Some community members – and some board members - have expressed concerns about over-development and a desire to maintain the more rural character of the township. A large group banded together to fight the Latson Road project involving large-scale commercial and light industrial development.

Supervisor Kevin Spicher told WHMI a lot of people expressed the previous plan done in 2023 maybe didn’t represent the overall view of the community and expressed a desire for changes. He said they’re hoping to get as much input as possible from the survey, which is the best way if people want to implement change and have the plan “really have some teeth”.

Spicher said he thinks they’re closing in on 1,000 responses, but is still hopeful for much more than that.

Spicher noted they put a lot of time into creating the survey. He said it covers topics such as housing, economic development, land use, and priorities for how tax dollars should be spent in terms of amenities or potential land acquisition or property rights acquisition if people want to try and curb a little bit of the growth.

Spicher said this is a chance for people to express what they want to see happen. He said the older population has come out strong as expected but the younger population is a little under-represented and they want to hear from everybody. He added that there also haven’t been many people who identified themselves as renters, and the area north of I-96 is also a little under-represented.

A link to the survey is provided. Residents are encouraged to share it with friends, family, neighbors, businesses, and stakeholders etc.

The survey will be live until midnight on Monday, December 15th. It takes roughly 25 to 40 minutes and can be done all at once, or in different sections until complete.