Master Plan Objectives

We intend that the Master Plan will enable the built environment to support a thriving Royal Oak community for generations into the future.

Specific issues that will be addressed by this Master Plan, pertinent to Royal Oak in the present and near future and affecting land use policy include (but are not limited to):

• preservation and redevelopment in established neighborhoods
• the reality of market demand for new housing, commercial and industrial development
• obsolete or below market condition sites, buildings, & tenant spaces
• a thriving post-endemic downtown, neighborhood business corridors, and Woodward corridor
• relationship between the public realm and private property
• planning for future trends in mobility
• preservation and enhancement of green space and green features in the built environment
• resilience and environmental outcomes

This list of issues will be validated and modified as necessary in the early analysis and input stages of this process.

Stages of Master Plan Process

Master Plans serve multiple purposes, from governing how land should be used in the future to prioritizing municipal capital investments over a decade or more. In Michigan, Master Plans (also called Comprehensive Plans) are the legal basis for zoning and are encouraged to be reviewed or updated every five years by the state.

There are a number of required steps a Michigan municipality must take before, during, and after its Master Plan preparation. The process for preparing the new Royal Oak Master Plan is as follows:

STAGE 1: ENGAGE THE PUBLIC AND VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS.  

2023 – Early 2024 Effective and responsive community planning efforts must meaningfully engage affected stakeholders. For this plan, the stakeholder group is broad, including all residents and property owners. The information gathered during public engagement is used to prepare consensus plans, set the course for how the community will change, and to guide vision statements and priorities for municipal investments for future generations. Public engagement through the Master Plan process will include community surveys, round-table discussions, a charrette engaging the community in the process of design and policy creation, public review of drafts, and public hearings prior to plan adoption.

STAGE 2: STUDY CURRENT PHYSICAL, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND RELATED CHARACTERISTICS.  

January – April 2023 Master Plans must have a foundational understanding of the characteristics of their subject community, from neighborhood physical characteristics to demographic trends likely to be realized in the following years. This study and analysis of the essential characteristics of Royal Oak is an important process element and allows the planning and design team to appropriately craft plans and recommendations for locally-appropriate future development, whether public or private.

STAGE 3: CRAFT AREA-SPECIFIC PLANS AND DESIGNS.  

May 2023 With a focus on implementation, the Master Plan will contain plans and designs covering the entire city, including proposals for specific neighborhoods, corridors and nodes. Preservation and redevelopment in established neighborhoods is important to the future of Royal Oak to support current and future residents. The Eleven Mile business districts and Woodward Avenue commercial areas are examples of significant corridors, and downtown Royal Oak is an example of an activity ‘node’ which will be further explored. To function as a tool for future zoning decisions and regulations, the Master Plan will include a “Future Land Use Map”, which guides how individual parcels may be used over time.

STAGE 4: REGULAR FEEDBACK BY ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS.  

2023 – Early 2024 Royal Oak leaders are charged with giving careful consideration to alternative concepts, creative ideas, and potential problems to be solved during the master planning preparation effort. Thus, to receive ongoing feedback, the project team will attend Planning Commission meetings throughout the process and engage the Planning Commission, the City Commission, and city administration in the creation and review of Master Plan recommendations.

STAGE 5: ADOPTION PER MICHIGAN STATUTE GOVERNING MASTER PLANS.  

Early 2024 The Michigan Planning Enabling Act provides requirements for the adoption of Master Plans by municipalities, which includes review by neighboring jurisdictions and regional planning agencies, public comment period, and a public hearing on the draft plan. Once the required steps have been taken, the community is then able to adopt the Master Plan and get to work on implementation.