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MARQUETTE -- After months of work, the Marquette County Master Plan is available for public review. The plan is available at mqtcoplan.org, and the county will be accepting comments and questions until Dec. 2.
The 74-page document is an update to the 2021 Master Plan rewrite, which sought to determine what residents and County Planning staff wanted the County to be like in the year 2040.
"This plan is a five-year update to that plan," reads the Introduction of the Master Plan draft. "The scope is more limited, but aims to check in on the progress we have made as a county so far and to account for the changes that have occurred since 2021."
The plan includes sections on population demographics, economy, public health, arts and culture and recreation; environment and natural resources; land use, housing, food access, energy and transportation; services, service providers and intergovernmental coordination; and 2040 vision, goals, implementation and strategies.
The plan's 2040 vision statement is that "Marquette County in 2045 will be a place where its people enjoy natural areas and rural character, feel safe and celebrate culture. A stable and diverse economy empowers residents to live in thriving communities with a clean environment, good education, valuable job opportunities and affordable quality housing."
Some of the plan's proposed strategies to achieve this vision include maintaining and expanding Career Technical Education opportunities across the county, assisting municipalities for eventual mine closures, minimizing unsustainable commercial "sprawl" development and supporting and expanding efforts to control invasive species.
Comments and suggestions about the plan can be emailed to planning@mqtco.org, or mailed to RMD – Planning at 234 W. Baraga Ave., Marquette MI 49855.
Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.