Neighbors will meet neighbors, kids will have a great time, everyone will eat a free lunch and rides on the Euclid Beach Rocket Car will transport many back to their childhood during the Munson Township Community Picnic Aug. 2.
Neighbors will meet neighbors, kids will have a great time, everyone will eat a free lunch and rides on the Euclid Beach Rocket Car will transport many back to their childhood during the Munson Township Community Picnic Aug. 2.
This year’s event, which includes a raffle to raise money for the Munson Scholarship Fund, will also provide residents a chance to steer the township’s future by filling out a land use survey.
Munson Township Trustees reviewed and revised the first draft of a two-page, 19-question survey during their July 22 meeting.
A 12-person land use plan committee chaired by resident Joe Bastulli has been working on a survey for two months.
“(They) spent a good bit of time talking through the survey,” said Trustee Nate McDonald. “They sent it to us for comment and review.”
The plan is to revise the survey and have it ready, in paper form, to hand out at the picnic, he said.
“We’ll have a booth set up to talk to residents, tell them about the survey,” McDonald said, encouraging trustees Andy Bushman and Jim McCaskey to provide comments.
The draft of the plan explains it will be used to guide future policy decisions and development over the next 10 to 15 years.
Trustees agreed to specify at the top of the survey that only township residents are to fill it out.
Questions include asking why an individual lives in Munson, what the township’s greatest assets are and a rating of the quality of life in the township.
Four questions apply to the township’s trails and multiple parks and conservation efforts.
Two others refer to the township’s industrial corridors and ask if the resident would like to see more industrial or commercial development, better traffic flow and streetscape upgrades in those areas.
The survey also asks residents if they would prefer the township to set certain standards to regulate the appearance of any such development.
Residents will also be asked what kind of retail and service operations — largely absent from the township now — might be desirable.
The list included boutique shops, breweries or taverns, commercial services, sit down or fast/casual service restaurants and with a blank space for “other” provided, as with all the questions.
“Most of us assume we don’t want fast food,” McDonald said, adding if no one circles that choice as desirable, trustees know they are on the right track.
The type of housing permitted in Munson’s future spurred some discussion.
Choices on the survey included in-law suites, mixed-use (retail and housing), single family – detached, single family townhouses and senior housing.
“Some people may like single-family townhouses as they age,” Bastulli said.
Townhouses are not in the township zoning resolution and should be removed from the list, Bushman said, but Bastulli said if residents think they should be permitted, the category should remain.
“If 75% want that, (Munson) should, in the future, modify zoning,” Bastulli said.
McDonald recommended the townhouse option be left in the survey.
“It’s not that impactful,” he said.
Trustees discussed a question about traffic issues,including those at the intersection of Auburn and Wilson Mills roads.
In addition, trustees decided to ask how residents feel about conservation of farmland and, in a second question, about the need to preserve green space or natural areas.
Finally, residents were asked to rank, first through third in importance, the subjects addressed in the survey.
“The township is encouraging residents to shape the future of Munson Township by participating in this survey and upcoming public meetings as part of the planning process,” the survey said. “The township will be holding our first public forum this fall. Details will be posted on the meeting date and location on the township website.”
