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CEDAC focuses on current initiatives in community and economic development SEMCOG's Community and Economic Development Advisory Council (CEDAC) will focus on current initiatives at its Friday, May 11, 2007 meeting. Don Morandini, from Macomb County Planning and Economic Development, will present the county’s economic development strategy and programs. Amy Spray, from Public Sector Consultants, will discuss and review Michigan’s Part 201 (Brownfields program) report. Also, Angie Gaabo, Community and Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM), will provide information on the Living in Michigan Coalition for the Housing and Community Development Fund, an effort to establish a $100 million program that will help finance downtown and neighborhood improvements, affordable housing, and supportive housing for the homeless and people with disabilities. Contact: Ken Bishop, Community and Economic Development Administrative Assistant, to RSVP.
SEMCOG publishes Residential Construction in Southeast Michigan, 2006 Michigan's struggling economy hit the housing construction market hard in 2006, with Southeast Michigan permitting only 10,311 new residential units. This is a 45 percent drop from 2005 — on top of the 26 percent loss from 2004 to 2005, according to SEMCOG's annual report, Residential Construction in Southeast Michigan, 2006. The last time new housing dipped to the 10,000-mark was in 1980. Although the region saw low conventional mortgage rates, fears of job losses and economic uncertainty for homebuyers and developers negatively impacted the housing market. The City of Detroit led the region in new residential units authorized with 739 permits. This is the second year in a row that Detroit has been in the top spot for new housing starts. Macomb Township, which had led the region in residential construction for almost 10 years, came in second with 657 new units. The City of Warren was third in total new authorized housing units with 433. Available records show Warren has not been in the top-10 list since 1969. Building permit data collected from every community in Southeast Michigan are available at www.semcog.org. Link to Building Permits from the Data drop-down menu. The database allows users to create a report for the region, for each of the seven counties, and for all communities. Data go back to 1969. The complete report is available on SEMCOG's Web site. Contact: SEMCOG Information Services.
Upcoming SEMCOG Universities focus on developing blueways and greenways and improving traffic operations Blueways and Greenways: How to capitalize on your community’s natural resources — Thursday, May 24, 2007, 9 a.m.-noon (registration begins at 8:30 a.m.), SEMCOG's Ambassador Room. Learn about the positive impacts that blueways and greenways have on the economy and our quality of life. Blueways and greenways are terms to describe corridors of land and water, and the natural, cultural, and recreational resources they link together. Elected officials, planners, and parks and recreation staff are invited to learn how they can be better equipped to take advantage of their community’s natural resources, through a greenway or blueway project. Contact: Raymonia Dale, SEMCOG Administrative Executive Assistant, to RSVP. Innovative Strategies for Improving Regional Transportation Operations —Tuesday, May 22, 2007, 9 a.m.-noon (registration begins at 8:30 a.m.), SEMCOG's Ambassador Room (third floor of Buhl Building, 535 Griswold, Detroit). State and local transportation planners, engineers, consultants, and policy makers are invited to learn the process of large-scale retiming projects in the region, and understand how single-point urban interchanges (SPUIs) operate. Additionally, the key issues and costs associated with roundabout conversions in Michigan will be discussed. Contact: Sally Walt, SEMCOG Transportation Programs Administrative Assistant, to RSVP. SEMCOG University workshops are free-of-charge for SEMCOG members and partners; there is a $75 charge for nonmember local governments. Seating is limited. Please respond as soon as possible. You can register online at www.semcog.org; the link to each workshop is under Planning Issues on the home page.
Detroit will host National Transportation Week, May 13-19 Detroit has been named the permanent host of National Transportation Week (NTW). Since President John F. Kennedy signed the legislation in 1962, NTW has provided an opportunity for the transportation community to join together on both the national and local levels to demonstrate the importance of transportation to our economy and society as a whole. Detroit is the ideal host for National Transportation Week because of the region’s leadership in — and contributions to — the transportation industry. SEMCOG encourages all interested to participate in the events taking place throughout the week. For a day-by-day schedule of this year’s events, check out www.semcog.org. Additionally, SEMCOG will release news each day of the week describing the importance of Southeast Michigan's transportation system. Contact: Sue Stetler, SEMCOG Director of Communications.
View highlights of Executive Committee on SEMCOG's Web site Highlights of SEMCOG's April 27 Executive Committee can now be viewed on the Web site. From the home page, link to News & Notices in the upper bar, then look for the link in the right column. Highlights include in-depth presentations by Jim Rogers, SEMCOG’s Data Center Manager, on our region’s increasing diversity, and Daniel Krichbaum, Executive Director of the National Conference of Community Justice, on the impact of diversity on the region’s economy. Audio of the Executive Committee meeting is available on the Web site, including discussion of proposed amendments to SEMCOG Bylaws. An Education Bloc voting concern has been referred back to the Bylaws Committee. Contact: Sue Stetler, SEMCOG Director of Communications.
SEMCOG updates taxable value maps As part of SEMCOG's effort to monitor local government finances, SEMCOG updated its taxable value maps using 2006 data compared to 2000 data. Key findings include:
These maps illustrate the continued fiscal challenges for local governments. Restricted tax base growth and millage rollbacks continue to limit local governments' ability to provide services to their residents and businesses. These updated taxable value maps will be mailed to all SEMCOG members and available on www.semcog.org. Contact: SEMCOG Information Services.
SEMCOG to host grant writing workshop SEMCOG and Grant Writing USA will present a two-day grant writing workshop on July 16-17, 2007, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in SEMCOG’s Buhl Building office in downtown Detroit. SEMCOG is also hosting a half-day grant writing primer designed for elected officials on June 5, from 9 a.m.-noon. Watch for additional information in upcoming issues of Regional Update. For more information visit: www.grantwritingusa.com. Contact: Cathy Rittenhouse, (800) 814-8191 or cathy@grantwritingusa.com.
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