Brighton Pursues RRC Certification

The City of Brighton is one step closer to being certified as a Redevelopment Ready Community (RRC).  In May 2017, Brighton City Council passed a resolution of intent to join the RRC program. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s (MEDC) RRC program is designed to connect Michigan communities with experts and best practices in attracting investment. Council and staff agreed that going through the certification process would ensure the City is on track with current development strategies and strengthen the City’s partnership with the MEDC to maintain eligibility for grant assistance.
 
After completing two RRC Best Practice trainings, Community Development staff provided an update to City Council at the November 16 Study Session on the City’s progress towards RRC certification.  Completing the Best Practice training brought the City of Brighton closer to qualifying for the next step.  The six best practice areas include Community Plans and Public Outreach, Zoning Regulations, Development Review Process, Recruitment and Education, Redevelopment Ready Sites, and Community Prosperity.  Staff was pleased to learn that the City’s recent Zoning Code update and ongoing Master Plan process are exactly in line with the State’s best practices. The RRC program also encourages continuation of new initiatives in communications and community engagement that the City expanded over the past year.

The trainings spurred excitement over making changes within Community Development.  The Department plans to streamline the development review process and create tools to allow property owners to easily understand the requirements. Additionally, staff will be working on formalizing community engagement within development processes, exploring solutions for vacant property development, creating a comprehensive economic development and marketing strategy, and connecting Council, boards, and commissions with professional development opportunities and clear orientation materials. 

Community Development is near completion of a self-evaluation report on Brighton’s current development processes.  Once the MEDC reviews the self-evaluation, they will collect additional data to create a plan forward to guide the City to Redevelopment Ready Certification!