SALEM TOWNSHIP - Hammering out a future to preserve and protect the tiny hamlet of Salem will be a community affair.
At its Feb. 13 meeting, the Salem Township Board is expected to name a committee to forge a vision and land-use plan for the quaint collection of abut 100 homes and buildings, a mix of two churches, one store, one school, one veterinary office and a lone factory. The hamlet area -Salem's "downtown" -sits tucked into the northeast part of the rural township, along Six Mile Road.
Township leaders want to preserve the area's small-town feel balanced against outside development pressures, which are pushing to expand the area's indebted sewer system. Officials want any adopted plan to have the OK not just from residents who would be immediately affected, but from those outside the hamlet limits who see Salem as part of the area's overall identity.
Key to the committee's findings will be a recommendation on how much growth the sewer system needs to "maintain fiscal health," Treasurer Linda Hamilton said.
About 30 people attended a preliminary meeting on the issue and many signed up for the committee, expected to number about 10, said Hamilton. She will serve on the panel, along with Paula Hornback from the township's Planning Commission and township Zoning Administrator Bill DeGroot.
A consultant's report authorized by the previous Township Board is being tweaked, and will be presented to the committee at its first official meeting March 6, Hamilton said.