Livonia 21 plan looks to create 'iconic' spaces. A new ordinance will make it possible.

Shelby Tankersley
Hometownlife.com
The City of Livonia is considering changing zoning rules in its master plan that could affect the former Sears lot at Seven Mile and Middlebelt roads.

When you think of Livonia, what comes to mind?

Is it Livonia City Hall? Bates Burgers? It's probably not a downtown, considering the city doesn't have one. 

A city as built-out as Livonia probably can't create a traditional downtown to give people a sense of place within the community. But, the city thinks it can create micro downtowns throughout the city that, officials hope, people will associate with Livonia. 

“We really want it to set a feeling of what Livonia is," Council President Kathleen McIntyre said. "You think about the Livonia Mall, and that was kind of the iconic Livonia thing. So, whatever is there should give you that same feeling of place.”

The Livonia Vision 21 Master Plan targets three areas of town amenable to creating that feel:Civic Center Park at Five Mile and Farmington roads, the old Livonia Mall property at Seven Mile and Middlebelt roads and the Plymouth Road corridor. Such micro downtowns would combine housing, retail, restaurants and public services like a park or library. 

Livonia City Hall at Five Mile and Farmington.

“This goes right to the point of people saying they want a downtown in Livonia," Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan said. "We are not a city that is going to be able to totally reinvent itself and make one area a downtown, but we do have an opportunity to create these neighborhood hubs, these smaller downtown areas.”

City council recently requested the city's law department draft an ordinance to consolidate the city's zoning districts — cutting them from 31 parts to 14. That consolidation will make development more user-friendly and allow those neighborhood hubs to get built.

Aside from calling for an ordinance change, the master plan also signals to developers what kind of development the city wants. 

“People are under the mistaken idea that cities decide what gets built," McIntyre said. "You’ll see people on Facebook say ‘They need to put a Lowes there.’ Well, ‘they,’ the city, don’t do anything. That’s private developers. What we can do is have zoning ordinances that facilitate that kind of development.”

The intersection of Plymouth and Merriman in Livonia.

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Making that signal to developers will facilitate the micro downtowns and, officials think, ultimately create a community where people want to continue raising their kids. 

“We’re looking to build a city for the future, and one of those things people will be looking for are communities that are more walkable and bikeable," Brosnan said. "By creating these multi-use pieces of property, we’re going to be creating a more bikeable, walkable community.”

Brosnan and McIntyre, who both sat on the steering committee when Livonia Vision 21 was started in 2018, both say they're committed to seeing the plan unfold.

“I think this is the furthest we’ve ever gotten in a report and in looking at a vision in many, many years," Councilwoman Laura Toy, who has been in and out of local and state government since the 1990s, said.

Brosnan said, though the master plan already received lots of public input when it was made, public input will continue to matter. The first project residents can provide ideas for will likely be the upcoming senior center development, which the city currently is working to get funded.

Learn more about the master plan at www.livoniavision21.com.

Livonia City Hall at Five Mile and Farmington.

Contact reporter Shelby Tankersley at stankersle@hometownlife.com or 248-305-0448. Follow her on Twitter @shelby_tankk