ESCANABA — A rough draft of Delta County’s new master plan was recently approved by the Delta County Planning Commission. Christine Williams, the planning commission’s chair, spoke about how the commission got to this point and what still needs to be done.

Williams said the master plan will be a 20-year document guiding land use and building/zoning ordinances in Delta County.

“It’s what planners will reference for future development,” she said.

The plan will be revisited on a regular basis to ensure that it remains accurate and relevant.

In a special meeting Monday, Williams said members of the planning commission looked over the draft master plan and accepted it for further review. Now that the commission has approved the draft master plan, people in the area will have an opportunity to see it for themselves.

“The acceptance of that draft master plan now allows us to share the draft with the public,” Williams said.

The draft master plan will be released on Delta County’s website (deltacountymi.org) for public review in the future.

Monday’s meeting followed another special meeting of the planning commission. Commission members spent about two hours reviewing a master plan workbook provided by OHM Advisors — the group CUPPAD is working with in the development of the new master plan — on Wednesday, July 8.

During the July 8 meeting, the commission looked at principles, goals, objectives and actions for the master plan. Williams noted these were based on information collected from focus groups held locally last year.

Community leaders and stakeholders were involved in the focus groups.

“The master plan was developed from their input — from their feedback,” Williams said.

Potential partners — including community organizations, businesses and higher education institutions — were assigned to each of the actions included in the workbook during the July 8 meeting. Actions were also given rough timeframes, classifying them as short-term, medium-term, long-term or ongoing.

While multiple organizations will be able to work on a single action, a person or group responsible for the completion of each action was designated at the July 8 meeting.

“For every action, we assigned a responsible party,” Williams said.

Some master plan actions were added and removed by the commission on July 8, as well.

OHM used feedback shared by the commission last week in its efforts to develop the draft master plan that was approved Monday.

On Sept. 14, a special planning commission meeting will be held at the Delta County Service Center. The meeting will include a public hearing on the master plan; during the public hearing, local residents will have a chance to share their feedback on the draft. Feedback from the public will be incorporated into the master plan before the document is finalized.