Village of Stevensville achieves MEDC Redevelopment Ready Communities Essentials status

Designation signals communities have identified redevelopment goals, created a master plan for the future

LANSING, Mich. – For its efforts in establishing a more streamlined development process and overall community development vision, the Village of Stevensville achieved the Redevelopment Ready Communities (RRC) Essentials designation under the new RRC 2.0 framework, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced today.

Redevelopment Ready Communities is a voluntary initiative that empowers communities to shape their future as they strive to become RRC Certified by building a foundation of planning, zoning, and economic development best practices and integrating them into their everyday functions and was launched statewide in 2013. RRC promotes communities to be development ready and competitive in today’s economy by actively engaging stakeholders and proactively planning, making them more attractive for projects that create places where people want to live, work, and invest.

Based on feedback from communities and other stakeholders, MEDC evolved the RRC toolkit in February 2021 to include two different designations: “Essentials” and “Certified.” Communities can now determine which path is most appropriate for their needs based on capacity, community goals, and other local factors. Reaching the RRC Essentials designation is a formal recognition that a community has a vision for the future and the fundamental practices in place to get there.

“We applaud the Village of Stevensville for achieving Essentials status,” said MEDC Executive Vice President of Economic Development Incentives Michele Wildman. “Stevensville has identified its desired direction for the future and has a plan to achieve its goals for the community. We look forward to building upon our relationship with the Village and supporting its continued economic development efforts.”

To achieve the Essentials designation, Stevensville worked to incorporate all the key documents and practices to provide a predictable development experience and meet local planning and zoning responsibilities under Michigan law. Village’s efforts have produced high-quality documents and processes that will continue to generate value.

“While the RRC process started prior to me serving on the council, we have benefited greatly from the improved processes, planning, and coordination with staff, committees, and our council members,” said Village President David Wenger. “I would like to thank our current staff and former staff members, planning commission, and current and former council members for their dedication to getting us to this point. We look forward to the additional resources as we focus on economic development within our village.”

“Going down the RRC Essentials path has benefits beyond just the eventual RRC designation,” said Village Manager Kacey Dominguez. “Through the process, we updated and streamlined our zoning and development processes, established clear, more succinct internal policies, and completed training and orientation manuals for our village council, planning commission, and ZBA that were very much needed. Beyond the RRC designation and funding that comes with it, the village benefited from thoughtfully going through the RRC checklist and truly improving our processes to increase our efficiencies and make planning and zoning processes easier for developers, the general public, and our staff.”

To date, the MEDC has formally recognized 13 Michigan communities in all corners of the state at the Essentials level. These communities have qualified as “thoroughly prepared” when it comes to planning and zoning, to remove traditional barriers and promote opportunities for prospective investors. See the entire list of Redevelopment Ready Communities here.

About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn, and Twitter.