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MACOMB TOWNSHIP — While the development around Broughton Road is set to look different from the rest of Macomb Township, the Board of Trustees has put the gears in motion to govern the area somewhat differently as well.
At their March 11 meeting, trustees unanimously approved a resolution of intent to establish a Corridor Improvement Authority for the Macomb Town Center area. Citing Public Act 280 of 2005 as the state law that allows the creation of a CIA, the authority is intended to manage the planning and implementation of projects along Broughton Road between 24 Mile and 25 Mile roads.
“For those of you who are more familiar with a Downtown Development Authority, it’s a very similar process (and) a very similar concept,” said Macomb Township Planning Director Josh Bocks. “Essentially, it captures taxes for the development area and allows the township to use those additional taxes. It would be taxes that would typically go to other agencies like the county, specifically the county road department.”
Bocks said that nobody’s tax rates would be going up — the taxed funds are simply captured by the township rather than other agencies — and the captured taxes are restricted to be used for “maintenance and improvements of the roadway itself and the district itself.”
Township Supervisor Frank Viviano said the CIA is important for the town center area — which will be unique from the rest of the township with its downtown-inspired divided boulevard, on-street parking, wide pedestrian paths and other features — by allowing the township to hold up its end of a maintenance agreement with the county.
“One of our agreements with the (Macomb County Department of Roads) is that the township would take care of some of the maintenance items that are not normally included in road work and within their purview,” Viviano said. “It is intended that this district (will) pay for its own maintenance. We do not want to burden the township at-large.”
Broughton Road itself will be maintained by the county. The township will be responsible for maintaining the parking lane, streetlights, landscaping, signage and other “special amenities,” according to Viviano. The township currently handles the plowing of Broughton Road as it is and would continue once it is developed.
The tax capture is taken as a percentage from the base value of the land. While some bodies that receive tax revenue may be affected by the CIA tax capture, such as the county, other bodies like school districts and the Clinton-Macomb Public Library are exempt from having their tax revenue captured.
Members of the CIA would be appointed by the Macomb Township Board of Trustees, like other township boards. The Board of Trustees also sets how much of the area’s taxes are captured by the CIA. Viviano, as the township supervisor, would be one of the CIA’s members. The CIA board can have as few as five and as many as 11 members, with one member being “at large” and others either living in or owning property within (or at least within half-a-mile of) the CIA area. Bocks recommends starting with five members and increasing the size as the area develops.
Viviano compared the CIA with the CMPL’s board, which has authority over the library system with little direct input from the member communities outside of their respective appointed members.
“Once (members are) appointed to there, they have autonomy to work within the budget,” Viviano said. “However, unlike the library board, we’re the ones who control how much revenue they get, so there is a little more control from the township Board of Trustees versus the library board.”
The process of setting up the CIA is lengthy, with the March 11 vote being simply to announce the township’s intention to establish it. A public hearing will be held on Wednesday, April 22.
Public safety parking lot
Trustees also allocated $834,915 for the creation of a second parking lot for the Koss Public Safety Building, located along 23 Mile Road east of Romeo Plank.
In December 2023, the board approved buying the property to the east of the current building, which houses Station No. 1 of the Macomb Township Fire Department and the township’s substation for the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, for $200,000.
Closed session
Trustees also held an information-only closed session to discuss its litigation with Consumers Energy over road construction easements near Beck Elementary School and Hayes Road.
The township wishes to construct two roads over 24-inch high-pressure gas mains owned by Consumers Energy, which the township says has refused to grant easements due to internal policies.
The board approved legal action against Consumers Energy on Jan. 7.
