123 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8effe69ef1245cc6888f6d7273200cf6.mp4 905f134719ce09a479840e80d2aa8c1f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e4fbe3002dfe60fbe1c4a9a741e034e7.pdf 65d7c1511fc6ad34b06399a89a973e96 PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles Bond Date of Interview: February 23, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 4] CB: There's a terrific story, later on … don't let me forget – "Hasty", just say "Hasty" FB: Okay. As you were being trained and you were working on the airplane, a lot of this was the type of military training that you'd had in the past, but what was different about this unit and what was different about this place? Was it straight military type or was it something else? CB: Remind me to tell you the three reasons why I went over to the China AVG. At Toungoo during our training phase from the time we got there, November up until December, mid December when we went up into Chunking in order to be deployed. We got to know each other much, much better and more closer and I found that to the greatest degree, most of the pilots and the airmen that volunteered to go to China wanted to get out of the military. A lot of them I talked to definitely, some of them – didn't want to have anything to do with the military. This was the greatest chance to get out of the military. As I told you, I wanted – I'd already made up my mind then, I wanted the military, but I can understand this. A lot of the other guys just came over for adventure, but there was an underlying feeling, I felt, for instance – to give you a perfect example – the pilots oppose? the officers. We were housed and ate at a different mess from the airmen, the so-called enlisted men if you will. All of us came from military units, army, navy, marines, and we had a – to me it was a sort of a ingrained, albeit maybe a year or two for some of the guys just out of the flying school – there was an ingrained self-discipline that the old man didn't have to impress on us that, "You're an officer and you're an airman and you don't mix." None of that. We felt that and we lived with it and it was fine. I personally, at times, got a little bit worried about it because I remember writing in my diary that 1 �sometimes the moral got down, people got bored. As a matter of fact, right at the outset, I'd only been there about a couple of weeks and two of the pilots decided they didn't want it, and they resigned, went back home. Not too many instances of this, but some of them did so. And I – particularly Frank Shields, Frank Shields sort of had the same idea that maybe we ought to have some more definitive guidelines, if you will, not regulation but guidelines to live by and maintain a respect for each other and a semblance of military – I knew the old man – one of the first thoughts in my mind about – he was a military man and to a great extent his experience – my experience was somewhat like his, parallel. He left the air force and I have read some books where some people describe General Chennault – he was hurt and I can understand that. He was the minority – pushing fighter. The air force had oriented bombers in – they'd wanted to build up a bomber force so – and he had hard of hearing, he had some ill health and – so that's the reason he got out. I could still feel a military – I had a respect for him as a commander – in my mind he was a commander and a real commander. Some of the guys, but by far a minority didn't have that same feeling towards him I had, but as a result of – I wanted to write – talking to Frank Shield and Frank said, "Yeah, let's do that", so I sat down and began to make a project of it, writing certain definitive guidelines which they did appear, if you will, to be regulations and it got around amongst the group that I was doing it and eventually I was gonna give it to the old man, and eventually I did. But he didn't reflect very much on 'em, but at the same time, I think he admired me. See, he came from the military and, of course, I did. I felt a feeling that he respected me for it, but there was no doubt he was the boss, the commander, and I let it go at that. FB: Would it be accurate to say that you wore uniforms? CB: When you say uniforms I think of the time that in a scramble, one of the guys was in his shorts with a tee shirt on and his little hat on, flying the airplane in an actual scramble mission, when he expected to be in combat. Uniforms – this led a little bit to the military appearance because we came over with navy jackets, army air corps jackets. I brought my 2 �air force flying clothes with me. I brought a pair of boots. We eventually were issued with some gloves which were navy gloves. We were issued helmets, cloth helmets, goggles, but as far as off-duty it was, for all practical purposes, civilian clothes, mufti is what the RAF called it. We eventually though, later on, as we began to develop a camaraderie as a unit, first, second and Pursuit squadron, then the headquarters guys, we began to, as typical, and this reflects again the military training, we began to have a healthy respect for our outfit, and this of course, led in eventually to squadron insignia and later on the Tiger shark's teeth on the airplane. But the uniforms as such off duty – we wore pistols. Of all things, I had a little 25 mm pistol on my hip which I could have put it in my pocket. I remember going off and practicing targetry on a range with it. A lot of the guys had old 45's that they'd brought from the United States, some good 38 calibers, a few guns, rifles and shotguns. Later on we carried the pistols with us in the cockpit in combat in our uniform. Eventually some of us began to wear bush jackets like the old man and the khakis which really were a sort of the RAF in the Far East where it was hot, and the old sun hat pith helmet, that became a favorite of mine and then ultimately later on, old Jim and George and I, all three had been together, we had made Chinese – Burmese copy the old, what we called "pinks" in the army air corps. The grey type slacks with that beautiful blouse of drab olive o.d. and eventually we did develop some epaulets or stripes, if you will, rather than metal insignia of one, two and three bars for a wing man which I originally went over for. Most of the pilots went over as wing men originally, then a flight leader, then a vice squadron leader, and then a squadron leader. FB: After your duty during any given day was over, what did the guys do for entertainment? What kind of incidents happened that we might be interested in? CB: The old man knew value of keeping our moral up and not working us to death, and keeping us in good physical shape because he foresaw more than we did, really what we'd get involved in, and we had quite a schedule laid out for athletics like primarily 3 �softball, and he'd play with us a lot of the time, by the way. We'd have that usually in the afternoon. On a Saturday afternoon and a Sunday, normally it was just like typical military back home, days off. Except in some cases where emergency – go on an aircraft – get back in shape. We'd have the athletics after that, then we had time enough to shower and some of the guys didn't play in the actual teams, and they took a nap in the afternoon. We didn't have much reading material, it got to the point where we would read anything that was in English just to have something to read, but we didn't have a library as such. We had some books and interchanged them amongst all of us. Then in the evening before the mess, we would have – at the bar, open bar and some of those evening got pretty wild and sometimes by typical individuals. There were a few of them that tended to drink more than others and for various reasons. Some got bored; there was boredom at times. I remember old Skip Adair warned us at times, "There'll be such a thing as ennui" I had to look that up in the dictionary to understand what it was. And sure enough he was right. At times it got boring, so we'd lay in our bunks maybe and between snoozes and naps in the barracks and you'd think about, what I am doing over here, and so forth and so on. But those 'downs' didn't last very long. You always managed to get up and then in the evening we'd have dinner, and then after dinner, maybe we'd stay up and have bull sessions. Then we finally got some movies and those turned out to be one of the greatest things that we looked forward to, other than mail and nothing, nothing would approach mail back and forth, and wires and as a matter of fact, it was surprising how often we got the mail and how reliable it was. FB: It was mentioned in one of the books "Men at War", where it credits you with trying to stop one of the guys that apparently had been drinking too much so you were shooting a gun in the air, something like that? CB: One of the duties we had, this was typical military, that's why I say we still had a little military in the outfit. We had what you'd call 'officer of the day' in the army air corps and I forgot what the navy called it. We actually had M.P. type duties you know, but 4 �primarily the officer of the day, which time was a 24 hour duty, he was responsible and most of the time his action was at night. His duties was to go into town with one of the few pieces of transportation we had, maybe with a buddy and check the various haunts in town, railroad station which had one of the nicest restaurants in Toungoo and then come back to the base, sort of supervise the – not supervise if you will, but observe and make up your mind whether you were gonna do anything about it, the drinking bouts at times. I say drinking bouts, I don't want to over emphasize that, arguments if you will, and fisticuffs, and disgusted losers at poker games, this type of thing, and I remember – I took on that duty one night and I remember I dressed up in my black tie and my o.d. shirt and my bush jacket and I even polished my boots and I was gonna be o.d of the day and that night after the show, the movie, I'd say around nine o'clock in the evening I was en route from Toungoo back to the base and as I was entering the gate I heard some pistol shots and I found out where they were and I found out Snuffy Smith and somebody else, I forget who the guy's name had been shooting their pistols in the air and they were really clobbered and I was trying to quiet 'em down or take the guns away from them and all and finally one of them – he'd fallen down in a ditch and by the time they found him I think he'd begun to sober up, and he agreed that he would take charge of Snuffy. So I drove off and I was so angry about that, when I drove back after my [???[] that I run over, I think it was Mickelson's bicycle, and just destroyed that thing, but I was glad when o.d. duty was over. FB: Were there any other incidents – we heard that since the Tigers were a very tight knit group that anybody that was not with the Tigers if you were in town or whatever, there was some disagreements or fights with other groups and one of them was that Allison Company, some guy from the Allison Company – do you recall that at all? CB: I don't really recall any – I remember an instant, two instances I can quote – We rapidly became a close knot outfit, knowing people like in the United States you go into town you know your friends and so forth. We didn't know anybody in town, but we'd go in 5 �maybe some time, maybe have dinner at a restaurant, particularly in Rangoon, the Silver Grill. It eventually got to be the hangout of us later on in combat and, of course, we ran into the RAF a lot. As a matter of fact they were fighting with us and once in a while they'd be quite a ruckus in the – for instance, I remember one case, George Burguard and I were out watching a night raid on Mingladon Airport at Rangoon by a Japanese bomber and we no had no night fighter capability and we were watching them fight, and lo and behold, all of a sudden a fighter turned up and we saw a trace of fire and the bomber was shot down and an RAF officer was at this particular group where we were living, as a sort of a lone arrow at a lawn party, and he began to brag about the Hurricane versus a P-40 and this got quite a discussion between which is best. I for one, and I think a lot of the guys felt the same way I did, the Hurricane was not the airplane a P-40 was, but aerodynamically and performance it was just about like the P-40 but in my opinion not near the airplane, but George Burguard almost got in a fight with him, finally decided to go to bed. The RAF was mostly the support people at the air base that was giving us support mixed with Burmese but when Singapore fell, some of the RAF pilots evacuated out of there and came up and flew with us in Brewster's, and then we had some RAF, Royal Air Force Blenheim bombers. They were bomber boys, and actually I think they argued much between themselves more than they argued with us. I remember instances where rumors got down that the higher ups, so I'm talking about the strategic level of planning after the war was going on between United States officers, British officers and the Chinese, Generalissimo and down to Chennault and Stillwell. There was a lot of bickering going at the higher levels about who was gonna stay in Burma and who was gonna go up to China and that really became a factor later on, on the way we deployed two squadrons into [???] men, one down to Rangoon. FB: Let's talk now about the origin of the Pursuit squadron, the Adam and Eve – the origin of that. 6 �CB: I had arrived as I told you – arrived in Rangoon on the 12th of November 1941 and only two or three days later on a Saturday evening, November 15th, a lot of us were invited – that's the first time I was invited – previous to that a lot of them had been invited from time to time on weekends, to a missionary's home, a Mr. and Mrs. Klein, terrific people, in the city of Toungoo, so that on the night of the 15th I and George Burguard and Jim Frost and Eric Schilling and Gil Bright and several others – ten of us if I remember. 7 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Bond_Charles_1991-02-23_v04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bond, Charles R., Jr. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-02-23 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Bond interview (video and transcript, 4 of 12), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charlie Bond by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles R. "Charlie" Bond was Vice Squadron Leader of the First Pursuit Squadron "Adam and Eves" of the American Volunteer Group (AVG). Recruited by Skip Adair in 1941, he was inspired by photos of shark-mouthed Tomahawks of No. 112 Sqadron, RAF. He was the first to paint his P-40 in similar markings, setting the precedent for what became the trademark of the Flying Tigers. He shot down six Japanese fighters and one bomber. After the AVG disbanded, he rejoined the US Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics to train new fighter pilots. In this tape, Bond discusses how the AVG compared to his experience in the military and their means of entertainment when off-duty including softball games and movies. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/23c92fdee9b1634424a949ec7d40de35.mp4 b223dac60f6d4938da50c982b9fab530 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/86b70eb40376210b5c4541b912869739.pdf 096dd5d091ad5dfab8651794c3f7b183 PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles Bond Date of Interview: February 23, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 5] CB: As I told you, we arrived at Toungoo air training base in the middle of Burma on the 12th of November and after getting settled down and all, on a Saturday night which was two days later and a Sunday which would have been a holiday for us, having known a lot of the guys, some of the things they did on a weekend, I and about nine or ten others were invited to go into town on an invitation from missionaries, Mr. & Mrs. Klein, two great people, to give us some good old American Boston baked beans, ham, coffee and so forth. It was so coincidental that about this time that it was obvious we began to think – I was assigned to a squadron already and to me and my military background every unit I'd been in had a squadron insignia of some kind, so a thought began to develop about the squadron insignia would be and so forth, and it was just coincidental at this night that after having dinner, after dinner, talk in this Christian home, several of us were sitting around the coffee table having coffee, and I looked down and saw a British type magazine on this rattan coffee table and on the front of it was a colored picture of a P-40 just like ours, but it was in the Royal Australian Air Force in the African campaign. I think this was an India illustrated type of newspaper. And I picked it up and looked at it and it was exactly like our P-40, except for one thing. It had a gaping mouth of a tiger shark that was painted around the oil scoop on the lower part of the front fuselage that just so fitted perfectly, and I just absolutely was – I immediately – as a matter of fact, I remember saying out loud to myself, "I'm gonna paint my airplane like that", and here Eric and Gil Bright and Jim and George, all of use standing around, they looked at it and they thought, "Boy it's the same thing", so it really hit us so – I said, "I've just got to take this home", so I went to Mrs. Klein and asked her if I could have that. Of course, 1 �graciously she said yes, so I took that back with me to the air base, and at the same time we had been thinking about fighter squadron insignia. Now as I say, Eric Schilling was there too and I think old Eric – I know all of us agreed, this is great. It was just a matter who did what first. So when I went back to the base, the very next day I pedaled into town on my bicycle to buy some red, white, black and green paint to paint the tiger shark's teeth on my airplane with the eye up near the top scoop. And I think old Eric had the same idea and I think that character drove into town or bought that newspaper some place and knowing actually having that picture on the front of the magazine is bound to have a supporting article inside, I didn't take the trouble to look at that. Apparently Eric did, and he found a picture of the history of where this tiger shark's teeth started. It was on German aircraft – I think it was on ME-110 and Eric, I think he started with the same idea, but now Eric was much closer to the old man and he was, if you will, on the staff. I just said, "I'm gonna paint my airplane like that" and I started the very next day, and Eric I think had the same idea and he may have started the same day but his squadron was around the hangar, couldn't see anything, couldn't see me and we weren't interested to look at each other. I was interested in painting the airplane. At about the same time, I'm pretty sure now that it was old Dick Rossi with his dry wit in a bull session we were talking about squadron insignia and we were the first Pursuit squadron, so in a bull session, it was Dick Rossi, I agree now that was the first. The first Pursuit had to be Adam and Eve, Eve chasing Adam and there again I had the same reaction I did about the – gee! I agree! Then when I started painting the tiger shark's teeth on the front of the airplane I was thinking all the time, what sort of a design would this be. Nobody had started this. I developed the idea of a red apple with a black serpents round and round it with the – I call them toothpick figures – Eve chasing Adam on the apple. So I dreamed up that idea and in the next few days, I finished – I think actually was around the first week of December – I finally finished everything on my airplane, but in the meantime, I have since learned, Eric had the same idea about the teeth on the airplane but he wasn't in 2 �the first squadron so he wasn't worried about that. But he, as I understand it, went straight to the old man and said that this is what we are. He recommended that we put this as an insignia of one of the fighter squadrons. General Chennault told him at the time, according to Eric and I think he's telling his story, and I think it's true – the old man said, "No, if we do that I want it for the whole outfit." So that docked Eric for a while, but I remember distinctly one day the old man drove up, this was towards the latter part of November when I'd just about finished the thing. I had both the insignia on my airplane, number 5, of the red apple version of Eve chasing Adam – it was about almost 3ft. in diameter on the fuselage, and the tiger shark's teeth just about finished except for touching up. And I remember him getting out and going around looking at all of this and he didn't make any comment or, "Hey, what're you doing and so forth and so on," and drove off. I learned later on that he told Schilling to go ahead with this. In other words he had approved the idea of the tiger shark's teeth on that airplane. On the 5th of December, I remember I referred to you before I was writing some regulation about guidelines, and I was raising some business to the old man and I had my first real personal discussion, one on one, with the old man in his office, and we talked at length about our backgrounds and so forth and he was very complimentary. He'd heard about me and there's two or three stories that are not in my book that I can relate to. Looking back now, I'm convinced that one of the reasons that Skip Adair took me so readily into the Flying Tigers, was that I had already a number of hours in the B-17, a bomber, and I have since learned, years later, even after I wrote the book, that there was plans for a second, and maybe even a third American Volunteer Group, which would be bombers, and looking back now, I am reasonably convinced the idea was, "Here we've got a B-17 guy, we can catch him out in a P-40, eventually we get this and we have a ready made for the B – sort of like Eric, he'd flown a P-40 before and he fitted into the fighter business, and at the end of the conversation as I was getting ready to walk out, the old man said, "By the way, Charlie, that red apple on your airplane not gonna do", and I said, "Why?" He said, "Well, it 3 �looks too much like the Japanese setting sun", and I though, gee, he's right. I said, "What am I gonna do"? And I walked out very disheartened, 'cos there went one of my plans. Well, I got to thinking and before the next day, I said there's green apples. So I readily, without referring to him at all, I just changed the – started painting all my airplanes again on that insignia, changing the red to green and this got around very rapidly. I have since read the diary, supposedly written by Bob Prescott, and Bob Prescott was referring to this instant of – who designed and thought of the first Pursuit idea, and he and his – and he was always a great one to get a laugh out of people, he was great. He claimed that somebody came up with the idea of Eve chasing Adam as the first Pursuit, but he put a uniform on Adam and they wouldn't accept it, so I don't, to this day, I don't know what Bob Prescott did, now long gone, but to this day, I don't know if he knew the story of the old man telling me that I must change it, and that's the story of two paintings. FB: Before we get into December 8th, Peal Harbor, when you found out – before we get into that, one of the things I find very interesting – I wonder if you know anything about – is, how the airfield itself was built, how the airfield that you were operating on was built. CB: Kyedaw, I guess it's a Burmese name, it's in the central part of Burma, about seven miles from the little town of Toungoo, really on the road to Mandalay, which is just north of there. It was a British built – you know, Burma was a commonwealth of the British Empire. It was British constructed, British operated air base. Ultimately, for what I don't know, except that maybe their strategy and politics for the British Empire throughout the world, I don't know, all I know it was a training base. There was one runway, Macadamized and a hangar on it and all, and I presume that initially on the idea of the Burma Road, built to send supplies up the road to China, and Chennault planning that that would be our training base and that presumably the British agreed with the Chinese and so forth, and Rangoon would be the port of entry for all the lend lease supplies to go up the so-called Burma Road to China, so it was a matter of – and of course, at that time, initially we were being hired to go over there as a volunteer group to defend the Burma 4 �Road. This would help the British as well as the Chinese, but looking back now I remember there was a catch there. The British didn't want to get – the Chinese and the Japanese had been fighting for years before this, ever since about '37 and the British wanted to stay – they didn't want to get tangled up in this and having us trained in Burma, one of their so-called commonwealth, just wouldn't fit. But at the same time, this was the additional commercial activity of lend-lease supplies going up to Burma and of course, by then, we had started supplying the British with just vast – in fact we were their depot if you will from then on for the war in Europe. So it was quid pro quo. And as a result, we were permitted to train the AVG at this air base in Burma with the ultimate deployment of pulling out of Burma and going into China. FB: Is there anything further that you want to cover before we get a personal recollection of that? And then there's a notice we found that – we got the impression that after Pearl Harbor you guys would be out there fighting already, but of course it was much later like the 20th or so or 23rd, and it says here you were so bored you shaved off your mustache. CB: That was before I think. I'm not sure when that was. I think it was just a side effect FB: What was your first reaction when you heard about Pearl Harbor? CB: We had made a lot of progress in the training curriculum, both ground and air, and early December, as you know, that infamous day of the 7th December back here, the 8th of December in our side of the world, I remember in my personal recollection of this – always everybody says where were you at so-and-so and what was your reaction? I remember very distinctly, several of us pilots with maybe a couple of airmen were sitting around on the ground near our aircraft on the ramp and we were just having a bull session and all, and then somebody came up all of a sudden and cried out, "The Japs just hit Pearl Harbor and that stopped everything we were talking – we turned to him and a lot questions – "What are you talking about" and so forth. To me, it was unbelievable, but, then he said, "Yeah, we just heard on the radio", and then without further ado, I think all of us arose and just rushed to the operations room where maybe we had a radio and all, 5 �and it was, as a matter of fact, as soon as we got in the operations room, sure enough, they'd heard it on the radio. I don't remember seeing the old man right then, but later on he came in, but we were stunned, we just couldn't believe it, but then all of a sudden, I thought – and a lot of the other guys thought the same way, "Well, gee, we've already been doing gunnery", and as a matter of fact, we didn't have to think as well, we'll just go on alert right now. The orders came out of the other end of the operations shack from the old man's office, "Everybody goes on alert", so we immediately went into a ground alert, air defense posture, and towards the evening and the morning from December the 8th on, we had aircraft even in the air in the evening. As a matter of fact, we had some airplanes in the air before dawn one morning, and none of us had flown at night before. But to be sure, in case the Japanese came in and made a strike on us. The old man I know was fearful of this and all of us thought, gee, they could come in and hit us but looking back now, in my opinion, Japanese made one of the greatest mistakes they ever made in the entire war, is they didn't come over and wipe us out. But they considered us to be just a polyglot bunch of people that were representative of previous volunteer groups that attempted to assist China. But we immediately went on alert and a few days after that, as a matter of fact, I personally, with Bob Little and a couple of other pilots, made a flight across from mountains in the Chiang Mai Thailand area to look at that base in case there might have been Japanese already employed there with the idea of hitting us. From then on we were in a war posture and I remember one time a civilian airplane, a little puddle jumper type came across the air base about 5,000 ft. high. We scrambled and we made that guy come in and land at our base, he was just a business man in Burma. But I distinctly remember in the evening or early in the morning looking across the horizon, as the sun began to rise or set, you could see tufts of clouds, then your imagination got into the act and I visualized Japanese raids against us, but never did it occur. But I remember one time and all of us agreed that there was a high flying reconnaissance Jap ship, it must 6 �have been a Jap ship that flew over our air base. A couple of guys took off but it was impossible FB: When did you first see action? CB: The plans for the entire group to finish the training would have carried us I'm sure into even January. As a matter of fact, after the 8th of December were there, I think I had only about ten hours in the P-40 but of course they struck Pearl Harbor there was a war, and here we were an American Volunteer Group of Americans in Burma, flying in P-40's, ready for combat, having been set up initially to fight the Japanese over the Burma Road, and the high diplomatic, strategic thinking began to be interlocked amongst the British, Chinese and the United States, and here we were, for all practical purposes going to be the Chinese air force. Where would we deploy? We had three squadrons. Eventually, they decided we've got to cut the training short, just do what we can, but we've got to these airplanes up to Kunming, and of course, [???] a training place in Burma – an action – terminals of big China with the capability of flying down south [???] Burma Road. But it so ended up where one squadron deployed to the Rangoon – for the defense of Rangoon where several of the RAF, a Royal Air Force contingency, was already stationed and the other two squadrons, first and second, would fly on up to Kunming. We actually flew up, I think it was on 17th or 18th, and Kunming is another story of course, we can get to later on. But Kunming had been continually bombed for years before we got there in the war. Actually it was the target for training Japanese pilots out of French Indo China. They used it as a training target and it's no defense whatsoever, and we were prepared. As a matter of fact, I was shocked, amazed at the preparation made for us in Kunming, a beautiful airfield, hostels, everything, complete support and we were ready to go. And we got a few air raid alarms, but nothing came over until I think the 20th or 21st of December, it turned out to be the real thing. And on the 10th – I mean on the 20th, I believe it was the 20th of December, I flew I guess my first aerial target in a fighter airplane, it turned out to be one of ten Japanese bombers. 7 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Bond_Charles_1991-02-23_v05 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bond, Charles R., Jr. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-02-23 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Bond interview (video and transcript, 5 of 12), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charlie Bond by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles R. "Charlie" Bond was Vice Squadron Leader of the First Pursuit Squadron "Adam and Eves" of the American Volunteer Group (AVG). Recruited by Skip Adair in 1941, he was inspired by photos of shark-mouthed Tomahawks of No. 112 Sqadron, RAF. He was the first to paint his P-40 in similar markings, setting the precedent for what became the trademark of the Flying Tigers. He shot down six Japanese fighters and one bomber. After the AVG disbanded, he rejoined the US Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics to train new fighter pilots. In this tape, Bond discusses the origin of how he came up with the iconic tiger shark painting that the group adopted for the Flying Tigers' airplanes. He also describes his reaction to the news of Pearl Harbor and the days that followed for the AVG. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ffae3ca3224b5f86f78700e217c6b061.mp4 fc391ba61190de86a3149a572f1b34ca https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/723c8ff60193eeffb5bfc5042759ab67.pdf 166bf692995af83e946c7d63e4004452 PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles Bond Date of Interview: February 23, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 6] CB: … First time and they'd take me to a hostel to the bombed out city of … but we can get to that … FB: Let's talk about the airport at Kunming and then the people and witnessing the bombing – let's talk about Kunming. CB: As we arrived at Kunming we arrived as a unit – all the airplanes and came in and landed at this huge air base right out Kunming adjacent to a huge lake. It was a grass field. We had no trouble, as a matter of fact, it was easy to land on grass as paved runway, but adjacent to – the first thing I noticed there was a huge runway layout that you could visualize already they had the surface outlined on it, and just hundreds, hundreds of coolies carrying mud and rocks and mixtures and as many as forty or fifty pulling a huge roller by ropes. That's the way they were constructing that runway, which eventually would take B-17 airplane bombers. That was the first thing I noticed, that really grabbed me. In other words, boy, we're coming to a place that's really arranged for us. And then when we saw the alert shack with revetments around it, they knew what they were doing. People had been bombed before and the long-range plans of the Chinese and General Chennault's idea and all to have some defensive capability to withstand the bombing of these Chinese, just absolutely merciless. What defense did they have other than a warning? The old man had set up a ground observer corp – GOC system years before, he'd been over it a long time. It was for this purpose. He'd visualized it all and this was they way it was turning out. Sure enough, now here we were at war with the Japanese and the AVG was gonna be the Chinese air force if you will. Then when we got out of our airplanes and we had just untold number of Chinese air force mechanics and service 1 �people for refuelling airplanes and all, hovering around airplanes. There's no doubt we had plenty of support, that's the next thing that struck me. And then as we drove past the alert shack as I tell you, we saw that, and then we drove over into our hostel. There were two areas, the hostel which turned out to be ours right near the air base, and then another down in the middle of the city which I think used to be a French school, turned out to be the hostel for the other squadron, the third squadron of course being down in Rangoon. And then the showers, hot showers, and the food, and there was a little barber and our number one boys that brought charcoal braziers in to our room, very solidly before we even awakened, in order to warm up the room. It was much cooler and we were about, remember between 5,000 and 6,000 ft.at Kunming whereas down in Burma in a sweating jungle is considerably different. It was cold, but much more invigorating and it so happened a day after that – being interested in the city and given the support people time to get things arranged for us, we didn't do any active flying the next day. But some of us wanted to go into town and there we saw the evidence of the bombing in the past. Now here is a city if I remember correctly that was about 400,000 to 500,000 people but it was the size of a much, much smaller town, if you will, geographic wise it was the United States. The streets were just covered with people. Very few vehicles, just people with rickshaws and dragging carts and so forth and you could see the evidence of bombed out buildings. Really the word that came to my mind more than anything was filth and they had to live in this, and when they had a air raid warning they had a big pole in the middle of the city, they'd run a bowl half way up which is warning and when the bowl went all the way to the top, that was it boy, take refuge. And the bombers had been over I don't know how many times, but just freely bombing the city and the first thing it meant – boy, we're in the war now, we're in the war. And I might bring up a point that it's often been discussed amongst us and most people I've talked to. Were you all a mercenary outfit? And I've even gone so far as to – I remember when I was writing my book, I even looked up the classical definition in a huge dictionary I've got, what was the definition of a 2 �mercenary, and looking back now, I never considered – I didn't consider myself a mercenary whatsoever, because I had three objectives to go over there. I was gonna fight, get combat experience, and come home and prove myself worthy of a regular commission in fliers, and I'd have enough money, and I eventually accomplished all that. And the rest of the guys – the whole idea of leaving the military to get away from regimentation and all, you could just feel this fading away and we all knew now that we were in a war. And another point, the $500. This thought would boil up every once in a while, particularly in the evening in bull sessions and at the bar about the $500, and I remember I said at Kunming while the third squadron was really scrapping around Christmas Day, latter part of December, and the thought, gee, I wanted to be down there, and every once in a while the idea of $500 an airplane would come up and I'm sure this came up in the minds of the other guys, and then I think about the tape. Maybe this is an ideal way to generate some real aggressive spirit, but of course, that's imaginary thinking. We rapidly picked up the spirit of "We're in a war now" and just like it dawned on me, we were now now only representing China but we were representing the United States and we were patriotic, we rapidly became more angry, and particularly after that first combat, on the 20th of December, when the first word we got from the Chinese that the ten bombers that came over to bomb Kunming, only one got back, so the first combat you have was a terrific success and I'm sure that's one of the main things that's helped us get off on the right foot, if you will, to be just an invincible, self-confident outfit, a real tiger outfit. FB: What was your first experience in the air? CB: … in the combat. After we got to Kunming, we had a few air alerts, but the bombers didn't come over. This got us oiled all right you know, expecting combat, and we had a regular alert procedure. As a matter of fact I was initially setting up schedules – who'd be on alert the next day and so forth, and who'd be on the ground. But primarily, the old man's genius – what if they're going to have a real air raid, you get all these airplanes off 3 �this base. But sure enough, it happened – the real one, and I think again it was on the 20th. We had two squadrons that got off, both of us, Sandy – Sandell was our squadron leader and I think we had twelve airplanes in our unit and the other squadron I forget how many they had, but we eventually caught sight of the ten Japanese bombers in formation, just one 'V" formation, a beautiful formation, and they must have seen us about the same time because they turned and started back, way short of Kunming, their target. And I remember we had to practically fly at full throttle even getting high temperatures and everything to catch 'em. Finally we caught 'em, then they slowed down and I think slowed down to be more defensively and oriented and in tight formation. And then we began to make attacks on them. I remember I was so excited that I must have turned my gun switch on and off, I don't know how many times. It so happened when I came in from a high approach above the bomber on the right echelon, to come down and then underneath and come up in a blind spot underneath him, when I pressed the trigger – no guns, and I used a lot of four letter words, but I pulled off immediately. I was so excited that I had turned it on so many times that I had left it off. Then I immediately turned it back of course and got back in combat. We just hit 'em from all directions and just the excitement and glory of it all, when we landed, nobody would stop talking and the old man was just delirious, all of us were so happy about it. And no bombing of Kunming after that for a long, long time. FB: What was the reaction of the Chinese people? CB: Of course, this word got out rapidly about this AVG bunch came up from Burma and here, no air raid and all, immediately we became heroes, particularly in the city of Kunming. I think eventually it got to other parts of China, there's no doubt about it, but we were called heroes and later on at a banquet, I remember, some madam came in and called us her white angels or flying knights or something, just deliriously happy for us. And of course, you can imagine what the – Chinese are people too – looking back at the poor guys, they hadn't much and I've wondered in the countryside whether they even 4 �realized a war was going on, but I'm sure they did., and you can imagine how they felt, they were happy. FB: Almost immediately after that there was more fighting. Can you describe the next encounter you had with the Japanese? CB: After this attack on Kunming – there were two squadrons there – that I think was on the 20th, and shortly after that – remember the third squadron – and Ole Olson was down at Rangoon – shortly after that, just before Christmas, they had a real encounter with fighters and bombers, and they also had a terrific success and then again they were hit on Christmas Day and they really were in the fight there. It was obvious the Japanese were gonna concentrate on that outfit and then eventually take Burma and come on up back through the back door in China, and I'm sure that's one reason that the British and the Chinese decided we'll put one square in there and help defend Rangoon. But it could mean there were no naughty mini air raid sirens or anything, that the Japanese had learned their lesson, and so we at Kunming thought, here we'd two squadrons, one squadron down at Rangoon, gee we wanna go down there, and sure enough the old man had planned for rotation and he began to rotate us back and forth down there – there airplanes need replacement – a few of them were shot down, one or two were killed – as a matter of fact, two or three. And then of course, airplanes shot down. They lost airplanes but save the man. But after Kunming we were doing nothing. We continued training up at Kunming though and we even had an outer base where we'd just deploy airplanes because the old man still – the Japanese weren't gonna give up and they were bombing Chunking to you know. We wanted to get down into Burma, the two squadrons up at Kunming. FB: At this time though, there was one incident that happened that was a disagreement. Apparently there was some uproar over the leadership of Sandell. Can you tell us anything about that? 5 �CB: As I've said, the fighting after the raid on Kunming was really down at Rangoon area – in Burma area, and here we were two squadrons, already having seen one combat – a taste of it, and supposedly at that time, realizing and thinking we've been told – you destroyed nine out of ten airplanes. We were really gungho just wanting to get down to Rangoon. I think this fermented a lot of boredom and frustration on parts of not only pilots but the airmen too. The airmen – they were proud of their pilots you know, they wanted to get into combat too. And I think as a result, there began to be frustration – some of the guys beginning to drink too much, and I remember, I was personally frustrated. I wanted to go down there. And then when the first rotation I did came up, somebody draw numbers out of a hat to decide who'd go down to replace some of the pilots down there and so forth and I think this caused a lot of turmoil. Some of the pilots would come in – some of the airmen would come in and talk to me with griping and so forth about, "We're not doing anything", and that led from one thing to another. Eventually the feeling grew that the squadron commander wasn't good enough to control this outfit, and then I and some of the other pilots – I remember Pappy Boyington was a great one in this area, for talking about it. I must admit, I got too. I heard so much from airmen and some of the pilots that I became involved and, as a matter of fact, Sandell and I personally talked. I remember one time, I went with him to talk with the airmen, and as a result, there was some animosity that grew towards Sandy as a squadron operator. Sandell was a – he was a – I think he came from Borkdale? Air Force Base where they had P-26's. He was a trained fighter pilot and a good one. He was a little short guy and he had a tiger spirit about him. I think that's one of the things, thinking back now, he had a little bit more than a tiger spirit. Dominating, impatient atmosphere about him and I think this led into a lot of it and eventually this dissipated when finally the entire first squadron eventually moved to Rangoon – that dissipated and unfortunately that's where old Sandell was killed in an accident testing his airplane. 6 �FB: What kind of things were you doing at Kunming? Since you weren't fighting and you were frustrated, bored and everything, what was the social life … CB: At Kunming, we definitely always had a scheduled day on alert, but we didn't have everybody on alert, we always had about eight or ten pilots – what we called a ground alert, to get out there before daylight and have our airplanes ready. But the other guys that and there were twice that many off duty – more than that – and we'd continually train in such things as recognition of airplanes and all. We talked combat. We reviewed in each other just automatically what we would do in a certain case, and of course we always used that terrific, successful initial combat we had as an example. We were just full of confidence and all, but at the same time, it was a full day what you'd do. We had the usual mess hall and combined bar. We did get some reading material, finally, some books, very few though, and I think – we didn't have an English newspaper to my knowledge, but we did have some books to read. And then of course, some more bull sessions at night and some of this I think was a reflection of the same thing I'm talking about – Sandell, some of the guys were drinking too much. In fact, the old man had to step in and take disciplinary action against some of the airmen one time who beat up one of the pilots, and, as a matter of fact, there were some guys sent home, and little bit later on that Pappy Boyington got into too much trouble and I think it was a little later after that he was given a dishonorable discharge. Several of them were given dishonorable discharges. FB: So there was apparently an institute involving Hasty? Can you tell us about that? CB: For some reason or other, particularly when the first squadron was on alert and the second squadron was off at Kunming, then we would have the responsibility of making up the alert schedule for the next day and it so turned out that, I was with Frank Schiel in those operations also to make up the alert schedule, and we had a little bulletin board in the alert room. We had cots where you'd come in and snooze or nap in between, expecting an air raid alert. And I walked in there one morning before daylight, before the 7 �rest of the guys got there to set up the alert schedule – who was gonna be on for the next day. But that morning, as I came in, I turned on the light and there was one of our buddies, old Hasty, who was asleep on the cot, and right next to him was his girl friend whom I think he brought up from Rangoon, I'm not sure, but a beautiful girl, and she was asleep right next to him on the other cot. They didn't wake up when I came in and I thought, well, gee! I think Hasty was supposed to go on alert, so I just thought I'm gonna have some fun with this, so I took the schedule down and revised it to put Hasty on alert and then his girlfriend on alert also, and I tell you, Hasty never did live that down. 8 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Bond_Charles_1991-02-23_v06 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bond, Charles R., Jr. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-02-23 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Bond interview (video and transcript, 6 of 12), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charlie Bond by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles R. "Charlie" Bond was Vice Squadron Leader of the First Pursuit Squadron "Adam and Eves" of the American Volunteer Group (AVG). Recruited by Skip Adair in 1941, he was inspired by photos of shark-mouthed Tomahawks of No. 112 Sqadron, RAF. He was the first to paint his P-40 in similar markings, setting the precedent for what became the trademark of the Flying Tigers. He shot down six Japanese fighters and one bomber. After the AVG disbanded, he rejoined the US Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics to train new fighter pilots. In this tape, Bond discusses the bombing of Kunming, the AVG's first combat with the Japanese pilots, and the Chinese people's reaction to their success. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a5192bef14b2c22b047ca907142ca1d9.mp4 838553d94f03e4b3736620728424f315 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f5343b57208d08020465d24532d4c9e5.pdf 3106963ff8a4b30857d8f1942495a196 PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles Bond Date of Interview: February 23, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 7] FB: There's two people that have cropped in the various books that we've read, I wonder if you could comment on Harvey Greenlaw and his wife Olga. What can you tell us about them? CB: I considered Harvey Greenlaw, if you will, as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Vice Commander, whereas, Skip Adair was the Chief of Staff, that's putting him in the military vernacular, that's the way that I passed. But Harvey Greenlaw had a lot of experience over in the Orient before, similar to Chennault and he knew the ropes of the Far East and he was, of course, much older than me or most of the pilots and airmen, and Olga was his wife. I don't even know how long they were married, but she was oriented to the Far East too, and she turned out to be a sort of historian really of the Flying Tigers, and I remember in Burma when I was thinking about writing the regulations, if you will, of [???] and all, I wouldn't go to the old man, I'd go to either Skip Adair or Harvey Greenlaw who'd talk to me. We got along great, as a matter of fact he always said, "That's great and so forth, see what the old man has to say about it". Of course, the General in these days, before he went to [??], they didn't participate in the actual flying, none of them got in a P-40, certainly Harvey Greenlaw didn't. I don't even remember meeting Olga in the Burma area, but up in Kunming of course, I remember meeting her and I think that's where she and Greenlaw were living all the time, and Harvey Greenlaw, a lot of pictures you see him with the old man and he was really part of the staff, the command structure of the unit with the three technical squadrons under him. I didn't grow to know him too close, he'd been a okay guy to me and Olga was a very striking woman in my opinion and she was close to the guys as were the two nurses, Red & Jo, but I don't know 1 �much about her. I remember speaking to her. I remember one time in Rangoon, she wanted my diary, or what I'd written so far, but I considered it personal so I wouldn't give it to her. FB: What led up to the arrival in Rangoon? Did you transfer there by airplane, did you get there by train? How did you get there? CB: The fighting was fierce at Rangoon in the December and January time, and the old man had to replace the pilots and the airplanes and in particular get rid of the boredom up in Kunming. I think the first rotation element was the second squadron out of Newkirk's outfit. They stayed there awhile. The squadrons overlapped and there was always a mixture of the Third and Second and the Second and the First and ultimately, the First which was our was ultimately evacuated. But the rotation of the men and equipment which the old man decided to use as a system, it caused us to arrive in increments. The first increment of pilots and aircraft that went down from our First Squadron, it was one out of a sort of a random selection of… CB: It was done out of a sort of random selection – in other words we'd draw numbers out of a hat. I didn't get to go and I was very frustrated, I remember that time. But soon thereafter, maybe a couple of weeks, a second chance came up and I made that one and there was about eight of us I think in that crew and we flew our P-40's down. Naturally I want to tell you a non-tired if you will P-40 down with us. On the way down we landed at Lashio of course and then into Kunming, and of course when we arrived there, we arrived ready to fight, and unfortunately I remember landing my aircraft on the runway at Mingladon, I ran over a bomb fragment with my right landing gear and blew a tire and I've never flown an airplane so much in my life to keep it from nosing up, but I did. I didn't lose the airplane fortunately, and they had it repaired in nothing flat. You're talking about maintenance now. Those boys down there were just fabulous at maintaining those aircraft. So we arrived ready to fight. FB: When you did arrive, what were your living conditions like? Where did you stay? 2 �CB: When our contingent arrived at Rangoon, we were ready to fight, ready to go. We didn't think in terms of anything else but, gee, when will I get the first Jap, when will I get involved in this thing first, and all of a sudden, we didn't think, gee where's the alert shack? Where we gonna eat? Where we gonna live? And finally all of that began to reveal itself, that evidently the RAF had a contract with the local civilians – there was no barracks – as a matter of fact the RAF contingent, what few barracks they had, the Blenheim bomber boys and the Hurricane boys of the RAF, Royal Air Force, they had taken up all the facilities they had on the base, so we had to be quartered on the city, and it turned out to be that anybody – any family that was living in the city that had space and by the contract, and I presume the RAF paid 'em, they would take us into their home and it ended up that evening that George Burguard and I were assigned to live with a employee of the Dutch Oil Company, terrific guy, and he had a servant for us, and we had our own room, and our own bath facilities. We had this boy that waited on us. As a matter of fact in the evening when we came in, he'd come in with a drink for us – handed it to us – and then the cooking was absolutely outstanding. And then we had jeeps, and that's another story, how we got the jeeps. Everybody had a jeep, everybody had a jeep. And that's the first time, by the way, I saw a jeep. I was amazed at this little thing. And we'd spend more time training ourselves on how to operate that jeep than we would on an airplane. I remember Bob Neale trying to drive up a revetment one time, so we had plenty of transportation and we'd just drive up to one of the – I think we used aircraft gas out of the aircraft refueling tanks to fill up our jeeps. That way we had plenty of fuel and always a ready jeep. Each one of us had a jeep, the whole outfit, and of course towards the end when the whole thing got pretty rough, we was fighting so much and it was obvious the Japs were gonna take the place, and of course, the people began to evacuate and leave, the wealthier people began to leave Rangoon and then eventually the poor people had to leave too. Mr. Jenkins was our proprietor, if you will, terrific man – never forget him as long as I live – just as nice to us – he gave us a key to his house and everything. He'd 3 �already evacuated his wife and his boy stayed with us for a couple of nights but that wasn't gonna work. Eventually we moved into another facility that had extra space where I think Bob Little – Bob Prescott moved in with us. So we had – laundry was a problem. Eventually when everybody was evacuated from Rangoon, mess eating was a problem. We began to go to the officer's club, the British – I remember a lot of times we had warm beer and toast for breakfast. The airmen were doing a little better. We called it the ranks, it was an outlying – I think it was a military installation from the field proper, a few miles from it where the British RAF airmen lived, and that's where they put our airmen. Of course, each one of them had a jeep so they had transportation. And then every once in a while we'd go out there and have food with them, and boy, it was like going to a restaurant. It was really good. FB: When did you finally get a chance to see battle again? CB: It was some time in January. If I remember correctly we arrived – the contingency I was in arrived in early January and to tell you when the next time … [Interruption] … When we arrived at Rangoon the contingent I was in – we were primed and ready to fight and then we got quarters and the next morning we were out there before daylight, because we'd been briefed, and a few hours talking with the guys that had already been there – and they were just jubilant about the record we were having – there's no comparison of the number of airplanes we would lose, practically nothing. Many times nothing, and we'd shoot down maybe 15 or 20 of their airplanes. But also, here we were 15 to 20 airplanes, and the most I ever saw at any one time when I was there was 14 P-40's in the air at one time against maybe 120 Japanese airplanes. The new arrivals thought this is gonna be grim, so there was good and bad aspects of it. We didn't have long to wait because the Japs were determined to wipe us out at Rangoon, and make it easy for the ground troops to come up and take the place and they were advancing all the time, the ground troops were up in Singapore. When we arrived, my contingent arrived with Sandell leading it, Japs were already up to as close to Mu Ming, right across the border in 4 �Thailand from Rangoon. They were very close. We immediately started fighting. The British had a little radar, early warning radar deployed out towards the east and south east to give us a warning. It would give us a few minutes. At first it would give us maybe ten or fifteen minutes and towards the end, as a matter of fact, we'd sweat the takeoff, hoping to get off because it was such a short warning, but I remember one day, I was taking off, beating Japanese, shooting, getting shot at, coming back and landing as many as four times in one day. That's how intense it got at times. And of course, in between those times, various guys, including myself, were shooting down airplanes and getting shot and getting hit. We lost a few and we lost a couple of pilots. It was continuous FB: When you got an alert, you had to go scramble … CB: As I say, it just seemed like it was continuous every day. Of course, we had enough pilots that we'd have days off, and I remember this specifically because I hated to be on a day off and I'd come out to the field next day and find the guys had combat, met the Japs, had a chance to get into it. As I say, we lost a few. I remember losing one or two pilots and I forget specifically which one this was. I think it was old Hoffman, one of the oldest pilots we had, a navy boy. I was a pall bearer at his burial and Padre Frillman, our chaplain, was the – he was administering the last rites, and I remember distinctly, when we carried his casket with the flag on it to the grave, we could smell him, and that odor you never forget. I remember it was either right during that funeral and, by the way, this was right near the airport where we buried him. It was either during the funeral or right after, we had a air raid alarm and some of the guys took off – I don't think it was that one but the second or third one, I was back on alert, and I took off, and this is when we were meeting a ten or fifteen to one type odds. We'd scramble and take off and this was one of the most intense combats I remember me having, and I remember the first airplane that I knew positively that I had shot down personally, and I could claim it personally as opposed to the Chunking raid, where so many of us came in and shot – and the bomber didn't go down but later on they went down. In other words, they divided the $500 per airplane 5 �amongst all the guys who were on that flight. That's when you see somebody get – for instance I had nine and a fourth or nine and a half to my credit. FB: As I understand it, the fields, the airfields themselves had unique names, you named them different names? CB: During the part of the fighting which I was personally involved in at Rangoon during the months of January and February, it go so intense – it was intense even before it got down there – but it continued intense. The Japs even came over at night and started trying to bomb us at the fields, and they made a couple of bombing runs actually against the fields, the bombers got through without us keeping them away. A few Brewster's and Hurricanes were lost and maybe one of our aircraft got strafed, I don't remember. At any rate, we had to do something. We couldn't get caught on the ground, the old man had taught us this and I'm sure he briefed old Sandell and Bob Neale who eventually took over from Sandell, that you can't get caught on the ground. So, with the cooperation of the British, and I think what they did just bulldozed out some of the flat countryside not in the rice field area but old hard clay area, a few miles from Mingladon proper. We used those as dispersal fields at night. Just before darkness we'd fly the airplanes out there. An airman would be out there to meet us and bring us back in jeeps and for the lack of a name or something, we'd use liquor names. One was called "Whiskey Field" I believe, and another one was called "John Haig Field", wait a minute, "John Haig" for one, and I think the other one was "Whiskey" – no, "John Walker Field", that's right, "John Walker" and "John Haig", and to my knowledge, it was only those two. This got pretty touchy at times because early morning fog – trying to take the airplanes off on a grass field with no maintenance capability at all, and with the fuel still in the airplane we'd put in the night before, then taking off, and maybe even climbing through low clouds and then getting on top, with no navigation capability, yet it was only a few miles to go. But it got kinda touchy, and towards the end, just before we had to evacuate, we actually went about 6 �dispersing some of the airplanes on the extreme outer edges of the field proper. But even up towards the last, we were still using some outer fields. FB: There was an incident, I guess, where you and Neale fought one enemy pilot for over ten minutes. What was the story behind that? CB: I might tell you one story where I think it's the first airplane I definitely identified as I personally shooting it down. I knew the bullets were my gun's ammo, and actually knocked that airplane down. He came up from above and he mis-judged and coming up out of the loop and then turned on top like – top of the loop, and right in front of me, all I had to do was squeeze the trigger, and he was just engulfed in fire. As a matter of fact, it closed in so close, that suddenly it dawned on me I had to pull up one wing to get over his wing. Just that quick, in the flick of a second. As I flew past him, I recognized his cockpit. He was sitting in flames in his cockpit, and evidently he was dead, and of course, he went on in. Then I remembered – I reached out and patted the 50 caliber guns, that come out inside, [???] the wing to recharge them, and I think I remember, "Oh, got one! There you are old boy Hoffman!" And I felt good about it. Later on you have philosophical thoughts, gee, shooting down a man. There were other incidents – about Neale – after Sandell was killed in an accident, checking his – he'd had a damaged rudder and they'd repaired it so he was checking it, and I saw the actual accident the instant it happened. He was evidently practicing the rudder and all, particularly the key element in doing a slow roll, and he was pretty low but he had enough speed, and evidently he just – something maybe didn't work on the rudder, maybe something wasn't right and he went in upside down. Then of course, Bob Neale replaced him as squadron commander and Pappy Boyington became vice squadron commander and was, for all practical purposes, operations officer. One of the missions that we were on – we were in strictly an air defense interceptor mode. Some of the missions only lasted about 30 minutes. Later on, we got into strafing modes, a touch of air warfare perse?, if you will. One of the missions, we'd stay with them until the Japanese starting retreating and eventually get low on fuel 7 �and have to come back because you were always operating at maximum amount of fuel [???] practically and high RPM. I remember seeing a single I-97 type Japanese airplane and I started after it and of course I had higher speed than he had and I eventually caught up with him and Bob Neale was – he wasn't with me on my wing around his wing, but after we started making a turn, somehow or another Bob Neale came in the picture and I knew it was his airplane, he had number 7 on it, and I came in close enough to this little character, this Japanese pilot where he had a yellow stripe around the tail of the airplane, just forward of the empennage rudder and that little character evaded us – they could maneuver, they could turn on a dime and we had – we'd go on past, we had to go on and come back. 8 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Bond_Charles_1991-02-23_v07 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bond, Charles R., Jr. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-02-23 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Bond interview (video and transcript, 7 of 12), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charlie Bond by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles R. "Charlie" Bond was Vice Squadron Leader of the First Pursuit Squadron "Adam and Eves" of the American Volunteer Group (AVG). Recruited by Skip Adair in 1941, he was inspired by photos of shark-mouthed Tomahawks of No. 112 Sqadron, RAF. He was the first to paint his P-40 in similar markings, setting the precedent for what became the trademark of the Flying Tigers. He shot down six Japanese fighters and one bomber. After the AVG disbanded, he rejoined the US Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics to train new fighter pilots. In this tape, Bond discusses his impressions of Harvey and Olga Greenlaw, in addition to his squadron's arrival in Rangoon and the combats that took place there. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a8cfa594c9fe2ce9c8e2f439c2bcdaf8.mp4 a1544bb708e0946b4ef3ed328a43f2f0 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a0a2852e102fe042b7d431dc7afa7fb5.pdf bee4cc47bf444c3becc9b8de9576814a PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles Bond Date of Interview: February 23, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 8] CB: In this engagement, on my first, second pass, well really on the first pass I didn't get him into position to fire on him. I definitely remember a yellow stripe around the rear part of his fuselage, just ahead of the empennage rudder, and the next thing I knew, I was looking back trying to get into position. I saw Bob Neale in number 7. And so both of us were trying to corner this little character, we'd make a run on him and then when we'd pass him he'd turn east and we'd try to catch him again, try and make another one on him. And finally, after at least six or seven minutes I know, maybe even longer, I had come up on the rear of him, and Bob was behind me, and of course he saw me coming. And he turned at the proper time to keep me from, I was too far away to fire on him, and then I might have caught him in a full deflection, my gunnery wasn't that good. I fired at him of course, it went on past him. And then Bob – then they started to straighten out, you know – and then Bob came up behind him and just let him have it. So it was between us two that we finally got him down. And I never will forget, I remember making comments in my diary and thinking about it later on, that that character had to be an experienced Japanese fighter pilot, and probably even a squadron commander, because he knew what he was doing. FB: There's an incident, apparently at the hotel where you and the RAF had a little bit of a battle. [CB laughs] Can you tell us about that? CB: Course in between all this fighting, you know, when we had a day off because of fatigue and all, and all the pilots would go on rest and recuperation, if you will. And one of our favorite haunts and hangouts was the Silver Grill Restaurant and Hotel, the main one in 1 �downtown Rangoon. And it was the favorite one for all of us to get together, and start out with drinks and have something to eat. And it was the closest thing to American food we could get. And of course, you know, no matter who you are, a fighter pilot in the RAF, a fighter pilot in the Flying Tigers, or even one of the poor old bomber boys, we'd get together and have bull sessions. And at times, you know, sometimes they'd get heated up. They'd brag about their Hurricanes, the RAF that came up from Singapore would brag about those poor old Brewsters aircraft, and then the Blenheim boys would stick their two cents in. But usually it ended up in an argument between the RAF and us about which was the best airplane, so forth. Burgard and I, and I think it was Bob Little and probably one or two others. But we'd had drinks, and I distinctly remember I was getting clobbered. I remember George Burgard telling me later, he said, "You sat there with a dirty, sneering look on your face, and you made a comment. Something that just further irritated them." And you know, we almost came to blows. And it ended up, we didn't come to fisticuffs, but as we were leaving I had to go back to the men's room and as I came out these other guys were gone. And as I walked out the front door, here was Bob Little and Burgard leaving me in a jeep. And I remember screaming to the high heaven and hollering at them and finally they heard me and turned around and picked me up. And that was a wild ride to get us back to our quarters, because here was Bob Little, George Burgard and me, skunk drunk, and trying to find where George Burgard and I lived. We'd go in one driveway after another, and [laughs], and running over the, you know where the streets come together, they'd have a circle. We wouldn't go around the circle, we'd just go up the curb and down through the next curb. And finally we found where George and I lived and we told Bob Little goodbye and apparently he got back home. [laughs] (break) FB: … he didn't show up for duty, didn't even show up for duty. Neale, Bob Neale balled him out. Were you privy to that? 2 �CB: Oh yeah. It's in my book. FB: Could you tell us about that? CB: Uh, well carrying on from some of these escapades to [?]. I remember one occasion – this turned out to be a party at one of the other pilot's homes. I mean the home of some British or Dutch RN Company guy. Where they stayed, they had several bedrooms. They decided to have a party, so all of us that particularly had the next day off, or whether we had the next day off or not because we had the same schedule. We all went to the same party. It turned out to be a wild one, and particularly with the RAF boy – those RAF boys know how to have a party. So it really got wild. Matter of fact, a few of them fisticuffs, I remember I had to hold old Jim Cross off little old Kuykendall one time. FB: Pulled him off of? You had to break up a fight? CB: And you know, it got to fisticuffs, I remember one instance where old Jim Cross was going to take on poor little old Matt Kuykendall and I had to pull him off, and finally settle that down. And I didn't know that I was even capable, but I did so. And that went on through the wee hours of the morning, and the next morning I, being the scheduling officer, had to go out there anyhow and I didn't know how I made it. But some of the guys showed up late, and you know, poor old Pappy Boyington, sure enough, you know, boy he had his share of it. And two or three others showed up just like him, but particularly Pappy, he was just too drunk to fly an airplane. And Bob Neale, of course being the boss, oh he just became furious. And that's the first time I really remember Bob Neale really, really getting on old Pappy. And here Pappy was his vice commander. And I was just standing off to the side listening to this, and boy, he just let him have it. And I think that was really the start downwards of Pappy, and later on when we eventually got back up to Kunming, you know, that's when he'd had it and the old man fired him and he left the theater. FB: What were the last days of Rangoon like, the fall of Rangoon? 3 �CB: This in between time at the Silver Grill and the furious fighting during the days, it seemed to get worse, and worse, and worse. We even got to talking, at times, you know in the alert shack, "Gee, what if these Japanese would make a parachute drop with airborne troops on this place, what would we do?" And you know, these types of thoughts began to crop up in our minds and we were getting tired. You know it was really time for us to rotate, but there was no sign of it. We were getting low on oxygen and all, and the warning time, I remember many times towards the last few days of February. I think we evacuated on the 27th of February, last time we flew out. But just a few days before that, I wouldn't even check my mags. I wouldn't even check my mags on takeoff, because I'd rather get in the air than stay on the ground and abort a takeoff with a bad engine, and got by with it. But the… well I remember one evening, got to talking with Bob about this, we were sitting around between air raid alarms. And, you know, I said, "Bob, maybe we ought to have an evacuation plan." He says, "Yeah, let's write up one. How 'bout you write up one." So I drew on my experience back in 1939, when I went from Langley Field to McDale Field. I had to write a plan there to take troops down. And I prepared an evacuation plan to move north to Magwe, several hundred miles up the river. And we had that plan prepared and, sure enough, I’m glad we did because it was towards the end, Bob Neil came by our quarters where George Burgard and I were asleep and woke us up and said, “The British have pulled out their radar.” He said, “We’ve gotta get out of here.” And I remember we had one load of oxygen – the load in the aircraft, that was the last oxygen we had and I think we were out of tires. So we were all up the rest of the night getting the polish together and getting the airplanes ready to take off at dawn. And the first elements of the crew chiefs with their individual jeeps [?] – jeeps and trucks – and some other trucks loaded with a lot of stuff we’d gotten from the docks incidentally. And get them up the road to Magwe. And the next morning we took off, but Bob Neil, bless his heart, he and one other guy – Snuffy Smith – they decided to stay and make one flight that morning to make a search to see if they could find Ed Lieboat [?] who, one of our 4 �polished in first squadron, had taken off the day before in combat and never returned. And to this day, we don't know what happened to him. But we evacuated in the last few days of February up to Magwe. FB: Did you go into Rangoon? I mean, did you go into the town as the evacuation was happening? Did you actually have a chance to go in and see the docks? [Inaudible] CB: It was during this intensive combat, some of the airmen had times off too because their particular airplane wasn’t on schedule. And the rumor got around towards the end everyone was evacuating – the people, the civilians – and they were even turning the lepers and the insane people out of the asylums. We could see them wandering up and down the streets and all of our host and hostesses were gone. Matter of fact, we gave one of our crew chiefs a job of being the master sergeant. He would go around and get eggs or something from the countryside and we’d eat off the back end of the pickups. The [?] was still coming in, ships were unloading, the equipment I have no way to estimate all of it but I do know there was just millions and millions of dollars and hundreds and hundreds of trucks – big six by’s – and jeeps… that’s where we got the jeep. So some of the airmen, it was a favorite pastime of theirs during these breaks, they’d take their jeep – usually a truck – and go down to the docks and here the Burmese [?] unloading these ships. And they didn’t know from nothing, all of their bosses are practically gone, too, but the guys who had the ships, they wanted to get out of there so bad. So these airmen would act like some tycoon or some boss in charge and say something in English. Of course, they couldn’t understand them and they’d tell ‘em, “Put that over in my jeep, put that in the truck.” And they’d come back with those trucks just loaded down. Bob Hasting was a great one with this and no telling how many trucks he got up the road. Well one time at the field a liquor store salesman, Dutchman, came by where we had our aircraft parked for takeoff, you know, for alert, and honked for us. And a couple of the guys went down there and he threw the keys over the fence to these airmen and said that’s his liquor store “so you can go down and get anything you want.” So there were 5 �truckloads of liquor that went up. As a matter of fact, I remember getting two cases of Dry Sack Cherry, which was good stuff, but it was awful sweet! And no telling, well Bob… George Burgard brought a jeep back full of toothpaste, cookies… one of my crew chiefs, I think it was, brought me a radio back and I used that radio for the rest of my tour in the Far East for getting news on the war. FB: There was a day, apparently, six AVG’s escorted RAF bombers on a mission to Bilin and you attacked [?] trucks and you flew so low that the propeller got… could you tell us about that please? CB: As I said before, we were primarily in an intercept mode, but towards the end the British became desperate, we had to do something to help the retreating Gurkhas and British troops because Japanese were pressing them. Pretty soon began to get so close to Rangoon that they wanted us to give them some close air support and of course we had the six guns and the aircraft – we could do it. So they began to schedule strafing missions and I remember one occasion it was sort of a hunt and seek or seek and hunt and kill type of a reconnaissance. Bob sent me and I believe it was Snuffy Smith. We took off and we were to… it was initially patrol east of Rangoon in case of poor warning. We’d at least have an airborne patrol and if nothing happened towards the end, go down and look at the approaching highways or roads - main roads - to Rangoon from Thailand in case of any Japanese convoys and strafe them. So low and behold, that’s exactly what happened. We caught a Japanese column on the road and Snuffy was firing on wings so he followed me and we strafed that column from one end to the other and this thing had to be at least four or five miles long… FB: Alright, so you were strafing… CB: This column had to be at least five or six miles long and we strafed ‘em. I remember I jink to fire and pull up to keep from running into them. And a lot of the artillery pieces were pulled by horses and I remember seeing the men scatter and go to the ditches at times and I remember killing, you know, seeing horses fall. And I remember once seeing 6 �a hole in the top of my wing where the metal curled out, where a bullet hole had gone through it. Fortunately didn’t get in through the fuel tank – that made me think a little. But anyway, that was towards the end of the strafing and we made a run on him and no telling how much damage we did to those, but at least we did it. And then on the way back, Bob had told me that there was a [?] that had been shot down over in the area and be sure, if you see it, they belly-land strafe it and be sure it destroys it or maybe set it on fire. I made several passes at that thing and as I pulled off my last pass, my aircraft went into a very high vibration, the whole airplane, and I thought, “Oh, what’s happened?” I thought I’d gotten ground fire. And I throttled back and finally I found a position in the RPM where the vibration was released and I finally – very tense – finally got back to [?] and landed. And when I pulled up on top of the engine, the prop blade turned up and it was a bullet hole, fifty caliber, right through the middle of that prop that, of course, made it unbalanced. FB: How did that happen? How did it happen – how did the hole become? CB: I think what happened in that case… see the two fifty calibers are in the top of the fuselage and the butts come out right over your knees. As a matter of fact, our trousers were full of oil all the time from the oil dropping off the gun and we charge them, you see. And they shoot through the propeller – they’re timed to shoot between the blades and you could imagine. If you hold the fire too long and I think that’s what I was doing, you know, holding down the trigger too much and my bursts were too long. The barrels get awful hot and your ammo, your bullets, do what we call “tumble.” You know, the [?] expands and the bullet isn’t guided and it tumbles. And therefore, the time from the muzzle to the propeller gets out of timing and eventually one of ‘em catches the prop. And of course, fifty caliber knocks a hole in it about an inch and a half and that makes the balance of the propeller balance wrong. FB: I understand at this time there was a real sense of war-weariness… all of you guys were getting tired. The conditions in Magwe were really poor and I understand that you 7 �actually had to talk to some of the men about like a pep talk or something. Could you please tell us about that? CB: Well as I told you, you know we evacuated from Rangoon up to Magwe and Magwe was quite a lively base with a lot of evacuating RAF outfits from the lower part of… some from Singapore even went up there without coming to Rangoon but the remaining RAF outfit in Rangoon also went to Magwe. And there were some bases… there were some [?] already based in Magwe, so it was a pretty heavily populated base. And then when we got our P-40’s in there it was really heavily populated. You can imagine after this type of combat – we were daily fighting, the airmen just working around the clock to keep the airplanes in commission. And we began to worry about supplies and all and then we began to worry about air envelopment of the Japanese troops. And the morale of the outfit began to droop a little and I remember feeling battle fatigue. By that time I think I had around eight to my credit and I had bullet holes in my airplane. But even then… I detected the morale of the men and after we got up to Magwe we thought, “Well the Japs are still coming up, surely they’ll hit this base.” So the airmen were tired, too, and I can understand because we were just working them to a bone. And they got…as a matter of fact they began to talk about, “I’m going to quit” or “I’ve had enough of this,” you know. And so I remember one night sitting down, Bob Neil and Snuffy Smith later on came up after we had landed and they got lost on the way so we didn’t really recover them until the next day. The haze was almost impossible – anybody would get lost. But I was there by myself so I decided to get the men together and give them a talk and I did the best I could and they took it. And after a lot of commiseration involved… we worked it out. And the next few days the British didn’t – I mean the Japs – didn’t come up and hit us there. But we retired and the old man, so he sent the third squadron down at Magwe to replace us so we… and then later on, boy the third squadron got what we really feared. They got all-out attacks and practically wiped out almost. 8 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Bond_Charles_1991-02-23_v08 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bond, Charles R., Jr. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-02-23 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Bond interview (video and transcript, 8 of 12), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charlie Bond by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles R. "Charlie" Bond was Vice Squadron Leader of the First Pursuit Squadron "Adam and Eves" of the American Volunteer Group (AVG). Recruited by Skip Adair in 1941, he was inspired by photos of shark-mouthed Tomahawks of No. 112 Sqadron, RAF. He was the first to paint his P-40 in similar markings, setting the precedent for what became the trademark of the Flying Tigers. He shot down six Japanese fighters and one bomber. After the AVG disbanded, he rejoined the US Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics to train new fighter pilots. In this tape, Bond discusses the fall of Rangoon and the war-weariness the AVG experienced after they evacuated from Rangoon up to Magwe. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/032fd84272405fc2363a1ff746a62aa0.mp4 9fedf46bc4560dc56bdaaf3946ed94cb https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2adfbb53d4d013f71b120f96537864a6.pdf b8199e3312930b3a168f2a5526455d90 PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles Bond Date of Interview: February 23, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 9] CB: …… from my book, I guess, than me. FB: It's not just that book, you mentioned a lot of books – most of the ones we've read about. CB: This is off the record now but old Dick Rossi and I, we're very proud, we always say to each other – and Bob Neale of course – our squadron did most of the fighting, but I dare say, so'd the first and second. FB: I understand you met Stillwell, could you tell us about that? CB: In one of the occasions while we were at Kunming, I hadn't yet gone down to Rangoon – we'd do anything to kill time and I remember if an air force – army air corps airplane would come, most of us would go down where our operations was to see if anybody's on it we knew and a lot times some of our old buddies would come in, particularly in a C-87 or B-24. FB: So occasionally you could see some of your old buddies …… CH Yeah, and it happened on one of those particular occasions that I saw some men sitting under the wing of a C-47 Gooney Bird that had air force markings on it, army air corps marks on it, and I strolled over to see what it was, and lo and behold one of them turned out to be old General Stillwell with his old war beaten Stetson on. I got into conversation with him and we knew that he and Chennault were locking horns about strategy, support and so forth in China. I got to talking to him – he, of course, was more interested in hearing our stories and I guess I talked to him about 20–30 minutes and I remember making a warrant that we felt was pretty good – I and two or three other guys – I forget 1 �who – but I remember him making a warrant, he says, "You guys have done a terrific job", or something like that; he really complimented us. FB: On 23rd March, there was a raid on Chiang Mai, and you and Rector had to escort McGarry's burning ship across the Salween. Do you recall that, he was later captured and imprisoned? Do you recall that particular incident? CB: Can you cut off for a second? After we, the first squadron rotated out of Magwe to go up to Kunming and then all the Olsen third squadron came down and replaced us. Here again, we were sitting there with nothing to do. No [???] bombers coming up from French Indo China whatsoever to bomb Kunming, and things got pretty boring. Really at Kunming, we were too far from the Japanese front where the air bases were to hit 'em by let's say offensive strikes without deploying, I mean stopping at some base en route. As a result of Magwe getting just clobbered, this was I think in early March, just getting clobbered. As a matter of fact we lost 2 or 3 boys bombing on the ground – being bombed on the ground from Japanese bombs. So the old man – he set out and between him and Bob Neale and Jack Newkirk, he figured out a way we could hit the headquarters and the headquarters base of the southeastern Japanese air force at Chiang Mai, Thailand, but we'd have to stop at one or two bases which actually the plan turned out to be. Bob Neale came in one day and says, "We gonna go hit 'em. The old man is tired of this, we gonna take revenge against the Japs on Magwe. So it ended up 10 aircraft between Newkirk's four and our first squadron, Bob Neale's six, we took off for Loiwing, which is just north of the Burmese border, to refuel there and go to a little air base called Namsang, just across the border from Thailand and a northeastern portion of Burma. It was another sort of RAF outlying base but did fly out of it, and they had a fueling service and all. I'm sure the old man laid on plans with the RAF to do this and the whole idea was to catch the Japanese air force on the ground at Chiang Mai Air Base and a supporting air base, I think it was called Lampang, just south of Chiang Mai about 20 miles, an outlying supporting base if you 2 �will. And the plan was that we would sneak in to Namsang, just before dark out of Lashio and early the following morning before daylight, the ten of us would take off, the plan of six of us, Neale's, an outfit of six, we'd strike Chiang Mai and Newkirk's four, him leading them, would fly past Chiang Mai off to the east a little, and go on down and hit Lampang, I believe that's the name of it, to the south. We were supposed to take off and rendezvous at 10,000 ft. This was before dawn and I remember, I hadn't flown a P-40 at night – I'd flow a lot of airplanes at night but never had I flown a P-40 at night – and some of the boys just – I think it was Bill Bartling if I remember correctly – he hadn't had much time in a P-40 and not much time at night. He'd never flown a P-40 at night and here we were blacked out and all on a grassy field, no lights and we parked a truck up at the end of the field with the headlights on, aimed our aircraft at that as the only reference. When you revved up the old P-40 with those exhausts on each side, blue flames coming out of that things, 52" of manifold pressure would stream past you way back past where you were sitting in the cockpit and it was sort of blinding. I was worried about some of the guys taking off, as a matter of fact, I worried about myself, but I eventually got Harris, the second guy to go with Bob Neale. Our six got in the air, then Newkirk's four and we assembled at 10,000 ft. and it was just breaking dawn when we could get together. For some reason or another, I don't know to this day, Newkirk's four never did rendezvous with us, and Bob decided to go on. Let me back up just a second. Bob and I discussed this in detail that night before we went to bed. We had to maintain radio silence because it's – complete surprise, and I had been over Chiang Mai, Thailand when we were at Toungoo reconnaissance mission, and it's right at the foot of a huge mountain which is a summer palace of the king and queen of Thailand. That mountain just sticks up like an ice cream upside down. I had seen the base, I knew the position of it. Bob Neale had never seen it and I remember Bob and I – he said, "Tell you what, I think if I'm not mistaken it was gonna take an hour and two minutes on a specific heading, I forget what that heading it was, just purely dead reckoning because (a) it was so much, we couldn't 3 �even see the becalmed river, couldn't even see the ground, just the top of the mountains coming through, so purely just dead reckoning, and Bob says, "Now, if you see me – " I was flying on his wing, there's four and then two, I think Ed Rector and McGarry were in the top cover, they were gonna be top cover for us. And Bob Neale and I, and Bill Bartling and Pappy Boyington were the attack four. Bob said, "Tell you what, Charlie, if you think I'm past this place, and I don't know where it is, you come up next to me and wiggle your wings and pat yourself on the head, and I'll know that you know where we are, and you do this, see." I said, "Okay." When we assembled by the way at 10,000 ft. when I saw Bob Neale's airplane when I came with Tex Hill, Bill Bartling had joined him. Bill looked back and saw me, he knew he wasn't supposed to be there, so he dropped out and I got on his wing. I watched the clock ahead on my dash [??] and of course looking down, and finally I saw this peak coming up – in about an hour and two minutes coming up – sure enough, just opposite, I knew where I was exactly. Just opposite it where it began to disappear between a line through Bob Neale's wings, I thought, Bob, this is it, and just for a few seconds, I let it go – fly further on, then I said, "gotta do it". So I pulled up, wiggled my wings, touched my head. Bob nodded and he talked back, pulled back, finally got out of my way, and I immediately went into a shallow diving turn, pushed the throttle open and as I got lower, of course, you could see through the haze, and right in front of my airplane, the nose, I saw that square of the field. And I was just jubilant. Another thousand feet or so, I checked my guns and fired the guns so they could trace us. They knew this was it. As I came across my first pass, they were caught completely flat-footed, and three more P-40's right behind me, and with six guns and those aircraft were lined up, wing tip to wing tip, and this downed one that made it 273 [??], downed another one, and I ended up making four passes before I saw return fire – passes going past me – I only saw one airplane, it was Bill Bartling's airplane, doing that pass. The rest of the guys made several passes too, but I distinctly remember making four passes, and thinking back now, I'd never do that again. At any 4 �rate, we did it. Then we started climbing off, and as we climbed away coming around the mountain and looked back, the entire field was up in smoke, the entire airfield was covered by it. Newkirk, coming back from the lower – attack on the lower field – they confirmed the fact that they could see the smoke before they got back even with – Chiang Mai airfield. As we were going back, we assembled, I think it was Ed Rector, McGarry and Bill Bartling with me. Bob Neale had Boyington with him. We were gonna to recover at Namsang, refuel and take off immediately. We were still worried about maybe some of the Japs'd get off but there was no way. McGarry's airplane began to show smoke and he started falling back and I knew something was wrong so we circled him for a while and he got lower and lower. Finally, his airplane turns upside down and he did, he rolled it, rolled his canopy back and baled out. Then I circled and dropped him a map, just in case, but I don't know whether he ever got it or not. But he ended up as a P.O.W., then when we got back to Namsang, I told Bob Neale about McGarry, and of course that was a black spot on the whole mission. But we felt absolutely jubilant about the success of it. When we got back up to Loiwing, we found out – we found that out at Namsang, Buss Keeton came in before with Newkirk and he told us about Newkirk who went straight in a target, we don't know whether it was a tank or what, but he went straight in from strafing. What they did was, on the way back, there was no airplanes on that field, so they strafed the railroad and the highways coming back up, and he saw, from what Buss Keeton said, he saw what looked like a tank or a personnel carrier, military weapon – military vehicle – and I'm sure Newkirk was good enough at hitting not to have target fixation. I think he was shot down and he went straight in. He was killed instantly. FB: There was a time that you and some other pilots were asked to bring in some new P-40E's from Karachi? I understand that there's an interesting story about that – an interesting story involving Claire Booth Luce and somebody called you the "seven wild men?" CB: There were a lot of wild of wild things about that! Our airplanes were running out. They were not only tired but they were wearing out. We lost a few and we did replacements, 5 �and of course, this was April – United States was at war against Japan, so they had to consider supplying Generalissimo with his little air force with a handful of P-40's. Generalissimo arranged for us to pick up some replacement P-40's in Karachi. They turned out to be a P40E version of [??] His later P-40 had six 50 calibers in it, three in each wing tip, devastating fire power. Little bit heavy airplane, about the same type fire power, and about the same type of performance. The old man would send those that seemed to have had most in combat or looked to be the most fatigued and I guess I was one of them; eventually he got to take a flight with me down across India to Karachi to pick up these airplanes and we of course flew by CNAC and in a Dutch patrol – a Dutch amphibian type aircraft. At the river at Calcutta, took off for the last flight, flying about 70 miles an hour, flew all the way across India to Karachi. Landed once in a lake at – I forget, some place in India. In between, when we got down – first we landed at Lashio?, then Dinjhan, northern India – that's just across the hump, and refueled there and then went down to Calcutta. At Calcutta we had to wait for this British, BOAC aircraft, so we decided to have some fun and go on out into the countryside and we went to a theater where they had a show and a lot of – it was a live show, a lot of girls, prettiest girls, American girls, and several of us ended up supposedly having dates with them and then we went on the rest of the night. It's a good thing we didn't [???[ the following morning or we'd never have made it, but we had a good time there, and then we finally took off and went up to Calcutta and there we had to get checked out in a P40E – a bit different, briefed on it because we were gonna fly it back. Unfortunately they had only five ready, but they had some P-43's they were putting together at Karachi to give to the Chinese, P43's or 4, one or the other, P-47 [??] Being the leader of the flight, I said, "You guys can fly the P40E's, I'll get checked out on the P43 and fly it back. They got checked out in it and a lot of the other guys also got checked out in it, and of course, getting checked out and being used to the way we flew it, particularly Toungoo and Kunming and other places we located at, we had our procedure to come in and land tactical, come across the 6 �field, low altitude, zoom up, practically acrobatics and then come in, practice [???] landing. They didn't have very good air traffic control and as a result, the United States Army Air Corps Colonel, he got very upset at us and I remember when they finally got checked out and were ready to take off and leave, I think the operations officer said, "We're glad to get rid of you guys." But we flew them on back to Kunming. 7 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Bond_Charles_1991-02-23_v09 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bond, Charles R., Jr. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-02-23 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Bond interview (video and transcript, 9 of 12), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charlie Bond by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles R. "Charlie" Bond was Vice Squadron Leader of the First Pursuit Squadron "Adam and Eves" of the American Volunteer Group (AVG). Recruited by Skip Adair in 1941, he was inspired by photos of shark-mouthed Tomahawks of No. 112 Sqadron, RAF. He was the first to paint his P-40 in similar markings, setting the precedent for what became the trademark of the Flying Tigers. He shot down six Japanese fighters and one bomber. After the AVG disbanded, he rejoined the US Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics to train new fighter pilots. In this tape, Bond describes his meeting with General Stilwell in Kunming and the time when a group of AVG pilots known as the "seven wild men" picked up replacement P-40 airplanes in Karachi. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f373057b7ebcd8fd712776da26713447.jpg e9eb7a09a2f5c54946789239735bf0a1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource GVSU Concert & Event Posters Subject The topic of the resource Posters Events Michigan Universities & colleges--Michigan Description An account of the resource Division of Student Services provides programs, services, and environments that enhance the personal, social, and intellectual growth of undergraduate and graduate students at the University. Events including concerts were managed by the office of Student Life. Posters for music, speakers, poetry readings and other campuswide events are included. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Division of Student Services Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/106">Student Services concerts, events, and posters files, (GV028-06)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-07-17 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV028-06 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1963 – 1981 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV028-06_Byrd Title A name given to the resource Charlie Byrd Quartet, October 12, 1973 Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State College Michigan Allendale (Mich.) Universities & colleges--Michigan Events Posters Description An account of the resource The Charlie Byrd Quartet, October 12, 1973 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/106">Student Services concerts, events, and posters files, (GV028-06)</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2765b03be94d08634116cd01b0c3b2b5.mp4 9ac36722aaa0ca15de2bfd0d9c076bc1 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f3f0588b2caa551424559aca74119707.pdf 6961cd7b4d3c750ebd8be9e17b8ce16a PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 1] CHARLIE MOTT: Recently I had occasion to look in 1940… in 1940 Claire Chennault retired. Army Officers submitted a plan relating to the use of American air power to contain the Japanese. This plan was submitted to the joint board. Now the joint board was a predecessor to JCS. It was reviewed by the joint board and approved by the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of the Army. The President was aware of it although there is no piece of paper that I would find which said I approved of this. Commencing then in late fall 1940 the AVG then started to be organized. A bird dog of the President, Lauchlin Currie, was the principal agent for coordinating matters and introducing the President's views into this. The result of this was the allocation of lend lease funds approval of a general plan to form an air force, American airplanes, manned by American pilots to be used to contain Japan using interdiction techniques and attacking some of the installations on Japan proper. Over the objections of certain established officers in the Army and Navy some retired officers were authorized to visit the bases and my particular contact, first contact, was San Diego, North Island, when a retired Commander Irvine appeared on the scene, set up shop down in a hotel in Coronado and interviewed prospective volunteers. There I was one of a number of pilots and enlisted men who volunteered for service. Now this we're talking about took place in April and May 1941. We, of course, were unable to resign our commissions on �whimsy there was a moratorium on resigning your commission even though we were finishing up our four years of obligated service in the Navy. But we were permitted to submit them and they were accepted by the government at the convenience of the government whereupon we became free agents and signed a contract for CAMCO. About 2 weeks leave and my wife and I, we had no children, spent it taking a tour of California and generally getting ready for a year's separation. The rendezvous established was San Francisco and on the appointed date, some 125 of us arrived at the hotel in San Francisco on this secret mission. FRANK BORING: Your education? CHARLIE MOTT: By education I am a civil engineer. Graduated University of Pennsylvania, worked in civil engineering world for a year and then got the flying itch. It was springtime in Philadelphia. It was May and a friend of mine passed the word to me that all you had to do was sign up and go down to the Philadelphia Navy Yard and you get your necessary hours and become an aviator. So I quit my job which had been as a junior engineer in a field company and I went down and signed up as a seaman second class U. S. Naval Reserve at the Naval Reserve Air Base. I received orders to report and we took what in those days, and later on, was called Elimination Training. Before you were sent down for the big expensive course there is a screening process in which you got enough hours to solo and they got a good look at you and if they didn't like you, you never got to Pensacola and vice versa. But, anyhow, I settled there and then after about a 6 week wait then received order to go to Pensacola , completed the training there. It was very thorough, we got to fly all kinds: airplanes, fighters, patrol boats, scouts as well as the old pearls. I was ordered to the fleet aboard then the Ranger which is CVA4, the first carrier designed from scratch as an aircraft carrier. She was a bargain basement ship, she was only about 14,000 tons, small flight deck, but I managed to qualify aboard her and shortly after the qualify, we shifted to the Saratoga and became, Bombing 3, the Air Group �3. There was a very rigorous training program in the Navy for aviators you had to qualify with bomb scores and if I recall the qualification score then was on your qualifying run which is 5 or 6 bombs was 55 feet .from the pin on the average. This paid off later in the battle of Midway when we rung up 1 out of 3 direct hits on carriers with dive bombers. Followed three years of very enjoyable, busy, work aboard carriers, qualifying at night without the electronic aids, it was very, little [?] at times, but at least you felt you could handle any situation. This was my personal situation when Commander Irvine retired. Appeared at North Island with this announcement that indeed Reserve Officers and only Reserve Officers were authorized to submit resignations in order to accept a contract with Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company, which was a corporation set up to administer Lend Lease funds and pay a group to fly American airplanes. My application was accepted in April. We rendezvous in June in San Francisco some 125. A mixed bag, a lot of friends of mine from the Saratoga signed up. There were people like Bob Neale, Fritz Wolf, Hal Weston was actually in the [?] squadron, Bob Powers, Mickey McBarr. And we had quite a little clique. I had always been interested in the Chinese, back in University we had a number of Chinese students, most of them attending the Wharton Business School. They were quite active in the church, Christian association. So we got to know a number of them and was struck by fact that they were intelligent, civilized and sociable people -- I liked them. At the same time the American public, in general, and particularly people like me who were interested in China were aware of that was going on in the Japanese encroachment, the Marco Polo bridge incident of 1907, the attack on Shanghai, there is a film which the Chinese put out which I think had a tremendous impact in this country. The Chinese didn't put it out, they helped, it was one of the newsreel outfits put it out It was entitled "China Fights Back". Very powerful movie. My wife and I made it a point to see that before we left, because I was trying to buck up her morale, too. So it was an adventure. One of the things that really distresses is the idea that the American volunteer group was a bunch of mercenaries, quite �the contrary. We had two of the pilots in our squadron actually were sons of missionaries in China, i.e., Jim Howard and Tex Hill. They were dedicated to helping China. Some people, I won't mention any names on this, were unhappy in a current situation and were trying to change the environment and strike out anew in a new direction. In the cases I can think of they weren't able to change the spots on the leopard they made a mess out of it again. There were those who the pay was adequate certainly and this was the motivating factor, but most of all, you were engaged in your profession and it was an adventure and if you didn't have these elements you were unhappy. FRANK BORING: Charlie what was the conversation with your wife and your family? What did you tell them? CHARLIE MOTT: My wife and I had several long talks about this. We both felt that in the Navy we were at the end of an era. We were Reserves. My wife and I had several long conversations about it and we actually had a meeting of the minds. When it came to the decision to leave the Navy, my wife and I had several very long conversations. And we were of a common mind. We had no children. We were both you might say free in that respect and we agreed it was time for a change we had been in the Navy for 4 years and we thought in terms of career in civil aviation. It was in fact an opportunity to leave the Navy and after a year to come back, professionally improved and also as a free agent. Now I mentioned that there were a number of pilots in my squadron who had signed up --some five. We had skipper whose name was Blick, Whitey Blick. Whitey was the sort of fatherly type he made a special trip back to Washington to look into this to make sure it was as the Australians would say "thinkem McCoy". He did. He came back and Whitey called us in and said I been back and been assured that in your jacket there is a reference a paper in the personal safe of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, who handled personnel matters, who was then Chester Nimitz, and piece of paper says that when you come back after a year you will be re-instated in the Navy without �loss of rank or [?] regardless of physical condition. With that assurance that sealed our views on the matter so I signed up. My wife and I had a sort of a second honeymoon - we toured California when California wasn't so congested, rendezvous with the rest of the party. We were actually the second party, which left from San Francisco aboard the Dutch ship, motor ship, Jaegersfontein. Where was this large disparate group and naturally what happened was people were attracted to people they knew and we were a clique and we pretty well stuck together and the former enlisted people were the same way… not only did they stick together in general but within their rate, the radiomen stuck together, the crew chiefs stuck together and ordnance people stuck together and there was not a great deal of cross fertilization. We had dinner there and then a retired light Colonel by name of Aldworth, sought me out and said, "Charlie, I want to talk to you". I never really, I met him casually, but he was not one of the recruiters that was recruiting in the Navy. So we went into a side room and he said, "Charlie, you are going to be in charge of this group". And I thought hum, I got to take this bunch clean across half a globe, aboard a foreign ship, it's going to take about 6 weeks without benefit of articles of the government or the United States Navy or the War Department. I said, "Where are my orders?" He said write them out. So there was desk with some hotel stationary there so I sat down and wrote out my orders. I had them around the house for a while, but they are lost somewhere. But basically what it says is you are hereby appointed as the leader of the American Volunteer Group/CAMCO aboard, sailing about the motor ship Jaegersfontein for Rangoon, Burma. Paragraph 2: You will take such steps as you deem necessary to maintain order and promote the efforts of the group. Signed, Richard Aldworth. So with that why I enjoyed a special status and was invited to the special dinner the skipper of the Dutch ship, his name was Braugher. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 1 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott describes his background as a civil engineer before becoming an aviator in the Navy and later joining the AVG. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f554e75b6303f766583987f5043cf8b9.mp4 8524d742009991c9e7a4491720eaa4a4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c986bbb3ec73ea96875734bb9fb9df34.pdf 51ca9f7c5a0a50aed5b1168da6ad824a PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 2] CHARLIE MOTT: Colonel Aldworth explained his selection to me very simply, you're the senior Naval officer, and I was an ensign just coming up for J.G. So we were all not only young at heart, but young in years. This was rather, it gave me a rather humble feeling because it wasn't a question of my buddies the pilots, or the Army Air Corp pilots, it was a question of some of the enlisted men. And in particular, I won't mention any names, a couple of them that I knew were just bad apples, because they had been in the Squadron and they had been bad apples since I first laid eyes on them. Here for the first time they were out from under military discipline, they had more than enough money to get drunk. Colonel Aldsworth's choice of me as leader of this group was simply because I was the senior Naval officer. I was an ensign and just coming up for junior grade lieutenant and that was enough. Of course he sized me up and noticed that I was clean cut, nice living, well-mannered and all these other good things. That night we were invited to dinner by Dutch skipper his name was Braugher [?] and we had our first exposure to a proper Dutch dinner. It was rather amusing. They Dutch always have a first course which is not just a salad and something like that it is something substantial like fish, boiled potatoes, maybe a little sauerkraut. Enough for a meal for anybody, but that is only the beginning then some the entree. We enjoyed it very much we were also introduced to a terrible liquid known as Dutch gin. Which has a cheesy odor and is sort of like cough �medicine consistency. I also developed a healthy respect for it. Anyhow, one of the things that concerned me about assuming this responsibility was that by the end of my previous naval work I had been assigned to Admiral Halsey's staff, ComCard1, he was commander of a carrier division then. I was only too aware of the fact that were 5 identified German raiders in the Pacific -- active. And the Dutch were belligerents. I expressed that reservation and Aldworth said well, I'll see what I can find out about it. Anyhow, we all convened aboard the ship and there had been a mad scramble the first one took the best cabin. I then and there decided that there would be some semblance of responsibility, rank and all the rest of it. So I reassigned all the rooms. This was not necessarily a good step, but a lot of people think that the American Volunteer Group was a bunch of rabble. We were very friendly, very American, but there is also an unspoken deference to responsibility. In other words, the squadron commander was the skipper and the fight leader was the flight leader and so on. The chief ordnance man he ran the ordnance effort and the same with chief radioman. This rank by responsibility prevailed. It took us just under a week to get to Hawaii. The only real critical decision to make was to close the bar. There was a faction that thought it ought to be open 24 hours a day every day. This wasn't producing good effects. One of the men, for example, he had his dinner, all his meals in his cabin, until he got to Hawaii because he came out of the Navy you know, my god, this is really traveling first class and we had these Indonesian stewards and they deferred to you and he was suddenly facing the life as he would love to live it. Anyhow, we got to Hawaii, running short on beer and we pulled into Honolulu overnight and I posted this sign by the gangway it said "Liberty expires at 0900". I maintained the presence on what the Navy would be to quarterdecks as the guys left and I kept hearing "I thought we had dropped all that", "what's all this liberty crap". So they all went ashore that wanted to go ashore and there weren't many people left on the ship and they had a good time on Waikiki and downtown Honolulu. We took a muster and discovered at 9 o'clock when we were to get underway that indeed �there were 3 former officers who weren't aboard. Captain Baugher asked me what to do and I said get underway. So the tug came and pushed us away from the pier. I noticed a commotion on the pier, taxi arriving at high speed, 3 figures got out and starting waving going down the channel. I put the long glass on them and there was a water taxi there and they hired the water taxi and took off after us. We had the pilot on board and we would normally would stop and drop him off at the pilot boat. They were gaining on us and I told Baugher to put on a couple more turns. Anyhow it made them really chase us down and they discovered what liberty [?] men. We stopped and we parked the pilot, we took them aboard and they were somewhat chasten [?]. That night a hard eyed guy came and introduced himself. Officer Naval Intelligence. I said well, I'm former Ensign Mott and I'm concerned about these German raiders, I know they are in the Pacific. He said (whispering) don't worry about it. I said what do you mean don't worry about them what do you know about them? Don't worry about it. So I proceeded to worry about them. Anyway we got underway and headed for Australia, Thursday Island. Northeast point. The next morning I made it a point always early in the morning to go up to the bridge with the captain and exchange a few words. He spoke very good English. Dutch are great linguists. There appeared over the horizon, two cruisers, I was able to pretty well recognize the class. I borrowed the long glass and put it one them and they were the Salt Lake City and the Northampton. They proceeded to take position on the bow off to one side and they sent us a blinker. The blinker said that this was the Salt Lake City and the Northampton and they requested permission to put a signal party aboard. So we heaved to and dropped a ladder and they sent two sailors over, signalmen and we had our signal party aboard. We could have signed up those sailors too if because it was a hell of a lot better living on a cruiser. Anyhow, we picked them up and those two cruisers escorted us all the way to Thursday Island which is the land fall. When I typed it, it is said don't worry he was right. The two cruisers went on then a paid a protocol visit to Australia. At Thursday Island another strange cruiser I couldn't �identify fell in with us and the skipper informed me that that was the Dutch cruiser Yaya? She had a very interesting arrangement of guns, later she was sunk when the Japs invaded Java. But she escorted us to Surabaya where we had no opportunity to go ashore which pleased me and we put into Singapore. At which point the skipper informed me that his orders were to debark us. Here I was you know with one ticket and 125 passengers from San Francisco to Rangoon. What do you mean you don't have orders to take us to Rangoon? Oh, he said, I've got a cargo of fish and it's spoiling. Finally I asked in the American Embassy and a representative came Commander De Wolf I think was his name, his son's in the Air Force, I've never met him at the time down at Langley. It took a day, but working the protocol he managed to get the ship ordered to take us to Rangoon. But we did have 2 nights of shore leave in Singapore and of course everybody went to the watering spots and stretched their legs. Then everybody was back aboard and we set sail for Rangoon and made the run up the Malayan Peninsula arriving at Port of Rangoon in the morning. We walked into the pier and there we were met by Boatner Carney. Chennault was up China and unable to come down. We all debarked there was a hell of a of hassle army's government authorities, British about the guns the guys had brought, almost everybody had a sidearm. That was strictly a no-no. The reason being of course the British policy in the colonies was that nobody carries guns except the British, armed organized units. Finally we worked that out and go ashore and we were buffed up to the Silver Grill for breakfast. There was considerable pent-up emotion, I can remember that Dr. Richards was writing an article and Dr. Richards was leaning out the car making like a siren, and a sundry [?] other horseplay. But we arrived and had breakfast and by that time the daily mail train was ready to leave so we went directly from there to the mail train and we were on our way up to Toungoo Airport. FRANK BORING: Reconstruct the difficulties of discipline on the ship. Difficulties in keeping this unit together? And any incidents that may have happened that stick out in your mind. �CHARLIE MOTT: One of the more gratifying things about that trip was the fact that it became clearly evident that we had very high type of individuals in general. There were trouble makers and the trouble generally originated amongst the drunks and this was never completely controlled. Normally aboard ship or aboard an air base you have your air police or our master alarms to take care of people like that we didn't have any and didn't need it. I never really felt that I lost control. At the same time we organized activities, bridge on Sunday. Hanks was a lot of help in this respect, Dr. Gentry, we had church services and non-denominational. One of the things that I introduced, it took a while to sink in, aboard ship when you had church services the smoking lamp was out, on cigarettes, no smoking, because the theory is the whole ship is at church. Well, that announcement was made immediately identified the troublemakers because they all lit up. With appropriate persuasion, talking to them, they became conformists. We had Chinese lessons - we had a group of Chinese, very highly educated, Dr. Tong was the leader of them, and we had Chinese lessons on the way over and we all those in the class learned some very useful expressions, like [?], which translated is “We are Americans, we come to Burma Road, to fight Japanese.” Actually “dom” means attack in Japanese. And a few other things that made your life more comfortable in a Chinese restaurant. And we had continuous bridge games going, continuous poker games. There were allegations in the poker community that certain people were cheating. So, just for the hell of it I appropriated on deck of cards one night. Took them into my cabin and put them under, I had a little eye loop, and they were marked not once but with five identifiable systems. There was a continuous poker game going on, craps was not a problem, didn't seem to be very popular. There were complaints that certain individuals were cheating at poker which I personally subscribed to so I confiscated a deck and looked at it under an eye loop and found out that not only one, but five identifiable systems of marking the cards, including shading, little dots, and crimps. They �are big boys and they can handle that themselves and spend their time out cheating each other so it didn't bother me. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 2 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott describes his experience as a Senior Naval officer and his journey from San Francisco to Rangoon to join the AVG overseas. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/847e587c74246ac25ab75c6e15b928a6.mp4 c2e92c83d60c1229900890f7f4e695fb https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/45f300b7308c56a499ae79d8a9f13701.pdf 1b7eb2ffb295d376c1cda106f114231f PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 3] CHARLIE MOTT: Backing up a little bit when we arrived in Rangoon the understanding was that Keller who was an senior Army Air Corps type take over however, it became apparent Keller had other ideas in fact he was one of the ones that left group early and so I just carried on until we got the guys aboard the train and up Toungoo. Now Toungoo was been written up as anywhere from a jungle camp to something just a cut above a Louisiana swamp. Actually the airfield wasn't all that bad. It was new, built by the British, as a strategic airfield, its name was Kyedaw airdrome. There were two kinds of buildings, permanent buildings there, teak was the lumber of choice. One group had galvanized iron roofs the other type had what they call in that area palm leaves. The palm leaves tended to leak, but were cool, the galvanized iron buildings, which includes [?] spaces, were dry but they got hot. So you had your choice, we had electric light it wasn't like the U.S. of A plumbing, the water that was used was pumped from a well with a cooling [?] that worked the handle. It went up to a tank - 30 or 40 feet and if somebody used too much water the tank got empty, that didn't bother the Navy type who were used to taking a Navy shower, you wet down, you soap up, you wash it off, but it sure in hell bothered some of the people. The food was quite indifference and we didn't have airplanes, there was too much time, too much booze, lousy food and grumbling. Shortly after we arrived Chennault arrived on the scene. He had been busy up there in China doing some �arranging for the group up in Kunming [?]. I had been appointed acting adjutant by virtue of my sterling performance abroad the ship. And so it was my duty as adjutant to greet him and I had set up a mass meeting in the general mess to give the Colonel a change to address the whole group. This was not a good scene. We had all these guys sitting around at a table, and, of course I proceeded Chennault and yelled "Attention" and about half of them stood up and the other half "what's this, grumble, grumble, I left the service to avoid this stuff you know.” So Chennault was right behind me and he observed this and I never heard him talk or speak as loudly as he did that time. He looked around at them and yelled "Attention" and they all stood up just like you know they all of a suddenly recognized their master's voice or something. So then anyhow Chennault made a little talk not a great deal, he was not a spell binder, he was not a great orator as a matter of fact you might classify him as rather quiet taciturn guy. But I enjoyed working for him for a period of about 6 weeks. The job of adjutant is a combination of administrative and personal officer in the Army. So you get all the problem areas. But it did permit me to get to know Chennault. And he was never the type that invited propinquity. He was the regular Army officer. Some of the letters he wrote which I screened which were very interesting. For example, in August 1, 1941 he sent back to the War Department the complete specifications of the zero. The performance of the zero came as a big surprise to the Army and the Navy. They didn't believe these things. They were the same specifications that he outlined in his lectures to us. For example, the thing could climb at 3200 feet a minute. Whereas, we could just barely make about 2200 - 2300. It had a radius of 1200 miles we could maybe if we were lucky make 400. It had 2 20 millimeter cannons plus 30 caliber. We had 2 50 calibers, 50.5 inches, which is smaller than 20 millimeters. The matter of turn rates and ceilings are not in the same list. We did have diving speed and something that we intuitively used, but didn't really know it at the time. High roll rate, in other words you could do this and pull and we were gone before the zero could react. I want to say something about the zero �because some people have raised the question. The AVG in fact did not meet the classic Navy zero [?]. What they did meet was the Army version retractable carriage KI43 Nakajima. Now this (I think 43 is the right number it may be wrong), but this airplane was a better dogfighter than the zero. It wasn't as big, it didn't have the range, but it was a better dogfighter. It was similar to the zero in the sense that warmer and it burned nicely. So we met certainly the equivalent or the superior in some respects. Another point has been brought out recently is that the Jap Army concentrated against us the cream of their forces. The forces that the Army Air Forces that had fought the Russians in Manchuria, the Chinese in China, the ones that had been in Philippine campaign and decimated the American forces there the ones that drove British completely out of the sky in Malaya and sank the repulse in the Hood. They weren't very active actually in the invasion of Indonesia, this was a Navy operation, but this was a superior airplane flown by experience and dedicated pilots. They were all brought in at one time or another, against the Allied forces in Burma. So this was no side show for us. FRANK BORING: Let's stop here. CHARLIE MOTT: I'd like at this time to talk about my personal feelings-- about my wife, and in a way, her feelings about me. We had been married, in fact I was married illegally by Navy terms. You were supposed to be bachelors for 2 years, but when I finished flight training we couldn't stand the idea of me being on the West Coast and her at home in Alabama. So we got married and proceeded to have a honeymoon by going out to California and reporting to the ship. I discovered that although there was a regulation on the books it didn't mean a great deal to the skipper, the squadron, or the exec. In fact, the exec try to rent me an apartment he knew about he thought it was just what I was looking for. But, anyhow, we were very close, very frank, and we had agreed this was indeed the thing to do. It did not prevent us from both having feelings of separation. And when I got back, and this was rather unique, I had a wife. �None of the other people who were prisoners of war had wives. They had former wife, but my wife was a very level-headed, family-oriented woman. She went back to her family, she had 4 sisters, no brothers, and got a job, actually with the Army and worked thru the war and salted it away so that when I came back we had the means to go ahead and resume our lives, buy a house, and all the rest of it. During the period, this is kind of jumping against, but it is consistent, continuity, during the period when I was a P.O.W., some 3 1/2 years, cause I was caught in January 8, 1942, she received 4 postcards which were permitted by the Japanese, and you put checks, in the check block you put " I am a prisoner of war" (check) " I am ill in hospital (check) Not in hospital (check) I am working for pay, not just working your ass off, you are working for pay. And then there was a 2 line place where you could put a little message. I put "please take care of bag ears". Which is sort of my teasing name for my wife and she knew it was then authentic because these things had to be printed they couldn't be longhand. But she was very faithful, she understood it is a matter of a short term sacrifice for a long term gains. Didn't follow that we didn't miss each other, we did, but the world revolves. FRANK BORING: Let's go back to… CHARLIE MOTT: Well, I don't think that this is particularly to the point. I mean if you love someone, she's your wife and you miss her and that's it. I mean some people do something else in that circumstance, but my own life went on and we waited for the reunion. One of the things I did later on in Rangoon I was able to make connections with one of the Indian jewelers and I bought her a magnificent star sapphire which got home. And also a white sapphire right out of the Buddha eye. And when I was shot down somebody pilfered this. Still looking for him. But anyhow, we are, were at Kyedaw airfield. The Colonel had arrived and we started a regime of keeping busy. He started his lectures, they were very effective. I mentioned that Chennault is not a spellbinder, he is not a great orator. Chennault �actually started out life as a schoolteacher in Louisiana before his commission in the Army in World War I. And he remained a teacher. And he had patience, patience for maybe dumb questions. He sized up students and just put his point across. He was a thinker, the tactics we worked out were unique to him and subsequently were used by both by the American Navy and the British. He took strong points of the zero and avoided them. He pitted the strong points of the P-40 against the weak points of the Zero or the [?] in this case, lack of armor, it really didn't have the fire power that we did. Because it didn't have 20 millimeter guns [?] 303. Strike, get out, climb back up, and come back in. Now there's a big question in everybody's mind, that is, if there is 2 airplanes up there and they are hostile, what happens? Pretty obviously you turn towards each other because if you try to run away, you present a tail. And what happens when it develops into a head on? The question is what happens tactically when a head on situation develops? Now there are a lot of stories about the Jap pilots that like to die for the Emperor and all the rest of it, but that wasn't true. No body like to die, despite the Kamikaze. I've read the book of the foremost living Kamikaze, they like life, too. In the case of the Japs they would turn. The normal turn of any aviators is to the left, that's because of torque in the engine. So when this situation developed it would not necessarily be direct head-on, but be some like a head-on why the Japs would not necessarily press on to destruction. We had some pretty determined guys, too. Our first casualty was Armstrong. Was killed in a dogfight. Now I mentioned the adjutant job, one of my other jobs was Operations Officer of the Second Squadron, which was Navy Squadron, (I'll tell you a story about that too), but as Operation Officer I made it a point to check out all the pilots in the dogfight and the P-40 had a bad reputation for inverted spin. You were up there and stall out and come down on your back. In fact I got in one one day and I decided to see what would happen if I let go and sure enough the big, heavy nose dropped and I got enough speed to roll out and fly away and reengage. But, anyhow, Armstrong and Gil Bright were up there one day and you develop a thing called scissors. Scissors �you go this way and turn and go back and forth until somebody managed to get an advantage and gets on the tail. But Armstrong thrust home the attack and he and Gil Bright actually collided. Gil Bright got out but Armstrong didn't and he was out first casualty He's buried in Rangoon. In the service inhibitions about dogfighting we had some too, but in the regular service if you scratched airplanes you were doing bad things. There were restrictions about what you could do. These were all waived. It wasn't that we were going to dogfight with the Japs it was just a matter of airplane handling. I recall one note in my diary I dogfought with Ed Rector, and Ed's pretty hot. He made me feel humble. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v03 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 3 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott discusses his first impression of the airfield in Toungoo and General Chennault's arrival, in addition to the backstory of his marriage with his wife. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b04fea689d71e41a638aba6148b533be.mp4 8e05e25f7d52f8382716c7487d6e45b2 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bec2618ad87c2827f216b7a7203f8179.pdf fe1291a975f74c51d33e173a13a86426 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 4] FRANK BORING: We are trying to get across the whole difficulty and danger about the whole training part which we never really got. So that's really what we're looking for. CHARLIE MOTT: Relative to Armstrong's crash I received a compliant actually within the week before that that the Army was pressing it too hard. It was all right to be realistic but not too realistic and he was just the guy, I'd seen it before his target fascination I've picked up squadron mates actually died bombing they flew right in to the target. So it can happen and it happened in the case of Armstrong. But getting back, I'm talking really here my own personal views of the P-40, I'm also talking as Operations Officer of the 2nd Squadron. But here is an interesting story here relative to the formation of the squadrons. Now how is it for example that the 2nd Squadron was almost all Navy pilots? It wasn't accidental. What happened was upon the arrival Chennault and I had a talk and Chennault wanted experienced fighter pilots, I was a dive bomber pilot. And he asked me for nominations for squadron commanders. He said, Charlie you are going to get the bombing squadron when it arrives and even then he told me second AVG and the first AVG was not the end of it. I said, "Well, Colonel why don't I nominated and you select and then select the personnel from the squadron including the enlisted men. We don't we do it the good old American way, we throw up a bat and grab it and the last guy �holding on to it gets the first choice. Yeah, sounds good. And so I nominated Olson, Jack Newkirk, who had fighter experience, and Sandell, who certainly looked and talked like he had experience and Chennault went along with it. We then tossed up and selected one for you, one for me, eeny, meeny, miny, mo. That's now the squadrons were formed. And that's why the 2nd Squadron with very few exception, was Navy people. We used port and starboard, flat hatted and all the other good Navy stuff. Actually I think we were free of a lot interpersonal problems that the other Squadrons had because we had been aboard ship where you lived together, eat together and you don't whistle down blowing, and tear down the gate in the convertible. So we had a very compatible bunch. Really no problems, disciplinary problems, except for the radiomen. That's a long story. But even they, Mickey Mihalko was one our radiomen off the ship and Mickey was real pain until the balloon went up and then Mickey became a hero. Just idle you know. On the average in the pilot category we had in the 2nd Squadron a well-qualified group. Almost all of them had one, two, sometimes three years aboard a carrier. If you screw around on a carrier on a dark night without the benefit of electronics aids a P40 in daylight is a cup of tea, no problem. There were the big airplane guys, the bomber types, the Army bomber types, and the Navy patrol types and these guys were a real hazard. But there weren't too many of these. FRANK BORING: Why do you say that these guys were a hazard? CHARLIE MOTT: Well, we just washed out airplanes. FRANK BORING: Give us a background. CHARLIE MOTT: They landed, these people, that had experience in large airplanes, they landed different, they handled the airplane different in almost every respect and so they had to make a very distinct transition, particularly in the landing, because a big airplane you don't come in in a carrier approach, you come in greased it all and about that �time you run out of runway you land 15 to 20 feet in the air and drop it in. The P-40 landing gear incidentally wasn't too bad. I got a little sporty at Rangoon one day and I was just dragging around and I forgot I hadn't burned up much fuel and she stalled on me about 40 feet in the air and I said oop here we go and leveled off and pulled up sharply and boom and it was like somebody dropping a dumpster, but it took it. One individual in particular, Ricketts, he washed out 3 airplanes. We were having a lot of trouble in spare parts. It seemed that anything that happened to the P-40 got the propeller. Next it got the landing gear, then the wing if you ground it. At this point, it might be interesting to you to talk in terms of logistics support of this operation. I mention earlier that there were no regular officers assigned. Chennault had to live off the land and that's where he picked up Carney and Greenlaw. Chennault was not permitted to recruit regular officers and this is why he picked up people like Greenlaw and Carney. Williams was a competent staff officer who came in in Communications and he did a lot for us. In the supply area, why I met this odd character with a Harvard accent, of course I graduated from Penn, so it wasn't all the strange to me. His name was Joe Alsop. Before the war he and his brother Stewart had been leading columnist here in Washington. They wrote Washington Merry Go Round., naturally syndicated. What people I think don't appreciate is that that Joe and his brother were very patriotic guys. I took a couple of long walks with Joe and most of group thought he was kind of strange, he had a big nose, intellectual, and spoke with this accent. Chennault made him supply officer. Now he was actually a reserve officer in the Navy in India. He was a paymaster. He somehow heard about the group, he actually was a cousin of the President. Kissing cousin or what degree. He was definitely well connected. Joe got himself transferred to Chennault and became supply officer. He did some good work with the Philippines, he got some tires flown out on Pan Am. We were always running out of things like solenoids for the gun. Radios were chronic repair problem. Props and tires were really short. When the Japs attacked on the 7th of December. They attacked Wake and the Pan Am clipper was �loaded with tires for us and it turned around and went back the other way. Now Joe himself was attempting to get back from Manilla to the group and he flew to Hong Kong and was going to get CNAC to take him to Kunming. CNAC was operating out of Hong Kong at night they'd take off you know. He was captured when Hong Kong fell which was shortly after Christmas as I recall. And so he was in the bag. Joe Alsop was very persuasive and somehow he worked it so he came back to the States first class not as a POW, but as a repatriated diplomat. It was systematic of the kind of help that Chennault recruited. Along these lines, and here I'm jumping back, I had almost 4 years. When I got out it was in Calcutta there was a lot of Army criticisms of Chennault. He had been relieved a few years earlier, before the war ended. The unspoken charge was that he was a poor logistician. Well, if you define logistics as getting along with very little supply he was a genius. Chennault made me group engineering officer and I went up before the group went to Kunming and looked into Chinese facilities for support of the group. The oxygen compressors, for example, they looked like an old volunteer fire company thing that you pump it, you know with one on each handle and blew up… it took about 2 hours hard pumping to blow up one bottle, 1830 lbs. I went to the prop shop, prop shop was in a former temple out in the boonies away from the field manned by, you know there is a type of Chinese that is big, robust, big heads and their hair seems to stick out at right angles, Mongols. A lot of Mongols there and they were in charge of the props shop and they demonstrated how to repair the prop. The way they repaired a prop, they took the blades off it and looked at it and if it was bent the wrong way they hit it with a big wooden hammer and if there was a hole in it they filled it with magic gunk and give it a coat of paint, no dynamic balance just run it down a knife edge or a mandril and another good prop and that was it. I also got involved in the gun sight problem. Now these P-40B were actually given to the Chinese via Lend Lease by the British, the British excepted trade for later models. They were not completed either in radio or gun sights. They were designed actually for British gun sights which was not furnished. Somebody �didn't understand the problem completely sent us the sight which went down below, but there was not reflecting glass, no [?] glass. So the job was to somehow rig it up so that we had an effective optical sight, which means a lot in aerial combat. Actually this was the one time that I disagreed with Chennault. He didn't think we needed it. He was an old [?] post guy you know and that's all right for crude work you know. Get behind them and hose them down, but not for accurate shooting. I discovered if I took the armor plate put it a light film of oil on it I could get rid of a double reflection off the front and rear glass and so Chennault authorized me to go to Rangoon to see if I could find something permanent besides oil film. I took him out and there was a telephone wire running by the headquarters there and showed him how to get rid of the double reflection that you take a little film of oil and then you can only see one wire, which surprised him. The idea was to use the armor plate, the glass armor plate, as the reflecting [?] sight. But I couldn't find any substance that was available in Rangoon that would do this. So I had to come up with making a reflector sight. I want to talk about the gun sight problem. The proper gun sight, effective gun sight in those days, was an optical reflecting sight, where the image of a receptacle, the ring, pipper [?], was projected up on a called a combinating [?] glass you look through it and you see the target and you see your receptacle. This is also used to determine that you are within firing range, circles are generated such that the airplane you want will fill a particular ring when you are looking at. You know that you are within firing range. Because it is very easy in aerial gun to open fire too early and there is a limited amount of ammunition you carry. Now this is one of the few cases where I disagreed with Chennault. Chennault thought we didn't need optical gun sight that the old ring and bead and there's another here you can see in the pictures of the P-40 a ring, a couple of rings, you look thru there and you hose them down. Well, this is all right in World War I stuff but it does not give you the accuracy you needed in combat in those days. So the idea was we had to find some way of finding a combining glass up on the windshield such that we had an optical sight. At first I thought we could take �one of the double images off the armor glass up there. You get a reflection both from the back and the front so you see two rings if you try to project against it. I found with plain lubricating oil you can get rid of one of them and I convinced Chennault I had a good idea by taking them out, taking one of the armor glass and showing him, look it there, see that telephone wire, you see two telephone wires, yeah, now magic, now how many do you see? One. Went down to Rangoon to see if I could find some magic substance that could do that that will last. So I went down to Rangoon and I found that there wasn't any such substance. I tried a number of things. So were constraint to take a sight which in essence would not work, but could be adapted. I made up a combining glass with a couple of brackets which I had locally manufactured and we could put these in a couple of brackets and we could tap into these just right. So the problem was solved that we had a reflecting sight, but the trouble was the rings were wrong. We wanted a sight which would tell us we were within a 1,000 feet which was our bore sight distance on our guns they were converging at a 1,000 feet and we were within range, it was a very easy way to use up all your ammunition firing too far out in aerial gunnery. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 4 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott discusses the difficulties the AVG experienced during their training period and the formation of squadrons. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/df0688e7f5eb066d85fae308ceef7e94.mp4 d7a6f1a78e2fef121f103b7c3b8208c1 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/85395f3f014938e2b29638dcfee23014.pdf 6a23f04910af6d1f32c22dd687fb85dc PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 5] CHARLIE MOTT: Getting back to the reticle, now the reticle is that portion of an optical device where the light shines through and you can see whatever is scribed on the reticle. You can see it through the instrument. In case what we were looking for is a white circle. I could not find in Rangoon who could scribe reticles. We had reticles but they were the wrong size. So I did a little calculations and found out what real size they should be and had the boys down in the shop drill me a piece of metal and then I would take a piece of needle, we had these little kerosene lamps about so high, get it just the right temperature I could put that that one there center it nicely take the needle and inscribe the line. So I was in the barracks I set up a production line and inscribed an appropriate circle on all the gunsights. Course everyone wasn't perfect wasn't totally quality control. Sometimes the temperature wasn't quite right and the paint would chip and would be fuzzy. There were complaints which were handled by my compliant department along these lines, well, it you don't like the god-damned circle so scribe it yourself. All the customers were very happy. Nobody complained about the gun sights and they worked, but they were awful crude, but it took quite a while to line them up. The story of the gunsight is typical of the group and it certainly permeated all the activities in the case of the bore sighting in the guns. Our guns were bore sighted as well or better than they were in the service. We had chief ordnance man by the name of Hoffman, Army type and he �was a gunner. Every gun on every plane met the specifications of shooting thru very small circle at the given range which was normally 1,000 feet. In case of the mechanics I can't say enough about them. It was not just a question of spare parts, it was a question of utilizing a talent which was made available. Coolies who were out planting rice one day, were working for us, we paid them 12 Annas a day, which was approximately 15 cents a day and they were eager and they could clean airplanes and do a better job than our guys could. They could change plugs and check the oil. So they were used and while the crew chief or plane captain in the Navy went about more important things. In many cases the Chinese fabricated parts, or repaired parts, including propellers and kept us flying. In some cases, like tires you were up the creek. These were perennially cause for concern particularly in view of the fact that we were training. The runways were macadam and every time you landed you get a puff of smoke, you do that around here, too, and that is rubber coming off. So the men worked miracles in maintaining the planes and in fact I think that any of the pilots that you have talked to will speak absolutely highly about them. FRANK BORING: Can do spirit. CHARLIE MOTT: Talking about the spirt. They kept the airplanes flying they kept the morale up. The low point the nadir of the group was when we first arrived at Toungoo and there was no airplanes and no enough to do. As soon as we got the challenges as soon as we work as soon as we got the activity, morale went up. In every case, not necessarily in the materiel way, the troops responded. Now, I want to say something that will be a little controversial, but in the service, and it is still true, the radiomen were the electronics guys and they were dealing in a black art and they regarded themselves as a cut above the normal deck swabber and they were also the people who had more time on their hands to sit around and bitch. Yet when the balloon went up people like Mickey Mihalko on their own initiative make contacts, went over a hung around the radar. �The British kept it under wraps, by the way, same in our service it was hush, hush - don't talk about this. Was able to relay warnings to us. He couldn't vector us he wasn't an air controller, but at least he kept us from getting caught on the ground. In those case where we didn't have these warning, like Magwe we lost airplanes, bad. This permeated the whole force, even in the darkest days and there was no sitting round wringing hands-- it was do something about it. FRANK BORING: Pearl Harbor. CHARLIE MOTT: Let's jump a little forward or backward or sideways, to December 7, 1941. Pearl Harbor. I had been up at Chiang Mai making a pre deployment survey for Chennault, considering moving the group up to Kunming because we were trained, ready to go, and Chennault did not believe in exposing the group in places like Kyedaw Airdrome. I was in Hostel I, of course it was December, Kunming is about 6,000 feet high, damp, permanent chill in the Hostel because the Chinese have no central heat, there were a few charcoal braziers around I was listening to short wave radio and it was apparent to me from all these bulletins that we had suffered severe loses. I was also tuning in on some of the foreign broadcasts. So I was congratulating me, myself that I had the whole Chinese Army between me and the Japanese. Nothing happened in Kunming we went on the alert, the group came up and we had two squadrons there, but fundamentally we just getting bedded down, settled and it wasn't until the 20th until there was any activity like Japanese attacks. This, I'm sure has been better described by participants other than me, I was in the battle, but I was in a sector where they didn't come. Radios were so bad I couldn't get a vector so my flight we were circling around with trying to hear what was going on, just the confusion babble so finally it was cloudy too, so we came down and landed. I never saw the buggers, which was a disappointment. After the 20th there were no further attacks on Kunming and the same time the boys in Rangoon were being heavily engaged, they did a wonderful job, �but they were getting thin and Chennault decided they should be relieved. The second squadron was delegated to relieve them. We flew down en masse. We planned the flight to refuel at Lashio, which is at the head of the Burma railway. We had the whole squadron, I forget exactly how many planes were involved, something like 12 or 14 planes with Newkirk and headed for Lashio. We got to where Lashio should be and there was nothing there, just a big bowl of soup down there in the mountains. We had a quick conference and we decided to make turn and Toungoo So we turned all strung out in normal cruising formation and headed for what we thought was Toungoo, well, we steamed along and the terrain but we couldn't recognize anything we were pretty confident that our navigation was sound, but we had a unknown wind and you could get an unknown wind of 30-40 knots up there that would really blow you off fast. The fuel gauges kept going down and the tensions kept going up and one of the flight leaders said airfield in sight. We looked over there at 10 o'clock and lo, and behold there was an airfield. I didn't recognize that airfield, but with the fuel state we didn't have any choice. So called up Newkirk that we got to go down and Newkirk agreed. So we let down and here was this strange airfield, had one strip and had some bullock carts across the runway. We had an idea that it was RAF, but we didn't know which one. Meanwhile there was no choice, land, guys, so we landed actually not on the runway, but the dirt alongside, we all drug it in, carrier approach and sat down safely. We taxied up, there was a hanger there, no body home. But here in back of the hanger there one lonely Indian troop looked like a Punjabi. He couldn't speak very good English, but he could speak enough to know that we wanted gasoline. Finally the airdrome officer was a flight lieutenant came out of the boonies, because everybody in those days including the Japs, were apprehensive about paratroopers. They thought that a paratrooper arrival had taken place. Well, we identified ourselves we were Hako, which is a strip up towards the Shan states quite a ways from Toungoo, and then went direct from there to Rangoon. But we sure at the wrong airfield, but we arrived safely and good spirits and relieved the �current defenders of the Burma Road and took over. I forget what date this was, the 26, 27 around after Christmas. The Japs had shot their bolt and our first week was pretty tame, they gave up the daylight raids and contented themselves with coming over at night. We rebutted those tactics, I think some of the guys have told you about using satellite fields and we go out there in the late afternoon, cover up all reflecting surfaces, ride in, turn in, go out first thing in the morning pick up the planes. Japs would come over bomb the bejesus out of the field actually got Wavell's [?] plane one night, but they didn't get us. We weren't there. So we tried some night interception tactics. The idea was to stack, a moonlit period, 2, 4, 6000 feet over the field and wait for them to arrive. If they were in formation they had a habit of dropping on signal, a machine gun burst to the rear and we thought we might silhouette them against moon or thin layer of clouds. I saw one night, the gun fire, but I could never pick them up. This was the operation were we lost another pilot, Pete Wright who was former Navy pilot. When he was coming in, we didn't have airfield lights, we just line up a few vehicles along the runway and land between them the headlights would be pointed diagonally down the runway. Well, when Pete came in and threw his flaps down full, you come in full and throw your flaps all the way down, he had a failure of the hydraulic and the whole cockpit filled just like that with oil spray hydraulic fluid, fogged up his windshield, goggles, and just before landing, he figured it out right, he landed and was on the runway but he couldn't see and rolled off the runway still going real fast and hit one of the cars with his wing, not the body of the airplane. Well, Merritt, he was one of Shilling's best friends and he was asleep in back of this car and when I got over there it looked like a rag doll, but it was Merritt, he was all chewed up. And that was the end of him. But Pete got out without a scratch. So after that we gave up those experimental tactics. The gain wasn't worth the [?]. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v05 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. I was born into this group of aviators. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 First AVG Réunion we as children were old enough to attend for us Lockes, was Ojai in 1957 Jane Mansfield was miss Flying Tiger and the last year General Chennault was alive. Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 5 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott discusses his appreciation for the Chinese mechanics he worked alongside in the AVG and how Pearl Harbor informed the AVG's work in the days that followed. At the AVG reunion in 1963 we met with Dr. James Turpin from Coronado who ran an NGO medical missionary outfit called Project Concern. He said that Project wished to expand back into South East Asia and Vietnam. The entire Locke family was in Vietnam from 1963 to 1970. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Vance Locke son of Robt. P.(Burma Bob) Locke Descanso California. Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8cc8485abe744ebe9130e596b1e4f8e0.mp4 e1af8b3ea55553e61a949ab4e2d50417 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cf77195b8b2a0a4233ed2e86f634d089.pdf fb0df7da45036f31b71985b2cff2bc84 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 6] CHARLIE MOTT: There's an interesting aside about these nights operations we were out there waiting for the warning to take off they were coming and we discovered that we were all former Navy pilots and so just for the hell of it we started making believe we were taking off from the carrier, no action just on the radio. So we had our little fun and games some. FRANK BORING: Start from the beginning… CHARLIE MOTT: An interesting aside on these night operations one night we were on the alert and we were all carrier pilots and just for the hell of it we simulated a carrier to deck operation, take-off and landing, in the groove and all the rest of it. Some two months later I had a formal interrogation as a prisoner of war by the top Japanese intelligent officer, came from Saigon, and he interrogated me about the presence of an American carrier in the Indian Ocean. Fortunately he could not speak English, but he spoke French thru an Indian who spoke French and English and translated it into English for me so I could catch all the asides. We knew that the Japs were sitting on our frequencies. And I'm quite sure they were sitting on our frequencies and thought they had picked up an American carrier in the Indian Ocean. A phantom, but interesting. But after Japs desisted in their daylight attacks we in the AVG took the defense. If you are going to win a war in the air you are going �to get them on the ground. It is a primary axiom, we did it in the Persian Gulf. It is an axiom in the air combat aerial forces combat that if you can get them on the ground this is where you really make big money. At this point having achieved a degree of air superiority, certainly not supremacy, but superiority over Rangoon we started to go on the offense. Now the Japs has occupied Thailand, more or less the Thais agreed to under duress. A lot of people don't know it, but in March 1942 Thais declared war on us, we never declared war back because we never heard about it. The Japs had built so forward air bases as well as taking over some Thai air bases one of the forward air bases was almost on a direct line from Rangoon to Moulmein right almost on the border between Thailand and Burma. It was place called Meshot, which was a forward air base and the British had taken some pictures of it and lo and behold it was heavily populated with fighters. They requested that we attack it and Newkirk agreed. We were actually under a de facto operational control of the British at this time. Chennault had agreed to leave a squadron there to defend the Burma Road. And the British, of course, that was there area. I was acting, Newkirk wasn't there for some reason or other, so I laid the flight on and Tex had taken one and I decided this was mine so I set it up in a little different basis from the dawn attack idea, but to catch them at high noon with the faces in the mess bucket. There were 4 of us on this raid, while we are talking about the flight planning aspects, Tex came to see me and he allowed as how he ought to take the operation. He had been very successful. I said Tex, don't disagree with you very often, but I'm taking this. In other words, I was pulling rank on him. Tex went away unhappy, but I'll tell you I'll never argue with Tex again. Because this is the raid where I got shot down. The circumstances were that we took off in good style, there was the Bay of Bengal there and came over about 20 - 25,000 feet, there was a [?] base - visibility unlimited and spotted the field right on the nose and left two up top for top cover and we went down to strafe with the idea that after we had exhausted our ammunition why the other two would come down if there was no air opposition. We sure in hell caught them unawares �and made a normal strafing run at high speed, very low and as I approached the field I could see some people on it they were working at the end of the runway actually [?] it. Chennault had briefed me that the chances are the Japanese employed local laborers. So I didn't open fire on this party but instead fired right over their heads must have scared them to death. In the ready flight line where there were 4 fighters lined up I went 1, 2, 3, 4. And we sure as hell hit them. Then went looking around for places where they had [?] them around the field and found two and pulled up and another chandelle? found another pair and was making a run on them around 30 feet and going flat out it is going around 250 knots and just I opened fire something big happened. I picked up, you can hear rounds that hit you in an airplane, it’s like being inside of a dumpster someone hits it with a hammer particularly it is near you. But here is sort of a big bang and the engine quit cold. The normal reaction was oh, shit and I had it… I then started shifting tanks and working the waddle pump, checking the mags from one to the other and working throttle back and forth I even though in terms of doing a slow roll in terms of getting rid of some obstruction in the fuel line--nothing worked. Just dead stick. At this time, time had run out and nothing to do but get out -- nothing but jungle in front of me. I was beyond the edge of the field, not much, but beyond it. Pointed in the wrong direction. I pulled up rolled over and kicked down. And I can still remember the sight of the trees coming up at me, because the parachute was slow opening and all of a sudden it jerked it opened I hit the tree and came to a stop swinging like a big plum about 20-25 feet above the ground in this jungle giant. So there I was and I concluded that if I could just get on the ground it was going to be a fast Jap that caught me. I had my 38 and it wasn't far from the border. I thought I could evade. But I couldn't get out of my damn parachute. We were using Chinese parachutes which had quick release, you hit one thing here and the four straps would pop out. I did it. Nothing happened. Did it again, harder, nothing happened. And there I was. So I took the 38 and pointed, there a steel pin in it, pointed it at the lease and bang that sprung one strap loose. By this time I was �really exhausted and I was trying to climb out of the parachute when I just slipped out of it and hit the ground and that's when I really got bugged up, I got bugged up hitting the tree, but really bugged up when I hit the ground. I was just lying there, the airplane had hit about quarter, half mile away. I landed on my feet. When I hit the ground I lit on my feet and my right foot gave way because I jammed the bones together and I hit my right flank and fractured my pelvis somehow. At the same you time you know when you fall if you hit your hands real fast you can break your fall, well, I did that and my left hand just broke off a compound fracture and the bone stuck in the ground. And also when I collapsed I fractured a couple of ribs. I didn't feel any great sensation of pain, I was fully conscious. That's the way it is with serious wounds. I was just laying there then. The airplane... oh, incidentally, I had my gun in my hand and when I fell out and when I hit it got thrown about 15-20 feet away, but I wouldn't move. Meanwhile the airplane had lit quarter, half mile away and was on fire and there was ammunition in the bay still and occasionally it would go pop, pop. Well, I mentioned that everybody was parachute conscious and so were the Japs and somehow or other the word seem to get around that there had been a paratroop landing because the airplane was there and they had surrounded it and it was still fighting and they were shooting and evidently they got shooting at one another and there was a hell of a fire fight going on. Meanwhile, I was just lying there and never saw them. All of a sudden a Jap jumped out from behind a bush and stuck his bayonet in my fanny, not much and said something that sounded like "Oss". I shook my head and he jabbed me again and I tried to get up then he realized I couldn't make it. About that time the sergeant came up the rest of the operation there, some officers around, but they didn't show up yet. A bunch of about 15 Japanese came in they had their topees on their bayonets fixed they were running around me in circles like Indians did in the movies. This went on for a few minutes and then an officer came on the scene and a couple of them nipped out and cut down some big bamboo's there and took their pants off and may a field stretcher �and put me on it. We started out for the airfield. Got to the edge of airfield and I raised up to see what was going, like I could see the airplanes here and there Anyhow I never saw them as one of the Japs started beating me over the head with a bayonet, I think the dull end of the bayonet not the sharp end because he put some head cuts on me. But all he did was I was still completely conscious he relieved some of the pain. He was pulled off and then we went across the field and about that time the pants broke and I came up on the parallel bars they put me down in this tent that was evidentially the operations tent and they put some field dressing on my arm and bandages up my cuts and then they all stood around and looked at me hard eyed. Just looked at me. And said you're American. I said yes. They said do you shoot Japanese soldiers? I said no, I only shoot Japanese airplanes. Fortunately I hadn't opened fire on the gang on the end of the runway because there could have been some Japs in there. By this time they were busy on the telephone and they got orders from Bangkok to send this guy to Bangkok clearly. I didn't understand Japanese at that time. So with that they put me on a trunk and started driving me to a rail head. It was a rough road, bumpy, I passed out. Woke up and had a Japanese topee, a light sun helmet. It was over my face. I peeked up from under it and the tailgate was down the guard consisted of 4 guards plus a corp man had a first aid thing and he gave me a couple of shots of morphine on the trip. There [?] bayonets were out cutting straw, rice straw in a dry paddy. Holy smokes, they are going to burn me. But they all rushed around and put them in sheaves and put them in a big stack and lifted me up and put it in the bed of the truck and put me on top of it because their orders were to bring me back alive and they were afraid I wouldn't make it. So we bumped and bumped and bumped for hours I have no recollection of time, but we arrived at this station and after a couple of hours wait the train came in and I was on my way to Bangkok. Well, it took over 3 days to get to Bangkok and they were pretty miserable because I couldn't pee I was paralyzed, couldn't defecate either. It got to be pretty uncomfortable. Eventually I convinced the Japs that I ought to have some help in �making water they got a hold of a doctor and he helped the kidneys to function, but the bowels didn't move for a whole week. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v06 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 6 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott describes the raid where he was shot down by the Japanese and injured upon landing when escaping his parachute, in addition to the experience of being discovered and taking a train to Bangkok. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7ebe63b4cfdb55809b89c64d9d3f305a.mp4 538e74d6ba618d1c4edd1b188edfacb7 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5c091b1b3963ffbaa561248b81c7e0ed.pdf 0b747ed0fae434e99cf18dcb52aa965b PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 7] CHARLIE MOTT: Continuing on the trip down to Bangkok I spent it on a stretcher in the baggage car. There was an interesting visit by some Thai officers who spoke English they expressed the thought that they were very sorry to see you in this situation and I told them you are not half as sorry as I am to be in. Arrived in Bangkok after about 3 days and was taken to a Japanese hospital. Which actually turned out to be one of the buildings of Chulalongkorn University. Modern, concrete. And they put me a room and left me alone and I slept on thin futon and the normal Japanese hospital food which is quite different which is quite different from U. S. hospital food I can tell you. The Japanese had a philosophy that if you were in the hospital you weren't doing the Emperor any good and the name of the game was to get you the hell out of there as fast as possible and motivation was a part of it. They didn't go anything in particular for me but they left me alone. For example, I noticed when I arrived there that my arm was very poorly set. The Japanese were offering any traction so I decided I'd do it myself and I figured out what I wanted was rotary movement. These two bones they had to overlap wherefore the two critical things was to one keep them from knitting together so that all four were one big mass, keep the mobility there, the other was to make sure the critical dimension which is hate to say this but the bar stance with is having flat surface on the bottom so I took the split off and my cuts where the bone came thru pulled it back and it seemed to be clean so I got �this another couple of compresses put them on and then I lined it up my way, but with an overlap such as the two bones were separated. After a period of a couple of weeks it seemed to take hold and I had limited movement. The same way with the foot. The important thing was to be able to walk. You need this motion. And so for nights I slept with my foot up against the wall such that the foot was flat and the bone were in a plain instead of one here and one there and all sorts of stresses. It turned out that it wasn't a bad job because although I don't have the rotary motion on the right foot I could still work brake pedals on airplanes and for some years I passed the flight physical, no strain. The ribs healed, the pelvis seemed to be taking care of itself. The fact that my bowels were paralyzed was really painful and I talked I talked to the Jap doctor that had that particular ward and I was in there with the rest of the chaps only in a little separate room. I told him I needed an enema and he delegated a Japanese corp man, a medical troop, to give me an enema. So I laid on my side and he gave me an enema. Well, by this time it was over a week and there was considerable back pressure. So all of sudden there's a great gushing and boom it hit the wall. Corp man went off the deep end and he went rushing to get the medical officer and the medical officer came in and he spoke pretty good English and he said, you very bad soldier. In Japanese Army and he used this word, we do not defecate on wall. I was so relieved I could have received a beating at that time and felt happy about it. But anyhow that lasted for about 3 months and by that time I was able to stand on my feet and take a couple of steps so they moved me out of the hospital and they put me in with some 3 other prisoners. Actually right at the Burma Army Headquarters in Bangkok. Which was then located in a former Catholic Girls School and we were right above the guard house. The second floor. There were 4 of us. There was a British resident from Victoria Point, which is the southernmost town in Burma. His chief of police and a stray policeman. They were Burma British, full Burma and then the American. They would let us out to take a walk around the compound there daily in the afternoon. They were using this as a troop barrack so there were a lot of troops there and �there was a three stories with porches inside facing the compound. I could hear these Japs talking you shoot him he Burmese, no shoot, too bad. Anglo Burmese don't know. So we were training aids. Meanwhile there was no physical abuse or torture or anything like that. The average Japanese guard was a pretty friendly type and we would break him down over a period of a couple of weeks. After all it is not very comfortable being in a full uniform with leggings, heavy boots on a hot night. Now we are approaching summer season. So the Japs would change the guard every two weeks and put a fresh bunch in there. I began to learn Japanese simply by talking to the guards who all wanted to try out their Japanese -- it was pretty boring to go in there and they maintained their guard in a sort of ante place and then we had the place where we slept. One morning a Jap pilot came and he had typical leather, big pouch they carry when they are carrying a message and he spoke very good English. And he came up and announced that he had come to take me to my friends. I said well, I am very happy. He said and I wish you a pleasant life. We that we marched out and got in a truck. This is just backtracking a little bit but when the Japs captured me they took all my clothes and when it came time for me to be released from the hospital I got new clothes. Now the American ambassador was still in residence, his name was Mr. Peck. He knew I was there it had been in the newspapers. Japanese you know weren't set up to buying clothes for prisoners. They simply went to Mr. Peck and asked him to send some money to outfit this American they are holding. And he did, he sent 50 [?] then that was [?] 25 cents. With that the Japs went out and bought me a nice blue Arrow shirt , some Chinese business man pants and Chinese underwear some thin socks and nice pair of Florsheim type shoes--high class, of course I couldn't get in them, because my foot was all swell up out of shape. That was my uniform and I asked the Jap officers why did you buy these civilian clothes? I'm a military prisoner. They replied, if we buy soldier clothes Japanese troops will shoot you. So, that's a good logical explanation. So anyhow we got on a train and we went down to the main station and it was feeling of getting back into civilization. People were �going about their business. One very attractive French girl and made a mission to find out who I was. She kind of eased up and said a few words in French and I was able to pass on my name and I never heard anything about it. Then the Japs got up on a huff and chased her away. Train came in and we got in this coach. A day coach. We had a seat. In front of us were a lot of Thai prisoners. I asked who are they? Bad Thai man. At that time one of them turned around, he didn't have any teeth, [?], ugly looking thing, shackles, I said where we going--same place. No, no different. We got to a place called Ban Pong which is sort of down the main line railway with Singapore about 70-80 miles. Train stopped and we got off. I could see some troops in Australian hats working along the railroad and they were shifting ties and doing coolie work. The Jap escorted me into what turned out to me the British POW camp. There I was turned over to the British. I became a British POW for the rest of the incarceration until very late. So that was the end of the story of the AVG'er got shot down on the 8th of January. I stayed in there this Ban Pong was the eastern terminus of the infamous River Kwai railway. I worked on that for 3 1/2 years. An interesting aside on this period when I was kept with these 3 other British subjects on the second floor of the guardhouse. Right over the fence was Bangkok, private homes, they played their radios very loud. There was an English broadcast. They started out the news broadcast every night by playing the Thai national anthem and then the news came on in English. So I knew exactly, in general of course, what was happening. That we had set up a defense that Rangoon had fallen, that we had set up a defense for the help of the Japanese around Toungoo. Then another series of battles up around the oil fields. While I was captive there at the Burma Army Headquarters on the second floor above the guardhouse I could hear the radios from the civilian houses =. The rear headquarters of the Burma Army was in Bangkok and I was held in the guardhouse of the Japanese Army headquarters there in Bangkok. The fence was just behind the guardhouse and I could hear the radios in the civilian houses just over the fence. Every night there was a news broadcast preceded by the playing of the �Thai national anthem. The news broadcast was in English so I knew that during this period and now we're talking about something like March that we'd managed to patch together a defense with the help of the Chinese army around Toungoo and then later on up around the oil fields at United Young ?. I could follow that now when I left there and that period lasted for 3 months I totaled 6 months after I was shot down. I was in with the British prisoners and because I was in charge of the POW motor pool we had one truck for every 600 prisoners or actually 55,000 white men plus 100,000 coolies building a railroad along the River Kwai. The British called it the death railway because about 1/3 died and went out the hard way. But I survived because as long as you are on the line of supply you are not going to starve to death anyhow and we were also in the position to steal from the Japanese which we did liberally. When you could get 16 pickles a gallon by bleeding the emperor. So every chance we could we did, but don't get caught. Disastrous to get caught. The news I hear in Bangkok, course it helped me in spirits in the sense that it appeared that the Japs could be stopped on the ground because they hadn't been stopped anywhere. Guadalcanal was under way but it was still a bloody battle. Every place else, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaya, they just walked thru. And this was very encouraging of course then that defense failed and we had the great Stillwell walkout and it was all over in Burma until the 2nd battle of Burma in '44 and '45. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v07 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 7 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott describes his difficult recovery period in the Japanese hospital in Bangkok and later being a prisoner of war at the Burma Army Headquarters before becoming a British POW. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6ce87abf97ede7bc09549b66fb0969dc.mp4 093e898c96970496a0642b01d36acdce https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b4d7a029d7fbbe48352674ea9066751f.pdf 724ee76c636af4cf9ace6b509184e197 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 8] CHARLIE MOTT: When I arrived at the Japanese Headquarters of the Burma Army in Bangkok I could listen to the civilian radio, Bangkok radio so I was aware of what was happening in general, but remember, that news was censored. No there was no specific news about the AVG because they were the hostiles and they were bad news to the Thais. The Thais declared war on us in March so we were hostile. At the same time there's enough shall we say frankness that it was clear that there was fighting going on around Toungoo that involved Chinese troops as well as British troops that had been reinforced. Rangoon had fallen. Some resistance there. It was also clear that the Japs had finally prevailed. We had evacuated into India and China. Later on and I'm talking the period when I was working along the River Kwai with the British I was part of the British espionage system. The British were great spies. Because of my position of being able to get around on trucks. We actually had a secret radio which was punishable by death a couple of times. My job was to transmit that information to the camps up and down the river. Now, news is a great hunger. People have a great hunger for news--good news in particular. When prisoners of war are deprived of it, it has a very bad morale effect. On the other hand when they get news and know what's going on particularly if it is favorable it can buoy their hopes it is a great morale booster. Of course we hit our nadir there when the Philippines surrendered. And from then on it was all generally good news so it helped the �troop’s morale. We had to be very careful about distribution because the Japs had a nasty habit of eavesdropping under the eaves of the hut and listen and if anybody mentioned any news the police would come and grab him and asked who told you. And they would go right down the line. Now each guy would hold out for maybe a week or so or maybe just a day and they would get to the source. We always had a cover story. There was a newspaper printed in Bangkok in English and of course there was a [?] which is an English paper printed in Japan. One case where they caught the guys red-handed with a radio which is peanut can about this big. We were able to keep the source open. FRANK BORING: At this point if we could --- your opinions and emotions, too, of Claire Chennault. CHARLIE MOTT: There's no doubt about it Chennault had charisma. But not in the sense of being a spellbinder, great speech maker and all the rest of it. It was certainly dedicated and he transmitted that to you. He knew what he was talking about when he talked about the characteristics of Japanese airplanes. He instructed us in detail on the contents of the Japanese tactical manual. Every using some of the terms that they used. For example, the area behind the tail where a fighter gets on your tail you're in deep yogurt. The Japanese tactical manual calls it the death area. Sort of like our troops call things the killing zone. He was certainly determined. He had a sense of humor, but he didn't show it very often. He was not in good health. He smoked too much. He already had symptoms of what killed him in '58, lung cancer. And he was subject to bronchitis and in fact during the initial battles there over Rangoon he was never there he was sick in Kunming. Not bedridden, but sick. Chennault also had one bad ear, I forget which one it was. Ed Rector mentioned that he gruff exterior but he really had a heart of gold. He somehow either intrinsically or he picked it up he had the oriental trait that the Japanese have and the Chinese have of that attitude is extremely important. You know you can pull an [?] crime, but if you apologize for it and say well I won't do it again, I �see the light, you've convinced me, they'll forgive you. Chennault had that characteristic. He tolerated things that normal sundowners, straightliners, Army regular officer would never tolerate. Chennault was extremely loyal. He expected loyalty up and you certainly got loyalty down. If you once one of his boys you were his boys for life. I know when I came back after the war Chennault was quite busy setting up the [?] of our operation and doing other things. He had offices there in [?] in the Washington Hotel across from the Treasury Building in Washington. Chennault always had time to talk to his boys. Shortly before he died I was over in Taipei on business when I was the Plans Officer for Navy Task Force 72 which was naval component commander of the Taiwan defense force. An Admiral by the name of Arty Doyle, whom I had known previously was the vice admiral resident on the island and commanded Taiwan defense command. Arty passed the word that he wanted to talk to me and I came in and made the appropriate greeting and who was sitting on the couch but General Chennault. It was just like it was 30 years before. I said General I forget which is your bad ear (I think it was the right one) so I got to the right side and we reminisced. He always had time for his boys. I know of no other senior officer who could have done the job he did. Jack Newkirk, Scarsdale Jack, as the newspapers named him was a competent pilot. He came from the east coast, I forget which carrier I think Yorktown. He was in fighters. Personable. I got to know him pretty well on the way over on the Jaegersfontein. Consequently he was my nominee for what was to become the second squadron or the Navy squadrons. We had Navy pilots scattered thru the other squadrons. In fact the majority of the pilots were Navy pilots if you include the Marine Corps which is part of the Navy. Jack did a credible job. He and I got along pretty well until we got to Rangoon and then Jack started to socialize with the British and they'd fly in with the booze and Jack would come back late at night wanting this done and that done and I said Jack --No, Way. At the time I said it that became a point of issue. The next �morning he disappeared. But then Jack was a dedicated guy he pressed the attack too hard and he got killed. FRANK BORING: Background on Greg Boyington CHARLIE MOTT: Well, Greg Boyington was a trouble maker. I knew him remotely I actually knew who Greg Boyington was at North Island a relatively small group. We didn't really fraternize much with the Marine pilots, but they were there and we meet them and of course some my classmates in flight school were Marines so I got to have drink with them when occasionally. We lived on a street there in Coronado and as it turned out Greg Boyington marched by our front door in full regalia every morning on his way to catch his ride with somebody. Greg was putting on what I could call the chesty puller act. You know chesty puller the swaggery Marine. Actually a good general. He appeared to be trying to emulate him. So I couldn't resist it if I happen to be there waiting for my car pool to arrive and Greg would come by I'd give him the old Marine Corp hymn. And Greg didn't like it. Greg had a reputation for being a real hard-boiled guy, but he didn't bother me. Nothing every came of it. I asked about Greg and Greg was you know at the bar he had 2 drinks, he was married and the marriage wasn't working out and he had a judgment against him and he wouldn't pay it and that was [?] and so he was just in a personal situation where number one the Marine were glad to get rid of him and two he was creating a new environment, but actually he took his trouble with him. Well, let's start in at the beginning. When I signed up for the AVG I was convinced that one of two things was going to happen. It was going to be a howling success or a dismal failure, nothing in between. And when I got there I didn't change my mind but I thought until we got in action there was strong possibility that it was a dismal failure. Because you tend to create hobgoblins out of the bad things that happen even though fortunately human beings are naturally optimistic and they remember the good things. As it turned out circumstances were such and the abilities of the guys �were such that they became heroic and of course there is always gratifying to be one of the original members of Lafayette Escadrille, when though if you read their history you'll find out that they weren't all great characters at all. So it's personal satisfaction while that I had that experience and also that I had friends like Ed Rector who become part of my life and will be right until the very end. So it has always been a source of satisfaction to me, personal satisfaction that I was able to go thru the experience although certainly not the whole way. I recognize the fact that in many respects I went thru the good part. Because later on we lost more airplanes, we got run out of Burma and there was more friction and I missed that. After the war and after my wife and I were reunited. Chennault made me an offer to come back to China and chose not to accept it after talking to the wife because I had enough of that and so had she. So I chose to go back into the Navy and see if I could still fly airplanes. I went thru all the hoops and hurdles. In those days if you came back to the Navy as a POW you were no hero--question was what the hell did you do wrong? In my case, you were supposed to come back after a year not 4 years, what the hell have you been doing? We had a bunch of us about 70 actually that went thru refresher training, went thru all the [?] just fast. Went thru it fast because various training units were glad to get rid of us because we weren't too cooperative. We insisted that were 1 qualified and two senior. Such as when you get out of an airplane the instructor gets out first. Well, we soon changed that custom. Age and experience rank has its privileges, wait until I get out. This didn't go over so big with these instructors, but we pulled it off. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v08 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 8 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott discusses his respect of General Chennault and declining his offer to return to China after being reunited with his wife and going back into the Navy. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a8e13ed4cb69e45d9430eddf5687335d.mp4 46d2eefa455f6fdf6e175c06fe686130 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fb230ca8cc7764ecd909081344866569.pdf e91006b64adecb97edbdc213fb1102ad PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 9] CHARLIE MOTT: In summation, in retrospect, the question of the enduring contribution of the AVG I think is important. I recently read these papers that were circa about September 1941. I don't think that there is any question that what the AVG saved China from collapse. The messages from the Chinese were full of you might say boogey men but I don't believe so. They were helpless against Japanese invasion of the Yunnan Province culminating in taking Chumai [?]. The only reason it didn't happen was they had bigger fish to fry, i.e., they opened up World War II in December. They were very vulnerable, but the fact that the AVG was there and available served as a deterrent. Not only a deterrent to the Japanese but hope for the future of the Chinese. Relative to the effect on America course not many people remember those dark days when the fleet was sunk and burned in Pearl Harbor, battles on Savo Island, the loss of the Philippines, Bataan surrender, Bataan death march, the surrender of Corregidor, the fiasco of the British in Malaya, the fall Java, Indonesia, the Dutch East Indies, all these just happened like that in a period of 3 months. The only real ray of hope was the fact that the AVG proved that the Japanese could be beaten. They could be stopped. That they weren't supermen. That it was done by the AVG is I think is unique I think that group of men whether they were AVG or regular Army or regular Navy would have done the same thing. �FRANK BORING: That's an interesting point to stop. Let's put into context what has been said about you and the newspaper, Time Magazine, Life Magazine and all that kind of stuff. CHARLIE MOTT: Flying Tigers is a popular name which was inflicted on the AVG. However, it is descriptive the tiger is a [?] in Chinese, old tiger you know. So it is an honorable title as far as the Chinese go. They picked it up. I think it is coupled with the distinctive shark configuration - painting. It glamorize something and provoked interest of people into what really happened. Anybody can doll up an airplane and put out a lot of propaganda, but it is what is behind it. Some economic analysis has been made of the cost of Flying Tigers and every one that I've seen concludes that if you want to wage a war this is the way to do it. Small, competent, professional force. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v09 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 9 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott discusses the enduring contribution of the AVG and the sense of hope the Flying Tigers gave the Chinese people during that time. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7dc66b3d01c731e2698ac2cc3a7252a2.pdf b24353e2d50a0345b9f50159b1d6e787 PDF Text Text Young Lords In Lincoln Park Interviewee: Charlyne Martínez-Villegas Interviewers: José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez Location: Grand Valley State University Special Collections Date: 6/5/2012 Biography and Description Charlyne Martínez-Villegas came to Grand Rapids, Michigan from New Jersey where she loved it because there were many Puerto Ricans. In Grand Rapids she was only one of a few. Another reason that she loved New Jersey is that that is where her mother and father were still married. She explains that as soon as their family arrived in Grand Rapids, her parents divorced. Her mother worked hard trying to make ends meet, preparing homemade pasteles that people would order from her ahead of time and then she would have to have them ready at all hours of the day or week. Eventually her mother’s homemade business led to opening up a small restaurant on Grandville Avenue which is always filled with patrons. In Grand Rapids, Ms. Martínez-Villegas began to get in trouble at school and in the neighborhood on the southeast side of the city, by Garfield Park. She missed her friends back in New Jersey and in school “she just did not fit in…the kids were mostly white, or black.” She explains that she could relate a little better with black children because they shared a lot of things in common. She also missed her father. The Young Lords were passing out flyers door-to-door. But they did not use the name “Young Lords” publicly. Instead they called themselves the “KO CLUB.” And they had a way with words. She explains that they had to read some pledges and phrases and everything began with KO: “Keep Open Your Hearts” or “Keep Standing Up for Yourself” or “Keep Open Your Mind.” Their meetings were held in a United Methodist Church, and the heads of the KO Club were Pastor Marge Berman, who �was of Mexican descent, and Mr. José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez. Members of the Club were also shown several videos about the Young Lords.The young people who participated in the Club and the small congregation were supportive. But there were a few within the church who did not like the Young Lords, who had taken over Methodist Churches in New York and Chicago. Those same individuals also did not like Pastor Berman, who was new and wanted more interaction with the community. Pastor Berman had read a newspaper article about the Young Lords while Mr. Jiménez was working as a substance abuse counselor for Project Rehab. She contacted him by phone. And when they met for the first time, Pastor Berman told him that he was sent by God. To which Mr. Jiménez replied, “Did God send any money? Because I have bills.” Mr. Jiménez did want to organize and help youth, but he wanted to do so around issues related to the Young Lords. Pastor Berman just wanted to save souls. It was a good understanding, but Mr. Jiménez would have to work incognito because using the name Young Lords name would be like saying the word “gang” in Grand Rapids. The KO Club worked well because it was not an after school program. It was an “in the neighborhood program.” It was focused on youth like Ms. Martínez-Villegas who did not want anything to do with school. And while others were saying to all youth who got in trouble, “Lock them up and throw away the key.” the KO Club had their own public slogan: “Support Youth For A Change.” Parents had to get involved, because the KO Club would visit them in their home and let them know that they were not babysitters. Once a month parents would attend amateur night where the KO CLUB members would perform for them and the rest of the community. Organizing was constantly being done door-to-door. KO CLUB was like a good gang and everyone was a member. Their colors were black and purple, but their symbol was a heart with KO in the middle and a cross above the heart. Once a year there was an annual dinner with the community where many members of the United Methodist Church attended including the Bishop. It was cost effective as it was run more like support groups divided by age: pee wee, juniors, and seniors. They would all have a chance to express themselves in a variety of ways, including discussion, with music, or in sports. The only problem came from the adults. Some wanted to make it more ecumenical to include the community at large and others wanted the organization to be more faith-based. Still others wanted control. And Pastor Berman was moved to a church in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Jiménez was left alone, fighting church elders who were paranoid that Mr. Jiménez might want to speak for the church. Mr. Jiménez understood their fears and resigned in an amicable way. The youth program continues today and it is being run more privately within the church. Ms. Martínez-Villegas says that it is what she needed then with the loss of her father, and that participating in the KO Club turned her life around. �Transcript JOSE JIMENEZ: If you can give me your name, your date of birth, and where you were born. CHARLYNE VILLEGAS-MARTINEZ: Charlyne Martínez-Villegas, 7/23/87 in Caguas, Puerto Rico. JJ: Seven -- 7/23/87 in Caguas, Puerto Rico. CMV: Yes. JJ: Oh, that’s pretty good. You know, I’m from Caguas, too. CMV: Oh, (Spanish) [00:00:19 - 00:00:22] probably if you were born in the same one, it doesn’t exist anymore. JJ: So you were born in the city? CMV: I really don’t know because after being three months old, Mom moved us to New Jersey. JJ: But you said Villegas. You said -- CMV: Mm-hmm, yeah. JJ: Okay. And so what year did you come? You said after three years old, you moved to -- CMV: No, three months. JJ: Oh, three months. CMV: So in ’87, we moved to Newark. JJ: To Newark, New Jersey? CMV: Mm-hmm. 1 �JJ: And what do you remember of Newark? I mean, what -- how long were you -how long were you there? CMV: It was craziness. I was [00:01:00] there till I was like six years old, six or seven years old. JJ: Oh, okay. You said it was freezing? CMV: No, it was crazy. JJ: Oh, really? CMV: It was crazy. Of course, you’re not going to remember that much when you was a little kid. But where we would live or whatnot, we lived on Mount Prospect in Newark, we lived in South Orange and stuff. And it was fun because we had the family around and everything. But at the same time, it’s like after a certain time, we couldn’t go out of the house. JJ: Okay, so you had the family around but there were a lot more fam- -- there were a lot more family living there in that area? CMV: Mm-hmm. JJ: In that area? CMV: Yeah. JJ: And was it a Puerto Rican neighborhood or...? CMV: Yeah, it was. On Mount Prospect, I remember -- oh my goodness. It was always a whole bunch of Puerto Ricans. Like in the apartments that we lived at, almost [00:02:00] every single window had a Puerto Rican flag. So it’s -- the whole neighborhood was full of Puerto Ricans. I think now, if I pass by Mount Prospect, there, you hardly see the flags hanging up on the windows or anything like that. 2 �It’s more of a multicultural neighborhood now, but the Puerto Ricans that were there before aren’t there now. JJ: And what happened to them? CMV: To be honest with you, I’m not really sure what exactly happened to them. But as far as I’m concerned, either they moved to different parts of Newark or they moved to a different neighborhood or something like that. JJ: Okay. Did they move to like the suburbs or something or maybe they improved or no? CMV: They probably did improve because a lot of them were starting off on their own businesses and stuff so they probably moved [00:03:00] to the suburbs to better neighborhoods than to just living at a -- at that specific area. Got their own houses and stuff like that. JJ: Was that area downtown or near the lake or near the ocean or...? CMV: No, nothing like that. It was actually close to 2nd Ave so to get to downtown, it was probably like 10 minutes or so. JJ: Okay, so it was 10 minutes to downtown? CMV: Yeah, it was like 10 minutes to downtown depending in the traffic. JJ: So then, the rents must’ve went up or something like that, no? CMV: Probably. I was too little to even know how much Mami and Papi were even paying on their rent. JJ: Okay. Okay, so you lived there till you said you were like six years old? CMV: Mm-hmm. JJ: So about five years or something like that? 3 �CMV: Yeah, like around five, six years, something like that, yeah. JJ: Five or six years. Okay, and then [00:04:00] what’s your brothers’ and sisters’ names? I mean, did you -- CMV: I’m the youngest of three so my brother’s the oldest. His name is [Brian?] Martínez, and then my sister, she’s the middle child and her name is [Jocelyn Martínez Espindola?]. She got married. JJ: What’s the last name? CMV: Espindola. JJ: Espindola. Okay. Okay, and then so you came -- how did you get here to Grand Rapids? CMV: Car. JJ: You just drove in the car? CMV: Yeah, we just drove in the car. JJ: You didn’t take the train (inaudible)? CMV: No, no trains, no airplanes, nothing. JJ: All right. Did you know people here or...? CMV: My mom, the reason that she moved over here is because of her sister. She’s the one who moved my mom over here and told her that Grand Rapids was more of a better place to raise your child, to start a family, the rent’s better and all that stuff so that’s why my mom moved over here. JJ: So the rent’s better? What do you mean, the rent over there was too high or something? 4 �CMV: Most likely, [00:05:00] that’s what my mom tells me is that the rent was too expensive. And when she came over here, she was surprised at the rent, how cheap it was. JJ: And were the houses bigger here or...? CMV: Yeah. JJ: So the houses were bigger and the rent was cheaper here. CMV: Exactly. JJ: So that -- okay. So what other reason did she move besides that? Or was that the main reason? CMV: That was one of the main reasons. The other reason -- the main reason would be that the houses were bigger, more space for your money. And then also, it was quiet, it was tranquil. It wasn’t -JJ: It had less crime? CMV: Exactly. The crime was not as high. JJ: There was a lot of crime there. CMV: Too much. JJ: In the Puerto Rican neighborhood, there was a lot of crime. CMV: Yeah. Mm-hmm. JJ: Okay. Drugs or gangs? CMV: Drugs, gangs, fights, killings. You name it, it was there. JJ: Okay. [00:06:00] And so you came to Grand Rapids around what year? Do you remember or...? 5 �CMV: We came to Grand Rapids probably like around ’94, ’95, somewhere around there. JJ: And where did you move to? CMV: When we moved over here, we started living at my aunt’s house, Aunt Eola, and what street is that? JJ: How do you spell the name of...? CMV: (inaudible) E-O-L-A. JJ: Oh, Eo-- Eola lived over there on -- CMV: Yeah, over there on -- off of 28th Street and, oh my goodness, I want to say Madison? JJ: Okay, Madison? CMV: Yeah. I think it was Madison and on 28th Street right behind the BP gas station that’s there. JJ: Okay, I think I understand. I think I know where it’s at. It’s only like one block behind half a block, half a block from 28th Street there. CMV: Yeah, yeah. JJ: Okay. So okay, and your sister lived there? You say your aunt (inaudible)? CMV: My mom’s sister, yeah. She lived there with her [00:07:00] husband and her three kids. And so -JJ: So you moved in the same house with them? CMV: Yeah, we moved into the same house. They had the upstairs and we had the basement. JJ: Okay, they had the house, they handled the house. It was their house or...? 6 �CMV: It was their house. We used to have so much fun when we were growing up in there. We used to have barbeques almost every single weekend, we would -they would be in the garage roasting the pig, a la Varita like all Puerto Ricans do. It was fun. Those were the good old days. JJ: Those were the good old days up there? Okay, so you say you used to roast a pig? Not in the house. You didn’t kill the pig in the house, did you? CMV: I think they did. JJ: (laughs) They did. CMV: Yeah, they -- yeah, I’m telling you. When it comes to my -- back in the day, my dad getting together with my aunt’s husband, it was -- I’m telling you. [00:08:00] They could -- they would go into the garage, they would kill the rabbits so they could be able to do the stew later on. I never ate that; That’s disgusting to me. (laughs) They would roast the pork completely, they would make their own little fire pit and they would roast the pork out in the backyard. So it was fun; We had a lot of fun. JJ: Why wouldn’t they just go buy it at the store? I mean... CMV: Because that’s not the Puerto Rican tradition. It’s not the Puerto Rican tradition. Yeah, now, a lot of them, they just go to the store and get whatever part of the pork they like. But I was always told that the Puerto Rican tradition, if they want to have something traditional like they do it down at the island is get the pork, kill it yourself, do morcillas with the pig intestines and stuff, and roast the pig. JJ: So morcilla -- okay, all right. So they did morcilla, okay. Morcilla is like blood sausage or...? 7 �CMV: Yeah, blood sausage. They’re good, too. JJ: [00:09:00] Okay. Okay, so you’re living there at Eola and 28th and then you move out or -- from there? CMV: Yeah. After that, we moved to, oh my goodness, we moved to Union and Elliott off of Burton. And we lived there from like ’96 and on. JJ: Now, I didn’t get your father and mother’s names. What are their names? CMV: My dad’s name José Martínez is and my mom’s name is Glenda Villegas. JJ: Glenda -- CMV: Villegas. JJ: Villegas. Okay. And then what kind of work did they do? CMV: My dad was a mechanic and my mom at that time when we first moved over here to Grand Rapids was a stay-at-home mom for the time being, yeah. JJ: (inaudible) Okay. Now, didn’t she used to do some things? Did she sell bread, some pasteles or something for a while, right? CMV: She started selling the pasteles after [00:10:00] 2000. Before that, once she did get a job, she started working for the central kitchen for D&W. And then the one that would actually do the selling of something out of the house was her sister. She would sell cakes out of her own home and that’s how she started her business. And my mom would just do the pasteles and whatever on the side whenever she had time. JJ: And that would get her like just to supplement her income, too, I bet. 8 �CMV: Yeah. Something, just like a little -- like if she needed -- like if we needed something or she knew that there were, her and my dad, they knew that they were going to be short for the month, she would do the little bit extra. JJ: Okay. Now, was that pretty good business or...? CMV: It really was, yeah. JJ: It was? CMV: Yeah. JJ: I mean, it did pay [00:11:00] the bills or pay...? CMV: Yeah. It always paid the bills, it always put food on the table, gave us what we needed and stuff. I’m not going to say that it was a fancy life or anything like that but it did what it had to do every single month. (break in audio) JJ: Okay, okay. So you came from New Jersey over here and you were talking about the pasteles and that. But I mean, there was like a change, I mean, right? CMV: A huge change. JJ: A huge change? CMV: It was a huge change. The way that the neighborhood was and still is in Jersey is the houses are right next to each other, there’s a bunch of buildings, it’s always loud and everything. And then coming over here was so not that. There was actual yards, there was spaces between [00:12:00] the houses and even the apartments and stuff. And it wasn’t loud, it was quiet. It was something that, seriously, we needed to get used to. JJ: Okay. So were you going -- where were you going to school at? 9 �CMV: When we moved over here, I started going to -- well, we actually ended up going to three different elementary schools. We went to Burton Elementary, Buchanan Elementary, and then we ended up staying at Alger Elementary. JJ: Why did you go in three different elementary schools? CMV: Because of the district. Because of the district. That’s why we had to move from different schools. JJ: Because you moved from one -- CMV: From one place to the other. JJ: Even though you didn’t really live that far. But you just happened to be on that dividing line of the school and so you went to the three different schools. CMV: I went to the three different schools. JJ: So how was that change for you in the school? How did that affect you? CMV: [00:13:00] To be honest with you, it really didn’t affect me much because when I was in elementary school, I really wasn’t a person that -- the person that I am now. I wasn’t that person when I was a little kid. JJ: Why are you -- what do you mean the person that you are now? CMV: The person that I am now is like very talkative. I talk to a lot of people or whatnot just to get to know them or whatever. But when I was a little kid, you had to talk to me first. If you wanted to talk to me or whatever, you had to come talk to me. I wouldn’t go to you and start talking. JJ: And why was that? Any -- why do you think that? CMV: I was more shy when I was a little kid. I wasn’t really outgoing, didn’t really have a lot of friends in elementary school. 10 �JJ: You’re talking about in Jersey, [00:14:00] you were shy. CMV: No, I’m talking about here. JJ: Here in Michigan. Why were you shy? Did you go out and play a lot or whatever? CMV: Not really. I would always keep to myself. Which that was -- it was weird for me because at Roberto Clemente over there in Newark, we -- I have so many different friends and stuff of different cultures. I had Dominicans, I had Cubans, white, Blacks, all different types of cultures, I had friends. And always talking, playing with each other and stuff like that at school. And when I came over here, it was like completely different. Weird looks from the little kids and stuff like that and -JJ: You get -- your what? Your look? CMV: Weird looks. JJ: From the little kids or...? CMV: Yeah, from the classmates and stuff. So that’s -- I think that’s where I -JJ: What were the classmates? What nationalities were they? CMV: American. JJ: [00:15:00] White American or...? CMV: White American. JJ: And you got weird looks from them? CMV: I would always get weird looks from them or whatnot. And the Hispanics, the little bit of Hispanics that were even in my class when I was school or whatnot, they were the same way that I was. They kept to themselves, they were quiet or 11 �whatnot. But if I would, like with my mom, if I would go out or something like that to the store or something, I would see the same little kids and they were playing with their own little friends with -- with friends of their own neighborhoods, of their own culture. And it was different. They had their friends from their neighborhood that they played with that they would laugh with and everything like that. But when you would see them in school, it was like they kept to themselves, shy, completely blocking everybody out [00:16:00] because of the looks that we were getting when we were little kids. JJ: In the classrooms. CMV: In the classroom, yeah. JJ: In the school. So it didn’t happen in the neighborhood because you were among other -- CMV: Other people of our same culture of -- or even Blacks, African American Blacks. That they would be in the neighborhood or whatnot. They would share the same kind of culture as us because they would want to know more. You know, new persons, new culture let’s learn more, let’s become friends and stuff like that. So growing up, I was raised more around Hispanics and African Americans. JJ: And you get along fine at home. CMV: Mm-hmm. We get along perfectly fine at home. JJ: Okay. So -- but in school, there was -- you can feel it. You can feel the (inaudible) -- CMV: Yeah, you could feel that it -- that tension between [00:17:00] classmates or whatnot. 12 �JJ: Okay, so now, what school are -- so now, you’re still living there, don’t you? How long did you live there? CMV: Where? JJ: In this -- where you were -- was in Union that you mentioned near Burton? CMV: Oh, on Union and Elliott. We lived there for -- since like ’90 -- I want to say like ’96, ’97. And we actually moved out of there in ’99. My mom and -- my mom moved my brother, my sister, and myself to the neighborhood of Francis and Griggs in ’98, ’99. JJ: In ’98, ’99? CMV: Yeah, my mom and my dad, they separated. Since the house was underneath my dad’s name, my mom went, she got her own house. JJ: What was some of the reasons they gave for separation? Do you know or...? CMV: My mom cheated on my dad. JJ: Oh, your mom cheated. CMV: Yeah, my mom cheated on my dad. (laughs) JJ: [00:18:00] It’s just plain -- CMV: Plain and simple, you know? And it was kind of difficult for me to understand, me being the youngest. My brother didn’t care. He had his friends. He would be out going out in the middle of the night and stuff like that. My sister, she had her own little friends or whatnot that she made herself. And but me, it was kind of difficult for me because I’m the youngest and I wasn’t understanding it, right? With my dad would come to visit or whatnot. If he would see my mom’s boyfriend or whatever, he would start arguing with him or whatnot and it was real difficult for 13 �me to understand and it tore me apart. And there was alternating weekends that I would stay [00:19:00] with my dad and then stay with my mom. And jumping back and forth -JJ: Now, what tore you apart, the divorce or what ha- -- the cheating part? CMV: The cheating part, to be honest with you. JJ: Why would that tear you apart? CMV: That tore me apart because we were perfectly fine in Jersey to be honest with you. If we would’ve stated in New Jersey, we would’ve -- I still believe that my mom and my dad would still be together because we were around family and friends that believed that family should stick together. And it was kind of weird that after moving over here to Michigan a few years later, my mom and my dad separate which to me, it wasn’t even right. JJ: Just in a few years it can just change. CMV: In a few years, in a few years. JJ: Because there were -- you didn’t have any family there or...? CMV: The only family that we had over here was my mom’s sister. That’s it. Everybody else was over there in New Jersey. JJ: [00:20:00] So the moving kind of broke up the family. CMV: Exactly. Yeah. JJ: So the fam- -- by then, there were gains and everything like that. And then there’s -- CMV: There were gains over there and everything. But to be honest with you, as far as I know from stories that my dad would tell me and everything was he knew in the 14 �neighborhood, whatever gang members were in the neighborhood, they were like our protectors. You know, of course, yeah, I don’t even know what gang it was or anything like that, but it was like their territory. Their -- they would protect whoever lived in that area. If you lived on Mount Prospect and there was gang members that lived right among us, they would protect us. They would protect the area, the neighborhood, they protect it. So my dad, he could be outside with his friends and stuff like that [00:21:00] and not have to worry about anything. But they would let us know, look -JJ: What about the group? And they would let us know what? CMV: They would let us know, look, this is what’s going on or whatnot because they would be enough friends and stuff. Everybody knew each other in the neighborhood. JJ: And what about their favorite girls, the women? Would they be able to walk freely or...? CMV: At night time, no. At night time, no. The females, the way that they had them was if you are walking down the street and you are with a guy, the guy should always stand next to the street. He would walk in -- on the right side or the left side depending if you’re going or coming. The female would always be on the inside of the street, never on the outside. I really never understood that or anything, but that’s just the way that it was. The females were always [00:22:00] protected. JJ: Otherwise they would say that the (Spanish) or something. CMV: Yeah. That’s what I understood afterwards. 15 �JJ: Did you ever hear that term? CMV: Yeah, like if the -- if you’re walking down the street with the -- with a guy friend or whatnot and you’re the one walking next to the street or whatever, that means that basically the guy that you’re with is selling you so I understood that afterwards. JJ: But I mean, did they say that? I mean, you understood it. Did they said it? CMV: I understood it afterwards. JJ: When I grew up, that’s what they said (inaudible). CMV: Mm-hmm. Yeah, afterwards is when I understood what that meant. Because I never understood why -- if I was with a cousin of mine or something like that, he would tell me, “No, you’re standing over here. Get on my other side,” when we would walk to the store or something like that. I never understood that. And after I grew up a little bit more is when I understood what that meant. JJ: Now, the American kids, did they do that or that was just the Puerto Rican thing? CMV: It was more of a Hispanic thing. It was more of the [00:23:00] Puerto Ricans and stuff doing that. JJ: It was more Hispanic. CMV: Because the Americans, they didn’t care. It was like, “I’m walking on this side, you’re walking on that side. It doesn’t really matter or anything like that.” JJ: Interesting. Were there any other things like that in the culture that you recall or...? Or off the top of your head. CMV: Off the top of my head, when we were living -- the more memories that I have is more of Mount Prospect in north Newark. And we would have -- even though we 16 �didn’t have a yard, we will still have barbecues. We had a little fenced-in bricks, like cement floor or whatever. It was still fenced in. JJ: In the back or the front? CMV: In the front. And we would have our little grill right there, some chairs, and we would be cooking meat on the grill and everything, people from the neighborhood would come over and we’ll make it into -- it will end up as a block party kind of thing. It’ll start off as a barbecue and it’ll end up like a block party kind of thing. [00:24:00] And that’s the way that it was. When the -- if you -- if the females were outside with their parents and stuff, they always had to be with their parents and stuff. But after it started getting dark, it really didn’t matter as much of the guys being outside because they could protect their own. They could protect themselves. But the females are more vulnerable or whatnot so the females would stay inside. JJ: Now, did your mother tell you that or your father or who told you that? CMV: No, just growing up, you knew about that. JJ: You knew that just (inaudible) -- CMV: Just in the neighborhood, you knew that. JJ: Not to do it. CMV: Mm-hmm. JJ: Okay, so now you’re in Grand Rapids and you’re in Grand Rapids, Michigan and you’re -- now you’re on Francis? CMV: Yeah, Francis and Griggs. Nice neighborhood. JJ: Okay. And so your -- the divorce is taking place? 17 �CMV: Yeah, my mom and my dad. JJ: Did your mother remarry or no? CMV: She [00:25:00] stayed with the guy that she cheated on my dad with. But after that -JJ: Well, he move in or...? Later after -- CMV: Yeah, he did move in for a few months or whatnot and then -JJ: Was he Puerto Rican too or...? CMV: No. He was white, white American. And he stayed there for a few months or probably a year, I can’t remember right. And that’s when we moved into the Francis and Griggs house, that’s when all three of us became rebellious. JJ: Okay. That time that you -- now, why would you become rebellious? From the neighborhood or just from (inaudible)? CMV: Me personally -- no, just because of what was going on at home. I became rebellious, I didn’t want to go to school, I would hang around with kids from the neighborhood or whatnot. If I did go to school, [00:26:00] I really wasn’t paying attention or whatever. I would have breakdowns at school and -JJ: What do you mean breakdowns? CMV: Breakdowns. I would overthink what’s going on in my head. I would overanalyze it. Like if I was having a problem at home or whatever or the stuff that was going on between Mom and Dad, I would overanalyze it and I would just go to a little corner of the coat closet or whatever in class and I wouldn’t let nobody get near me or anything like that. If the kids would start laughing at me, I would cuss them 18 �out. I really didn’t care. I didn’t -- at a very -- at that young age in elementary school, I really didn’t care. I just wanted to leave everything behind. JJ: What do you mean, what do you mean just leave -- CMV: Just leave everything behind. I wanted -JJ: You weren’t thinking about suicide or anything? CMV: No, no, no, no, no, nothing like that. [00:27:00] I wasn’t thinking about taking my life or anything like that but I really wanted to just get my mom, get my dad, get my brother and my sister and say, “You know what? F this, we’re going back to Jersey.” Because the transition of moving from New Jersey to over here, to me at that time and still today when I think about it, that’s the reason why my mom and my dad separated. To me, that’s the reason. They could say, you know, we fell out of love, there wasn’t nothing there tying us up together no more, whatever, whatever. We were little kids. What do you mean there wasn’t nothing holding -- tying it up together anymore? We were a family. JJ: So just the fact that you moved is the reason? CMV: To me, that’s the reason why my mom and my dad separated. JJ: Because you went -- because you moved from where you had a lot of family -- CMV: And friends and stuff, we moved over here. JJ: -- to a place where you didn’t know anyone. CMV: Exactly. JJ: And now, [00:28:00] the whole world just kind of changed? I’m not putting words in your mouth. 19 �CMV: The whole world. No, no, no, no, no. It completely changed. It was something that I wouldn’t even want. JJ: And where -- and you said your sisters were? Or your brother and your sister? CMV: Yeah, my brother, he became rebellious leaving. JJ: Why kind of stuff did he do? CMV: He would leave after school, he would leave. He wouldn’t come back home, he would be hanging out with his friends drinking, partying, stuff like that. He was the oldest so he would -- and since he’s a guy, my mom didn’t really worry about what he was doing. JJ: So now he had friends. Now he had -- CMV: Yeah, he had friends at the time. He had friends and everything. And my mom really didn’t care as much as what he did because since he’s the guy or whatnot of her three kids, she really didn’t care what he did. [00:29:00] But when it came down to my sister and myself, she tried to be more strict. And we found it to be unfair. So my sister, she made friends with some neighbors or whatnot and she did whatever she wanted to do. And then me, I try to be like my sister and my brother. Did whatever I wanted to do and stuff like that, didn’t want to go to school or anything, but -JJ: And so then your mother is telling your brother that he can do whatever he wants because he’s a boy. CMV: Exactly, yeah. JJ: And was that just your mother or was that part of the -- 20 �CMV: No, that was part of the -- the way that we were raised is the females would be at home cooking, cleaning, attending to the father and to if there was any other male family members or whatnot. [00:30:00] And after everything was done in the house, then you could go ahead if there’s time. Then you could go ahead and go play and do whatever. But the things of the house had to be done first. JJ: And you couldn’t stay out late. CMV: Nope. JJ: So Griggs and Francis, is that where you started with the KO Club or...? CMV: Yes. JJ: Okay. It was called the KO Club or Knockout? CMV: Yeah. (laughs) To be honest with you, I thought that was the name of it at first, Knockout Club. (laughs) JJ: (inaudible) Okay, so who was that about? Who was there? And where was it at? CMV: It was on Francis and Burton. It was at a church. JJ: United Methodist Church, the big one? CMV: Yeah, the big one. I never knew the name of that, but thanks for letting me know. I didn’t know. JJ: United Methodist, United Methodist. CMV: Okay. I never knew the name of it. I just knew exactly where I had to go. But it [00:31:00] was -JJ: And how did you find out about it? CMV: Some kids of the neighborhood that actually told us about it. JJ: Just the kids right in the neighborhood knew about it? 21 �CMV: Mm-hmm, yeah. JJ: Okay, because they had gone door to door? CMV: And they, yeah. No, they’ve ac- -- I guess they had gone before or they heard about it or something like that. And then they -- word of mouth got out, basically. JJ: Word of mouth. They got in and they liked it or no? CMV: Yeah, they liked it. There was various different type of cultures going over there. There was Hispanics, there was the African Americans that were going. A few white ones but not as much. But it was still fun. JJ: So when did they do this? What time? What hours? CMV: It was like an after-school program for kids in elementary school, middle school and stuff. I’m telling you, it was fun. JJ: And was it in the school or was it in the church? CMV: No, it was in the church. It was like the [00:32:00] auditorium of the church. JJ: So it was an after-school program but it was done at the church in the neighborhood. So that was the difference. Most after-school programs are done in the schools. CMV: Yeah. This one was more focused on the neighborhood kids. JJ: On the neighborhood kids. Okay. So it was to try to prevent -- CMV: Prevent them from becoming rebellious, stealing, gang banging and stuff like that. It was a program that you would go there so you could be able to meet more people of the community, do more activities. Keep us out of trouble. JJ: Was there trouble in the area before that? 22 �CMV: When we moved over there, we heard from our neighbors or whatnot that it was - that there was a lot of stealing, robbing, breaking and entering, and stuff like that. And when this program emerged, [00:33:00] it was completely different. We -- a lot of the kids from the neighborhoods that were going to this program playing games, shooting basketball, jumping ropes and stuff like that in the auditorium. Talking about their days with each other and whatnot at school, what they learned, different types of things. JJ: So that means they had like little -- it was like a support type of thing or group or something like that? Groups? CMV: Yeah. It was the -- I’m not going to say that in this club, there was little groups or whatnot but -JJ: But they had different ages (inaudible). CMV: Yeah, different ages. But to be honest, there was like little separate groups or whatnot and I just kicked the camera. JJ: (inaudible) CMV: But there was little groups or whatnot because of the ages. But then those would even separate into even more little groups like the girls would go with the girls, the guys would go with the guys or whoever knew [00:34:00] how to play basketball would go with the basketball players and stuff like that. But other than that, it was fun. I loved it. (laughs) JJ: Pretty good. Okay, now there was also -- do you remember any trips that they made or...? 23 �CMV: Oh my goodness! There was one. I remember there was plenty of them but the only one that sticks in my head because it was something that I always wanted to do when I was a little kid was a trip that we did to Camp O’Malley. That was the best for me. JJ: Okay. And you did a (inaudible)? Now, what was that like? CMV: That? It was super fun. At first, I thought -- I was super geeked out, I was super excited. I wanted to go, I wanted to go, I wanted to go. JJ: Actually, that was with the police. The KO Club worked with the police. They ran the camp. CMV: They did? JJ: Yeah, the police ran the camp. CMV: Oh, well then dang. JJ: But the K -- but it was run by the KO Club. The KO Club kind of -- CMV: Gotcha. I was like hold up. (laugher) JJ: [00:35:00] Well, no, no, no. Well, no, no, I mean, the police were volunteers. And they weren’t trying to find -- they weren’t trying to find out any -- CMV: Yeah, they weren’t trying to find no drug dealers or anything. (laughs) JJ: So it was because a lot of new members from the KO Club used to be in the Young Lords. So that’s the -- (laughs) it was the Young Lords (laughs) and the police working together. CMV: God dang, yeah, they was just trying to protect us all. (laughs) JJ: So you didn’t know too much about the Young Lords. CMV: No, I didn’t know nothing about them. 24 �JJ: (inaudible) the KO Club. CMV: Yeah, I knew that it was always called the KO Club. JJ: We did show some films, though, about Chicago and -- CMV: Yeah, you guys did. JJ: Do you recall those films that we showed? CMV: I recall them but since I was so young and stuff like that, the thing -JJ: Do you remember they were films about the Young Lords and stuff like that. CMV: Yeah, there was always films, there was always talk about different activities, different meetings, and stuff like that in our own community and we even went out and did different types of vol- -- of things like that. JJ: [00:36:00] So what you’re trying to say is that there was -- the community changed a little bit because of it. CMV: Yeah, it did. To be honest with you, it changed a lot. JJ: How did it change? CMV: It changed because the kids were occupied after school till probably dinner time or whatnot. JJ: Their behavior, too, right? CMV: Yeah. And there was a lot of different changes in the neighborhood. There wasn’t as much what they like to say crime. There wasn’t that much of it. You didn’t see the kids running around like they were animals or anything like that. Because a lot of them, you would find them at the church. JJ: Because they knew each other now. So that’s -- it became more -- so if you walk down the street now, you know everybody, everybody. 25 �CMV: Exactly. JJ: So everybody kind of looked out for each other. CMV: Exactly. JJ: Am I putting words in your mouth? CMV: No. (laughs) JJ: It just happens. CMV: It actually -- after knowing [00:37:00] the kids in the neighborhoods and the families because we would play at each other’s houses. And after knowing the families or whatever, they actually brought me memories of when I lived at Mount Prospect. That we all knew each other, that we all helped each other, looked out for each other when it came to school or whatnot. The kids, the friends that went to school together or whatever, we would help each other out in school work and stuff so -JJ: So even me saying the -- even me saying the KO Club, and I know you had a long day today. CMV: Who are you kidding? I had a very long day today. JJ: We were in your restaurant. What’s the name of your restaurant? CMV: El Rincón Criollo. JJ: El Rincón Criollo in Grand Rapids, Michigan. CMV: Yes. JJ: This is your mom’s restaurant. CMV: Yes. JJ: Okay. How did this start? 26 �CMV: This start -- it’s been a passion of my mom for years [00:38:00] since she was a - in her teenage years. It’s always been a passion of hers to own a restaurant, to cook and stuff like that and it finally came true for her back in September of 2009. JJ: And what sort of food do you serve there? CMV: Authentic Puerto Rican food. JJ: And what does that mean? CMV: It’s not food that’s -- that all you see around here is all Mexican food or Chinese food or the dreaded fast food. Here, whatever you order from the menu, you have -- you ha- -- depending on what you order is depending on how much time you’re going to wait. But the seasonings and stuff like that that my mom has is of course, yeah, is from Goya but is ingredients that she used growing up with learning how to cook [00:39:00] with her mom and her dad and stuff. So it’s not food that you’re going to come here once and never come here again because the seasoning sucked. No. It’s actually food that a lot of Puerto Ricans, they come here and or even Cubans, Dominicans, or whatnot. They come here and it’s like it takes them back home back to their island. And it’s something -- it brings a smile to my face every day. JJ: And she does the cooking and you do the cooking or (inaudible) together? CMV: She is actually the one who taught me how to cook so it’s actually kind of exciting. She cooks the rices, she cooks all the food or whatnot, but there’s a lot of the things that she cooks that I know how to cook already. Sometimes I put my own little twist to it but that’s when she’s not here. 27 �JJ: See, I remember her because I used to buy pasteles from her. And so she’s did the pasteles for a while first. So it was like a stepping stone? CMV: Yes, it was. JJ: [00:40:00] But this is her first restaurant? CMV: This is her first restaurant. It’s her pride and joy. JJ: And it’s going pretty well (inaudible). CMV: Yes, it is. JJ: Okay. So okay. So I don’t know what else to say. Now, tell me about Camp O’Malley again. CMV: Camp O’Malley, it was the best. We got there, there was all these kids running around and I wanted to run around and everything and -JJ: This was by Alaska, Michigan it was called. CMV: Yeah, by Alaska Lake and over there somewhere around over there. Yeah. JJ: Alaska Lake in Michigan. Okay, and 68th Street. CMV: Yeah, there you go. JJ: But it’s in the country. CMV: Oh, it’s more country than what East Coast people call this country. They call it -they call this country, but they haven’t seen the country-country that we know that’s country. JJ: Right. Right. And so you went there on a weekend, like on a Friday or something? CMV: Yeah, it was like a weekend that we came over here or that we went over there to [00:41:00] Camp O’Malley. It was exciting, though. We -- 28 �JJ: Were you there for a week or for a weekend? CMV: I think I was there for a week. JJ: You were there for a week. CMV: Yeah. I wanted to stay more but Mami wanted me home. JJ: Did a bunch of people go or I mean, what was that like? CMV: No, from the KO Club as far as I know, the trip that I took to go over there, there was like, probably like five of us that went in the van to go over there. JJ: Right, there are only so many tables, yeah. CMV: Mm-hmm. JJ: But then we had some other who stayed(inaudible). CMV: Yeah. After we were there for a week, then another group came and then it was like that. JJ: Okay, so what was they -- how did it run? How did they run it? CMV: Oh my goodness. It was so much fun. As soon as we would get up in the morning times, of course, we’d have to fix the bed or whatnot. We would have breakfast and they have all different types of activities planned for us. They had the obstacle course for us, we would go swimming, hiking, all these different types of things and that’s what excited me. [00:42:00] Oh my goodness, the cabins. They would play practical jokes on each other. The guys, I remember this, the guys, there was one time that the person that the camp person that was in our room, she allowed us to go into one of the guy’s bunk cabin or whatnot. And we searched for all their underwears and we just threw them everywhere. We put them on the ceiling fan, on all their beds and everything like that so at the 29 �end of the day, they were searching around to see whose underwears were whose. (laughs) But then they got back at us. We had went out to do the obstacle course and to go swimming and stuff. And when we came back at night time, we found our bras and our underwears just spread everywhere. And it was fun; It was something that I would love to go back. JJ: Did you go canoeing or none of that stuff? CMV: No, we didn’t get [00:43:00] to go canoeing or anything. JJ: But I remember there was a little river. CMV: Yeah, there was but we didn’t get to go canoeing or anything. We did the obstacle course and the obstacle course, they had this -- oh my goodness, what is it called? I think it was called the high ropes. Yeah. They tried to get me on those. I was like, “Uh-uh. I’m scared of heights, I’m not going up there. I don’t care what you guys tell me. (laughs) I’m not going.” But it was fun, it was fun. I had a lot of fun at Camp O’Malley. JJ: Were they trying -- what were they trying to teach you? Do you know or...? CMV: They -- them there, they were trying to teach us about the different cultures. The different cultures to interact with one another. If you guys didn’t get along, they would try to figure out a way for you guys to get along. It was something that taught us a lot about the different cultures and stuff like that. JJ: [00:44:00] Okay. Now that -- you mentioned the neighborhood and the KO Club because it was a neighborhood group, a neighborhood after-school program. CMV: Yes. 30 �JJ: So it was modeled after the group the Young Lords. Do you know what (inaudible)? CMV: I’m going to look them up when I -- as soon as I (laughs) -JJ: (inaudible). CMV: I’m going to look them up. I want to learn more. JJ: There was a [KO Club?]. Okay, what -- any final thoughts that you want to -- that you want to talk about especially while you’re here? CMV: Final thoughts? Thanks to the KO Club is who I am now. Yeah, I went through a big rebellious stage of not listening, stealing and stuff like that. But -JJ: Stealing? Like -- CMV: Oh yeah, stealing. I -- yeah. I’m a bad girl. I’ve -- I’ve stolen from [00:45:00] my own family members, I’ve stolen from stores and stuff like that. Got put on probation. Yeah, it’s on my record and stuff like that but it’s things that I learned from. It’s things that I learned from or whatnot. But the experience that I learned at the KO Club, I wouldn’t trade that for the world. JJ: So what experience? I don’t understand. What did you learn there? CMV: The experience that I learned there was being around friends and family, people that support you, that are there for you. If you ever need to talk to somebody, they’re there and stuff. I think the reason that I did so good in the KO Club in school while I was in the program was because I had that support group there for me. After I -JJ: In fact, that’s what the KO Club was: support. A bunch of support. Because that’s what we were trying, yeah. 31 �CMV: Yeah, it was. Yeah. It was [00:46:00] a complete support group for the neighborhood kids. That’s why I felt so comfortable being there. Not just because that was kids from the neighborhood or anything but because of it being a support group. JJ: And those people were -- it was run by -- wasn’t it run by the members themselves or...? CMV: As far as I’m concerned, there were so many people there, but the only person that I remember was you. (laughter) There was a lot of people there, a lot of -JJ: Okay. A lot of support. CMV: Yeah, a lot of support. If you ever needed to talk to somebody either it being from drugs or it being from gangs or it being from stealing, robbing, and all that different types of stuff, there was somebody there that you could actually talk to and that was actually the good thing about it. You could talk to somebody and you felt comfortable talking to this person because the person was so (Spanish) that they wouldn’t -JJ: Trust. CMV: Trust. That they -- that whatever you tell me, I’m a tombstone. [00:47:00] I’m not going to tell nobody. So that’s what made a lot of the kids very comfortable. JJ: And there were people from their own culture there also that can help you there. Anything else that you would like to -- your mom got involved in the church, though, does she or...? (inaudible) CMV: Yeah, my mom’s at -- she goes to -- if I get this wrong, she’s going to kill me. (laughter) She went to -- she goes to Manantial De Vida. 32 �JJ: Manantial De Vida. CMV: On Grandville and Franklin. And -JJ: Is it a kind of homeschool church or...? CMV: It’s a Pentecostal church. I actually grew up in the church. I left the church -JJ: In the Pentecostal Church? CMV: Yeah. I left the church or whatnot when I started making my own decisions and everything. I have gone back to church but I always believe that there’s [00:48:00] a time that He’s going to have us go to church or whatnot. But thanks to the church, my mom’s restaurant’s been booming with the catering and the food here and everything so it’s kind of cool. JJ: Okay, but did you have any children or anything like that or...? CMV: Yes, I have one baby girl. She’s four years old. JJ: What’s her name? CMV: [Kelina?]. JJ: Kelina. (inaudible) CMV: Yeah. JJ: (inaudible) CMV: If you see this, Mami loves you. (laughter) Yeah, she -- that’s my pride and joy. She keeps me on my toes when she’s with me. She’s going to be five now in November 25th and yeah, that’s -- that’s my baby girl. I love that little girl. Thanks to her, I have calmed down because before her, I was clubbing every single weekend not caring about nothing in the world. JJ: What sort of clubs were your tribe? 33 �CMV: I would go to [00:49:00] to Toscano which is a Latin club and Azucar before they put it down. JJ: Okay. They put it down? CMV: Yeah. They put it down. They closed it down for -- because there was too many fights breaking out. I guess a few people done got killed over there. So they had to -- the city closed it down. The city wouldn’t give them back their liquor license or their beer license so what the heck is a club without you being able to buy a Long Island iced tea or a Corona? You know, so... JJ: Now, have you seen the Puerto Rican community grow here at all or how -- have you seen their (inaudible)? CMV: To be honest with you, the only Hispanic community that you’re ever going to find (laughs) in Grand Rapids is actually Grandville Avenue. And it’s been growing a lot. JJ: This is where the restaurant (inaudible). CMV: Yes. It’s -- there’s actually right up the street [00:50:00] from here on Hall and Grandville across the street from Hall Elementary School is the Hispanic Center. And every single year, they do the march for César Chávez and it’s like in this area, what you call Grandville Avenue, you’re going to find a whole bunch of Hispanics. Not only Puerto Ricans but Dominicans, Cubans, Mexicans, Guatemalans, Hondurians [sic], of all parts of Latin America. Mexico, South America, Center, you know, the islands and stuff. You’re going to find a whole bunch of us. It’s kind of weird that by a street, an avenue is -- that it has -- that’s where you can find the Hispanics but that’s how it is. 34 �JJ: Okay. The neighborhood is kind of growing you said? CMV: It is, it’s growing a lot. Before, [00:51:00] it wasn’t booming like it is now. Before, there wasn’t so many, how can you say, restaurants and Hispanic stores or anything like that. And now there’s at least, let me see, one, two, three, four, five, six, like around six or seven different restaurants just on Grandville. There’s a huge bakery right across the street from this restaurant. There’s a Guatemalan store right next to us, there’s one, two, three, four, five barber shops. And out of those five, one, two, three are beauty salons, as well, mixed together with the barber shop. And it’s something that before, there -- it wasn’t like that. And it’s been growing a lot. JJ: [00:52:00] Okay. Do you have any final thoughts? CMV: Final thoughts is if you guys want some real good food, authentic Puerto Rican food, caterings for any kind of occasions and stuff like that, I suggest you guys come to Rincón Criollo located at 1523 Grandville Avenue, telephone number 616-241-5591. JJ: All right. That’s good. END OF VIDEO FILE 35 � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ba5ddc01fb42fc0c9e0a5807d2e22bc4.mp4 1f1c89e8fef4bf4cecd1b956396ac77f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Young Lords in Lincoln Park Collection Subject The topic of the resource Young Lords (Organization) Puerto Ricans--United States Civil Rights--United States--History Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.) Personal narratives Social justice Community activists--Illinois--Chicago Description An account of the resource Collection of oral history interviews and digitized materials documenting the history of the Young Lords Organization in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Interviews were conducted by Young Lords' founder, José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez, and documents were digitized from Mr. Jiménez' archives. The Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection grows out of the ongoing struggle for fair housing, self-determination, and human rights that was launched by Mr. José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez, founder of the Young Lords Movement. This project is dedicated to documenting the history of the displacement of Puerto Ricans, Mejicanos, other Latinos, and the poor from Lincoln Park, as well as the history of the Young Lords nationwide. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jiménez, José, 1948- Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/491">Young Lords in Lincoln Park collection (RHC-65)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-04-25 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng spa Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-65 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 2012-2017 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Título Spanish language Title entry Charlyne Martínez-Villegas vídeo entrevista y biografía Sujetos Spanish language Subject terms Young Lords (Organización) Puertorriqueños--Estados Unidos Derechos civiles--Estados Unidos--Historia Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.) Puertorriqueños--Relatos personales Justicia social Activistas comunitarios--Illinois--Chicago Source <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/491">Young Lords in Lincoln Park (RHC-65)</a> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-65_Martinez-Villegas_Charlene Title A name given to the resource Charlyne Martínez-Villegas video interview and transcript Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Martínez-Villegas, Charlyne Description An account of the resource Charlyne Martínez-Villegas came to Grand Rapids, Michigan from New Jersey where she loved it because there were many Puerto Ricans. In Grand Rapids she was only one of a few. Another reason that she loved New Jersey is that that is where her mother and father were still married. She explains that as soon as their family arrived in Grand Rapids, her parents divorced. Her mother worked hard trying to make ends meet, preparing homemade pasteles that people would order from her ahead of time and then she would have to have them ready at all hours of the day or week. Eventually her mother’s homemade business led to opening up a small restaurant on Grandville Avenue which is always filled with patrons. In Grand Rapids, Ms. Martínez-Villegas began to get in trouble at school and in the neighborhood on the southeast side of the city, by Garfield Park. She missed her friends back in New Jersey and in school “she just did not fit in…the kids were mostly white, or black.” She explains that she could relate a little better with black children because they shared a lot of things in common. She also missed her father. The Young Lords were passing out flyers door-to-door. But they did not use the name “Young Lords” publicly. Instead they called themselves the “KO CLUB.” And they had a way with words. She explains that they had to read some pledges and phrases and everything began with KO: “Keep Open Your Hearts” or “Keep Standing Up for Yourself” or “Keep Open Your Mind.” Their meetings were held in a United Methodist Church, and the heads of the KO Club were Pastor Marge Berman, who was of Mexican descent, and Mr. José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez. Members of the Club were also shown several videos about the Young Lords.The young people who participated in the Club and the small congregation were supportive. But there were a few within the church who did not like the Young Lords, who had taken over Methodist Churches in New York and Chicago. Those same individuals also did not like Pastor Berman, who was new and wanted more interaction with the community. Pastor Berman had read a newspaper article about the Young Lords while Mr. Jiménez was working as a substance abuse counselor for Project Rehab. She contacted him by phone. And when they met for the first time, Pastor Berman told him that he was sent by God. To which Mr. Jiménez replied, “Did God send any money? Because I have bills.” Mr. Jiménez did want to organize and help youth, but he wanted to do so around issues related to the Young Lords. Pastor Berman just wanted to save souls. It was a good understanding, but Mr. Jiménez would have to work incognito because using the name Young Lords name would be like saying the word “gang” in Grand Rapids. The KO Club worked well because it was not an after school program. It was an “in the neighborhood program.” It was focused on youth like Ms. Martínez-Villegas who did not want anything to do with school. And while others were saying to all youth who got in trouble, “Lock them up and throw away the key.” the KO Club had their own public slogan: “Support Youth For A Change.” Parents had to get involved, because the KO Club would visit them in their home and let them know that they were not babysitters. Once a month parents would attend amateur night where the KO CLUB members would perform for them and the rest of the community. Organizing was constantly being done door-to-door. KO CLUB was like a good gang and everyone was a member. Their colors were black and purple, but their symbol was a heart with KO in the middle and a cross above the heart. Once a year there was an annual dinner with the community where many members of the United Methodist Church attended including the Bishop. It was cost effective as it was run more like support groups divided by age: pee wee, juniors, and seniors. They would all have a chance to express themselves in a variety of ways, including discussion, with music, or in sports. The only problem came from the adults. Some wanted to make it more ecumenical to include the community at large and others wanted the organization to be more faith-based. Still others wanted control. And Pastor Berman was moved to a church in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Jiménez was left alone, fighting church elders who were paranoid that Mr. Jiménez might want to speak for the church. Mr. Jiménez understood their fears and resigned in an amicable way. The youth program continues today and it is being run more privately within the church. Ms. Martínez-Villegas says that it is what she needed then with the loss of her father, and that participating in the KO Club turned her life around. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jiménez, José, 1948- Subject The topic of the resource Young Lords (Organization) Puerto Ricans--United States Civil Rights--United States--History Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill.) Puerto Ricans--Personal narratives Social justice Community activists--Illinois--Chicago Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-06-05 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ec69217ca9185415d99668974511a80a.jpg 898250464b03ec0ad4d72b072b00731a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Douglas R. Gilbert Photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R., 1942-2023 Description An account of the resource Photographs scanned from negatives and transparencies from the Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183). Douglas R. Gilbert (b. 1942) is an American photographer from Michigan. He was born in Holland, Michigan and is the son of Russell W. and Carmen (Andree) Gilbert. Gilbert earned a B.A. in social sciences and art at Michigan State University in 1964, an M.S. in photography from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972, and a M.S.W. from Salem State College in 1993. He is married to Barbara (McDonald) Gilbert, and has three daughters, Robyn, Rachel, and Anne. Gilbert took a serious interest in photography at the age of fourteen. In 1963 he joined the staff of Look magazine in New York as the second youngest photojournalist in the magazine's history. As a Look photographer from 1964 to 1966, he photographed folk musician Bob Dylan, the Newport Folk Festival, Simon and Garfunkel, the New York City Financial District, the children and facilities at the Manhattan School for Seriously Disturbed Children. From 1967 to 1969, Gilbert did several shoots, including that of folk singer Janis Ian for Life magazine. After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1969 to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology, Gilbert conducted notable photo shoots of business and political figure Lenore Romney, and pursued more personal and artistic photography, focusing on urban and rural landscapes in Illinois and Michigan. He then joined the faculty of Wheaton College, where he taught from 1972 to 1982. In 1993, Gilbert graduated from Salem State College, Massachusetts, with a Masters in Social Work, and later pursued a second career as a psychotherapist. Douglas Gilbert died in June 2023. Throughout his photography career, he pursued both freelance commercial work as well as artistic work. His art photography is characterized by its classic black-and-white format, and features people, places and objects shot great attention and sensitivity. Gilbert's works are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and the Grand Valley State University Art Galleries, as well as in numerous private and institutional collections. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960-2011 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="%E2%80%9Dhttps%3A//gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783%E2%80%9D">Douglas R. Gilbert Papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Photographs Photography -- United States Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-183_D065-0043 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilbert, Douglas R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963-02-12 Title A name given to the resource Charm Class, Grand Rapids, MI Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a group of school girls dancing during a charm class in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Grand Rapids (Mich.) Classrooms Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/783">Douglas R. Gilbert papers (RHC-183)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cd34319847c12b7f96c7bdc52523c873.pdf 32ca7890165790e27eac517d470ef871 PDF Text Text •II GoR fassociates Inc. 0 �• : • • • • • • •• • •• •II , ,,...ny OF r.f \:·Y,;\ .,/~ • p\a\i, ,. ,,II .;,·1 .\., ·C I1 .J'. •' \ • ,.:. ...- · r · . ,'r .,\· or vv11 .. ~ , 0 - i l.1 ,..., . nC., . Cl -·- LAND USE PLAN Prepared for: BANGOR TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN JUNE 1991 Prepared By: GOVE ASSOCIATES INC. 1601 Portage Street Kalamazoo, Michigan 49001 �• •' • • • • • "• CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF BANGOR LAND USE PLAN I " "IJI "ill Township Officials C. Joseph Carland, Supervisor Sharon Russell, Clerk Ruth Charbonneau, Treasurer Clarence Bennett, Trustee Frank Rechsteiner, Trustee Henry Schumann, Trustee Duff L. Zube, Trustee Planning Commission Duff L. Zube, Chairman Dan Hatton, Ph.D, Vice Chairman Edwin R. Davis, Secretary Janet Causley, Member Jerry S. Kaczynski, Member William P. Schubert, Member Richard D. DeMara, Member William H. Darbee Attorney Gove Associates Inc. Planner �• "• • • • • • • • • •II • •II EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Plan is an update of the 1980 Bangor Township Land Use Plan. It is a prescription for the most appropriate uses of land within the Township to the year 2010, as determined by the Planning Commission. The Plan is designed to accommodate a target population of approximately 21,400 by the year 2010, which is an increase of more than 5,000 residents over the next 20 years . There are two major parts to this text. Part I describes the existing development in terms of the Township's historic population growth, its overall housing conditions, economy and natural resources along with the distribution of land use. Bangor Township, while essentially an urbanized extension of the City of Bay City, is a self contained political entity with a wide variety and density of housing, a substantial commercial base that is becoming a major retail shopping area in east central Michigan, a range of industries from Dow chemical to small machine shops, and its own school system along with police and fire protection. Historically, much of the river shoreline in the Township has been used for industrial storage and shipping. Although the Township is blessed with an expansive shoreline along both the Saginaw Bay and Saginaw River, there is very limited public access to the waterfront outside of the Bay City State Park in the northern part of the Township. Because of its close proximity to the Bay, and its low, flat topography, the Township has had to construct a fairly comprehensive drainage system to sustain residential development. Wetlands also exist within the northern half of the Township. There is, however, more than enough developable land within the Township to accommodate the target population . Part II describes the proposed future land uses for the Township over the next 20 years. An overall description is given of how various land uses should be distributed and each land use component is then described in more detail. To accommodate the target population and accomplish the goals and objectives defined in the Plan, an additional 1,440 acres of single-family and 27 acres of multiple-family will be required (using existing densities). Approximately 175 additional acres of commercial activities and 217 additional acres of industrial development will take place over the life of the Plan. New local and collector streets will also be constructed and existing roads expanded to accommodate new residential and commercial development. More recreational development, including public access to the shoreline, as well as commercial/recreation activities is also included in the Plan. Finally, specific projects and associated implementation measures are defined to assist in making the Plan a reality. Overall, this Land Use Plan is pro-active. That is, it prescribes that the Township Board, Planning Commission and residents take an active role in ensuring the desired results are achieved . �• • • • • • • •II • • TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I EXISTING DEVELOPMENT INTRODUCTION Description of Planning Area 1 Introduction 3 5 7 7 Age/Sex Composition 9 Basis for Township Analysis POPULATION Household/Family Composition Population Projections HOUSING Housing Characteristics Synopsis ECONOMY Introduction Regional Economy Local Economy State Equalized Valuation NATURAL RESOURCES AND EXISTING LAND USE Introduction 11 14 20 20 26 27 27 27 29 31 33 33 Natural Resources 33 Land Use Classifications Analysis of Land Use Patterns Residential 39 43 Commercial Industrial Public/Semi-Public Uses Undeveloped Lands Synopsis Road and Railroad Analysis Synopsis 43 53 56 57 61 62 66 70 �Page PART II FUTURE LAND USE INTRODUCTION OVERALL LAND USE Incremental Development Patterns RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT Goal Land Use Qualitative Description Implementation Policies Financing Program for Housing COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT Goal Land Use Qualitative Description Implementation Policies Financing Program for Commercial Development INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT Goal Land Use Qualitative Description Implementation Policies Financing Program for Industrial Development PARKS AND RECREATION Goal Land Use Qualitative Description Implementation Policies Financing Program for Parks and Recreation TRANSPORTATION Goal Land Use Qualitative Description Implementation Policies Financing Program for Transportation 72 74 78 83 83 84 87 88 90 92 92 92 95 96 98 101 101 102 104 105 107 108 108 110 111 112 118 119 119 119 122 124 125 • • ~ : • • • • • • • • "'• • • �11111 • "• "II • • "-II "II Page PUBLIC FACILITIES, SCHOOLS AND SERVICES Goal Land Use Qualitative Description Implementation Policies Financing Program for Public Facilities, Schools and Services NATURAL RESOURCES/ENERGY CONSERVATION Goal Land Use Qualitative Description Implementation Policies Financing Program for Natural Resources/ Energy Conservation SHORELINE LAND USES RECOMMENDED SITE SPECIFIC CHANGES Specified Land Use Changes DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES IMPLEMENTATION 126 126 126 132 132 133 135 135 137 137 137 138 139 143 143 145 149 �• ~ • • • • • •II • • • • • 1111 PART I - EXISTING DEVELOPMENT LIST OF TABLES Page TABLE 1 BANGOR TOWNSHIP AGE/SEX COMPOSITION 10 2 BANGOR TOWNSHIP AGE COMPOSITION (BY AREA) 12 3 BAY COUNTY AGE/SEX COMPOSITION 13 4 HOUSING TYPE (YEAR-ROUND) SELECTED COMMUNITIES PLANNING AREA HOUSING UNITS 21 5 23 6 REAL PROPERTY VALUATION (S.E.V.) 1980-1990 32 7 BANGOR TOWNSHIP LAND DISTRIBUTION BY AREA 1979-1980 8 TOWNSHIP SCHOOL FACILITIES - BANGOR TOWNSHIP, BAY COUNTY 1989/1990 50 58 LIST OF MAPS MAP 1 LOCATION MAP 2 3 CENSUS BLOCK GROUPS - 1990 FLOOD PRONE AREAS 4 WETLANDS 5 AREAS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN EXISTING LAND USE 6 4 6 35 37 40 44 7 PARCELS FOR POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL/ INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT 8 55 TRAFFIC COUNT (24 HOUR PERIOD) 68 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1 HISTORIC POPULATION GROWTH TRENDS 2 BANGOR TOWNSHIP POPULATION PROJECTIONS MEDIAN HOUSING PRICE ASKED 3 8 19 25 �PART II - FUTURE LAND USE LIST OF TABLES Page TABLE 9 10 FUTURE LAND USE ALLOCATIONS 77 PROJECTED ADDITIONAL RESIDENTIAL UNITS AND ACREAGE REQUIRED 11 12 13 14 15 86 PROJECTED COMMERCIAL LAND USE (ACRES) 93 INDUSTRIAL LAND USE ALLOCATIONS (ACRES) 103 BANGOR TOWNSHIP RECREATION PLAN SCHEDULED PROJECTS 114 SCHEDULED PLANNING DEVELOPMENT 146 IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE 150 LIST OF MAPS MAP 9 10 11 FUTURE LAND USE SEWER SYSTEM MAP RECOMMENDED LAND USE CHANGES 73 131 144 • • •Ill • • • • • • • �: • • • • • PART I EXISTING DEVELOPMENT �Iii •ill • Introduction �INTRODUCTION II This Comprehensive Development Plan for the Township of Bangor, in Bay County, Michigan, is an update of the Township's most recent plan which was adopted in 1980. While many of the Township's physical characteristics remain much the same today as they did in 1980, and the number of people living in Bangor Township has actually decreased, change has nonetheless occurred, and will continue to occur. Much of that change is manifested in ways of doing business, new technologies and changing social values. New retail marketing techniques that focus on specialty items, increased reliance on telecommunications, technology, home videos, increased popularity of jogging, walking and biking and increased use of the automobile are examples of the changes that have occurred since 1980 that impact upon the needs and characteristics of the Township. To effectively keep pace with, and accommodate, these changes, the Township needs to consistently review and change, as necessary, its physical, social and economic structure. At the same time, it is important to recognize the qualities of the Township's natural environment, particularly its shoreline, and retain that quality in future development. This will ensure a community that is both vibrant and attractive; hence, the reason for updating the original plan. To continue to meet the needs of its residents and to remain competitive as an attractive and accommodating place to live and to conduct business, Bangor Township must consistently be looking to, and preparing for, the future while at the same time retaining those elements of the community that make it unique and distinctive. This Plan is the primary means of facilitating these responsibilities. The following describes the elements of community planning that this text addresses: What is Community Planning? Community planning is planning by municipal government. It is concerned with • •I the solving of existing physical, social and economic problems in the community. It also guides future community growth and development. Community planning operates under the general objectives established by State legislation. It is also controlled by the voters of the community through their elected officials. In putting -1- �into effect the recommendations of the Planning Commission, the governing body has the final authority. The Planning Commission only recommends, but does so on the basis of facts and their analyses. The governing body has the authority to act on land acquisition, bond issues, and the effectuation of the public works programs recommended by the Planning Commission. It also has final authority on zoning and other legislation to regulate land uses and population densities . This is the legal and administrative framework of community planning. • • • -• • • • • • "'• "II • " I What Can Community Planning Accomplish? The most important function of community planning is to coordinate the various physical elements that make up the community. Its aim is to achieve optimum compatibility and efficiency between these elements. Community planning can prevent duplication of effort among the various departments of government and avoid competition for land and funds. Even more importantly, community planning can influence the stabilization, conservation and improvement of private property and natural resources. In general, it aids in furthering the welfare of the people . What is the Comprehensive Development Plan? The Comprehensive Development Plan is a product of the planning process. Through text, maps and other graphic aids, it explains the philosophy and desires of a community towards the future. Each community must be viewed as a unique area because of the variety of factors that influence its growth. The Comprehensive Development Plan seeks to express an ideal, yet achievable community in terms of existing conditions, growth potential and accepted planning concepts and standards. At the same time, the Plan is flexible enough so that changing future conditions in such areas as technology and demands for services can be met by the community. To be most effective, the Comprehensive Development Plan must obtain the joint participation of citizens and public officials in the orderly development of the community. -2- �.. • • "• II II -~ • • • • • •I I Description of Planning Area Bangor Township is located in the "Thumb" Area of Michigan near the southern end of Saginaw Bay. It is bounded on the northeast by Saginaw Bay, on the southeast by Bay City, and on the west by Monitor and Kawkawlin townships (see Map 1). Because of the Township's proximity to Bay City, with an estimated 1990 population of 38,730, and its own estimated 1990 population of 16,031, it is considered an urbanized area. Bangor Township encompasses approximately 15 square miles with over 13 miles of lake and river shoreline, making it a highly desirable area for waterfront activities. Consequently, much of the Saginaw Bay shoreline in the Township is densely developed with single-family housing. At the same time, a large portion of the Saginaw River has traditionally been, and still is, devoted to industrial/storage/shipping facilities. The combined high density residential and industrial land uses along the Township's shoreline has in effect precluded much of the shoreline from public access. The Bay City State Park and Tobico Marsh, as well as the Department of Natural Resources boat launch at the mouth of the Saginaw River, are the most predominate public access sites within the Township. Commercial activity in Bangor Township is currently the fastest growing segment of land development in the Township. A regional mall is currently being built along the Township's common boundary with Bay City and a community shopping mall is being planned adjacent to the regional mall. These developments can be expected to spur further commercial/office and possibly multiple-family construction in this vicinity. In addition, the Euclid Avenue commercial corridor has been a major shopping area for Bay County . In essence, Bangor Township has historically been a "bedroom" community, comprised primarily of residential land uses, with a substantial commercial base, particularly along Euclid Avenue and an expansive storage/shipping complex along the Saginaw River. Although the western (particularly southwestern) portions of the Township are fully developed, the northcentral sections of Bangor Township still contain a large amount of developable lands, particularly the interior portions of large blocks containing perimeter development. This Plan concludes that there is more than enough available vacant land in Bangor Township to accommodate additional growth over the next 20 years. -3- �1N _I __ J MOUTH -• MERRITT 1--7~~M=U~O~£N_j__ I I MAP 1 LOCATION MAP • • • • • •1111 ... • • • • -111 ~~cr-:-G-ove- A- . ssoc1ates Inc. \=7 -4- �Basis for Township Analysis ~ -II II II While Bangor Township encompasses a relatively small geographic area, its population density, substantial development and varied natural resources create a relatively diverse political jurisdiction. The Township can more easily be studied if it is subdivided into smaller "sub-areas" or "districts" for which information is easily available. To facilitate a more detailed inspection, much of the data identified in this Plan is derived from the 1980 Census using the block group as the basic unit. In 1980, there were eight Census block groups identified for Bangor Township. These are depicted as A through H in Map 2 (see Appendix A for individual Census Blocks), and will be frequently referred to throughout this Plan, both in the analysis of existing conditions and the determination of future land uses. The following sections describe the population, housing, basic economic structure, natural resources and land uses in Bangor Township using this "sub-area" concept. II "• • • • • • • •I -5- �_ _____ , H 9EAV£R CENSUS BLOCK GROUPS - 1980 RoAO i ~ 90Y SCOUT !! ! ,,,, t~~- l ~I ;ii ~~ I~, ~L l_j[ ~ I "™' 00.0 I I - ~i '\, j ~ 1l1 I Ii, ~' OTY Of' 9AY QTY ~ ---.!: ~ 6 $AQIHAW aTV 0, ~ BAY aTY I °' I • MotfTOIII TW> • MAP 2 CENSUS BLOCK GROUPS - 1980 @I Gove Associates Inc. �•I •II II -~ -- I I I Population �POPULATION Introduction People are a community's most valuable asset. They are the factor which allows the community to function as a complete unit. All other aspects of the community (i.e., government, structures and thoroughfares) would cease to exist without that one important element - people. • • • • • : • •I I I - The characteristics of Bangor Township's population determine the quality of life available within the Township. Local residents through individual collective efforts form the 'built' environment (as distinguished from the natural environment). This environment, consisting of industry, commerce, housing, public places, streets and highways, is in turn intended to serve those who live in and visit the Township. The built environment and the local economy are dependent upon the attitudes and backgrounds of local residents. Such factors as age, sex, education, income, life experiences and, most importantly, attitude determine the type and quality of lifestyle prevalent within the Township. These factors are consequently reviewed in detail below. Most of the data listed and analyzed in this Plan is from the 1980 Census of Population and Housing and, where possible, is updated to current conditions using 1990 preliminary Census data. In those instances where past trends allow for a calculated update of information, estimated figures will be used to arrive at an analysis of current conditions. The Bay City SMSA had a total 1980 population of 119,887 inhabitants representing an increase of 2,542 persons or 2.1 percent, over 1970. Population growth within the entire Bay City SMSA has occurred at a faster rate than within the City of Bay City which actually lost 419 persons between 1970-1980. In essence, the remaining townships and cities in the county actually added 2,961 people to their population base over that 10 year period. Bangor Township, which added 1,598 people, represented 54 percent of that total. That is, over half of the population growth in Bay County between 1970 and 1980 took place in Bangor Township. Since 1980, on the other hand, Bangor Township's population has decreased by over 1,400 people, or approximately eight percent. The population growth trends for the 1960-1990 (estimated) period for Michigan, the Bay City Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is essentially Bay County, Bay City, Hampton Township, Essexville, Monitor Township and Bangor Township are presented in Figure 1. -7- �- FIGURE 1 HISTORIC POPULATION GROWTH TRENDS 10 (/) 9 z 0 ::J 8 __J ~ 7 6 130 ,339 2. 11 ,849 (-2.1) 11 7,300 110 90 70 53,604 - 50 3 ,730 (/) 30 z<( 20 a (/) :::::> 0 ~ TWP. 15 10 6,770 5 3,857 3,476 3,167 0 1950 1960 1970 -8- 1980 1990 (ESTIMATED) " • • • • • • • •I •I I �1111 Age/Sex Composition '• = • • • • • • •I I • -I The age and sex composition of the Township's population is an important factor to consider in establishing the policies and programs that will best serve local residents. Needs and lifestyles differ among various age groups. Certain economic factors, i.e., types of retail goods stocked and sold, are dependent upon the proportion of men and women living in the area. There are several identifiable stages or cycles that individuals go through during the span of a lifetime. These stages each bring different predominant needs which in turn affect other elements of life in the general area, especially retail trade and public services. Table 1 depicts the 1970 and 1980 age and sex composition of the Township's population . Table 1 indicates that the number of residents under the age of 14 decreased between 1970-1980. This coincides with a national trend of declining birth rates and implies a low population growth or perhaps even decline over the next 1O to 20 years. On the other hand, the Township's retired population increased substantially during the 1970's and that increase is likely to have continued through the 1980's. The second largest rate of increase occurred in the 25-34 year age group, which by 1990 will be the 35-45 year age group. At least for the near future, community land uses and services that are oriented toward the established family and retired age groups might be increased in number and scope. The increase in the college age group also reflects the potential for an increase in the number of young families (or at least young married couples) living in the Township during the next 10 years . Although municipal boundaries define the characteristics of the residents of a community, they do not circumscribe the number and characteristics of those that work, shop and play in that community. The volume of business and type and quality of retail merchandise sold in Bangor Township and the public services and facilities (particularly park and recreation) in Bangor Township are also dependent upon the general characteristics of the population living in the immediate vicinity, outside of the Township's border. Consequently, the size and characteristics of this population group is also an important factor in planning for Bangor Township. That is, the Township and its surrounding environs interact with, and impact upon, each other especially because of the increase in regional retail development in Bangor Township. Therefore, Bay County is included in the analysis of population. -9- �' ~~~~ -- ~ ___:::_-: __ _ .. __-_ ... ~. TABLE 1 BMG)R 'IDWNSHIP AGE/SEX COMPOSITION 1970 1980 Total % of Total Pop. % of Total Female Female Pop. M3.le Aqe Total % of Total Pop. Pre-School 5 and Under 2,025 12.7 1,578 9.0 757 8.5 821 Elementary 6-13 2,862 18.0 2,618 15.0 1,278 14.3 Secondary 14-18 1,583 10.0 1,764 10.1 856 College 19-24 1,419 8.9 1,744 10.0 Young Family 25-34 2,191 13.8 2,917 Established Family 35-54 3,653 23.0 M3.ture Family 55-64 1,276 % of Total M3.le Pop. Change in Total Age Group 1970-1980 % Number 9.6 -22.1 -447 1,340 15.7 -8.5 -244 9.6 908 10.6 +11.4 +181 900 10.1 844 9.9 +22.9 +325 16.7 1,529 17.1 1,388 16.2 +33.1 +726 4,019 23.0 2,025 22.7 1,994 23.3 +10.0 +366 8.0 1,486 8.5 797 8.9 692 8.1 +16.7 +213 887 5.6 1,365 7.8 794 8.9 571 6.7 +53.9 +478 15,896 100.0 17,494 100.0 8,936 100.0 8,558 100.0 +10.1 +1,598 I _, .:::> I Retired 65+ Total (%) Median Age SOURCE: t-- - • 25.2 28.6 1970, 1980 U.S. Census of Population �Table 2 depicts the age composition of the eight "sub-areas". This table shows that the distribution of age groups in all the sub-areas in 1980 is fairly similar. There are a few notable differences, however, that should be identified. Areas A and G tended to have a higher proportion of pre-school children included in their population base than other areas. The relative concentration of elementary school age children also appeared to be higher in those areas. The proportion of high school age population tended to be highest in Area H (18.1%), compared to 9.5 percent in Areas A and B. Area D, likewise, contained a higher percentage of college age students than other areas. Area D also had the highest proportion of retirees as part of its population base. Area F, because of its larger population, obviously had the most number of residents in each age group. Table 3 describes the age and sex composition of Bay County, which provides at least a portion of the employees and customers for businesses within the Township. Table 3 shows that the population of Bay County grew at a slower rate (2%) between 1970 and 1980 than Bangor Township. The population under 18 years of age declined in total numbers as well as in percentage of total population. "• • • • • • • •I While college and young family age groups increased over that 10 year period, and by 1990 will be in the young and established family categories, older age groups (55 and older) also increased substantially. In general, the county, as the Township, will continue to experience increases in its older population groups. Marketing strategies and land uses (e.g. retirement communities, multiple-family housing, etc.) should be oriented toward, or at least increased among, this segment of the population . Household/Family Composition The composition of those individuals in families, single person households or group (two or more unrelated individuals) living quarters define the socio-economic character of the Township. The number and type of housing units and the effective buying power and purchasing habits of local residents are a function of the type and number of households. Households, then, should be considered the primary unit for evaluating and projecting housing, retail sales and community facilities. In Bangor Township, there were 4,655 households in 1970, or 13 percent of the county's 35,865 households. By 1980, the number of households in Bangor Township increased by almost 27 percent to 5,903. This represented 14.2 percent of the county's 41,455 households in 1980. This increase of 1,248 households between - 11 - �1 ~~~~~~~---------- n~~- - - - TABLE 2 BANGOR TOWNSHIP AGE COMPOSITION (By Area) I __. N I H % of Total Area Aqe A Total Area B Total Area C Total Area D Total Area E Total Area F Total Area G % of Total Area Pre-School 5 and Under 391 11.2 46 5.1 159 8.0 39 3.5 96 7.8 603 4.1 236 10.8 38 8.4 Elementary 6-13 669 19.2 127 14.2 248 12.4 95 8.5 132 10.7 816 14.1 358 16.4 56 12.4 Secondary 14-18 329 9.5 85 9.5 194 9.7 138 12.3 140 11. 3 593 10.2 227 10.4 82 18.1 Co 11 ege 19-24 252 7.2 104 11.6 138 6.9 .. 174 15.6 145 11. 7 630 10.9 208 9.5 19 4.2 Young Family 25-34 597 17.1 156 17.4 333 16.7 120 11. 5 151 12.2 1012 17.5 401 18.4 73 16.1 Established Family 35-54 855 24.6 228 25.5 551 27.6 299 26.7 342 27.6 1212 20.9 456 20.9 126 27.8 Mature Family 55-64 175 5.0 74 8.3 192 9.6 80 7.2 94 7.6 487 8.3 159 7.3 44 9.7 Retired 64+ 213 6.1 74 8.3 181 9.1 164 14.7 138 11.1 445 7.7 140 6.4 15 3.3 % of % of Total SOURCE: 3481 1980 Census STF3 ~-- • • 894 1996 1109 % of % of % of % of 1238 5798 2185 453 �~111 • ·• • • -· · - -- -- · --· TABLE 3 BAY O)UNI'Y AGE/SEX O)MPOSITION 1970 1980 % of % of % of Total Ferrale Ferrale Pop. M3.le % of Total M3.le Change in Total Age Group 1970-1980 Number % Aqe Total Total Pop. Total Total Pop. Pre-School 5 and Under 13, 799 11.8 11,022 9.2 5,419 8.8 5,603 9.6 -20.1 -2, 777 Elerrentary 6- 13 21,414 18.2 16,156 13.5 7,866 12.8 8,290 14.2 -32.5 -5,258 Secondary 14-18 12,428 10.6 11,812 9.9 5,788 9.4 6,024 10.3 -5.0 -616 College 19-24 10,411 8.9 13,354 11.1 6,860 11.2 6,494 11.1 +28.3 +2,943 Young Family 25-34 14,007 11.9 19,079 15.9 9,543 15.6 9,536 16.3 +36.2 +5,072 Established Family 35-54 25,545 21.8 25,098 20.9 12,703 20.7 12,396 21.2 -1.7 -447 Mature Family 55-64 10,187 8.7 11,239 9.4 6,011 9.8 5,228 8.9 +10.3 +1,052 9,458 8.1 12,120 10.1 7,169 11. 7 4,951 8.5 +26.9 +2,572 Total(%) 117,339 100.1 119,881 100.1 61,359 100.0 58,522 100.0 +2.2 +2,542 M=dian Age 25.4 Pao. I ....., w I Retired 65+ 28.7 �1970 and 1980, compared to a growth in population of 1,598 persons indicates a disbursement of existing households as well as inmigration of new households. That is, the low person per household ratio of 1.28:1 (1,598:1,248) that occurred in the Township between 1970-1980 reflects a national trend whereby older children are leaving their families and beginning their own households and higher divorce rates have resulted in a larger number of single parent households. Overall, the Township's household density decreased from 3.2 persons per household in 1970 to 2.94 persons per household in 1980, slightly above the 1980 county average of 2.87 persons per household. In effect, the Township experienced a disbursement of household members and an increase in smaller households resulting in a gain of housing units and an average decrease in the number of persons living in each household. Each community has households consisting of married couple families, single parent families, individuals and two or more unrelated persons. These different types of households affect the type and quantity of local services and facilities available, retail merchandise and the physical composition of the community. In Bangor Township, there were 3,957 married couples in 1980, comprising 67 percent of all households. Within the County in 1980, there were 26,820 married couple families making up 64.7 percent of all households, compared to 26,231 married couple families in 1970, when they comprised 73.1 percent of all households. By 1980, the number of families with a female householder and no husband present increased to 3,562 (or 8.6% of all households) from 2,679 (6.5% of all households) in 1970. Non-family households increased from 6,900 in 1970 to 9,823 (23.7% of all households) in 1980. These statistics verify the earlier statement that households in general are changing in composition and becoming smaller. Population Projections The quantity and composition of the population of the Township and surrounding townships over the next 2u years will be the foundation upon which community facilities and services, land use, housing, employment and retail trade will be structured. While it is not possible to project the composition of the area's future population, it is possible to estimate the number of people that will most likely live in the Township over the next 20 years. The following depicts three methods used to estimate the projected population for Bangor Township to the year 201 o. -14- : • • • • • • •I I �Method I: Past Growth Trends (Least Squares Method) - Based on actual Census counts over past 40 years. Year Population 1950 6,710 1960 11,686 1970 15,896 1980 17,494 1990 16,031 Growth rates vary from 72.6% between 1950 and 1960 to 36.0% between 1960 and 1970 to 1.0% between 1970 and 1980 and preliminary census counts indicate an 8.4% decrease between 1980 and 1990. The 1960-70 growth rate was approximately 1/2 the 1950-60 growth rate. The 1970-80 growth rate was about 1/3rd the 1960-70 rate and the 1980-90 rate shows an actual decline of over 8%. Utilizing a projection method called "Least Squares", which is based upon past trends, and calibrating the resultant forecasts to the 1990 Census, the following projections are identified: Year Population : • • • • • •I •I 1990 16,031 1995 17,098 2000 18,160 2005 19,223 2010 20,285 This method projects the Township's population to grow over the next 20 years at an average rate of 6.6 percent every five years. Method II: Population projection using new housing construction and household densities . The following are median household densities taken from Census data: 1960 1970 1980 1990 3.57 3.22 2.94 2.65 persons persons persons persons per per per per household household household household There has been an average decrease of 0.23 persons per household for each 10 year period between 1960 and 1990, which is equivalent to an average 8.6 percent decrease per each 1o year period . Assuming that this decrease will continue at an average of 0.23 persons per household for each 10 year interval through the year 2010, the following projection of household densities (at 5 year intervals) reflects that decrease: 1990 2.65 1995 2.53 2000 2.42 2005 2.30 -15- 2010 2.19 �Preliminary Census counts indicate there are 6,006 occupied housing units in the Township in 1990. One hundred eighty-seven housing units have been added to the Township's housing stock between 1980-89. It is estimated that 180 are occupied (applying a 4% vacancy factor). This is an average increase of 18 units per year over the past 10 years. However, over the past 50 years (1940-1990), the Township has added an average of 100 occupied dwelling units each year to its housing stock. This method assumes a slight increase in the 1980-1990 new housing occupancy rate to 25 units per year, or 1/2 of the average 1940-1990 annual growth in occupied dwelling units, that will be added to the Township's housing stock each year. The projected future occupied housing stock (based on a slight increase in 19801990 construction activity in the Township, resulting in a new average housing occupancy rate of 25 units per year) is: 1990 6,006 1995 6,130 2000 6,256 2005 6,380 ~ ~ • • •,. 2010 6,506 Multiplying the estimated number of occupied units by the estimated average household density for each five year interval yields the following household population projections: Year Population 1990 15,908 1995 15,509 2000 15,140 2005 14,674 2010 14,245 In addition, there were 54 residents of the Township who did not live in households in 1970 (these individuals resided in institutions or group quarters) representing 0.3% of the Township's population. By 1980, there were 147 individuals not living in households, or 0.8% of the population. By 1990, the 0.8% proportion remained, with 123 people living in group quarters. Assuming that rate (0.8%) will continue over the next 20 years, there will be 124 residents living in group quarters in 1995, 121 in the year 2000, 117 in 2005, and 113 by 2010. Adding those residents to the residents living in households results in the following total population projections: 1990 16,031 1995 15,633 2000 15,261 2005 14,791 -16- 2010 14,361 : • • • • • �~ : • • " Method Ill: Population projections based upon Bangor Township's population as a proportion of Bay County's total population. This method incorporates the historical comparison of the Township's population as a proportion of the county's total population and projects those proportions (ratios) over the next 20 years. In 1960, Bangor Township contained 10.9% of the county's population. In 1970, this proportion increased to 13.5%, by 1980 it was 14.5%, and in 1990 it remained at approximately 14.5%. Assuming a 1% increase in the Township's proportion of the county's population (the rate of increase between 197089) over each 10 year period through the year 2010, the Township's projected population would comprise 15.5% of the county's estimated 2000 population, and 16.5% of county's 201 O population. This is based upon Bay County's projected population to the year 2010 from Population Projections for Michigan to the Year 2010, adjusted to 1990 preliminary Census counts. Year Population 1990 16,031 1995 17,020 2000 18,008 2005 19,037 2010 20,065 Method IV: East Central Michigan Regional Planning and Development Region population projections for Bangor Township (adjusted to conform to the 1990 preliminary Census count). ,. "• • • • • • Year Population 1990 16,031 1995 16,201 2000 16,373 2005 16,252 2010 16,179 Method I represents the highest projected growth in population (4,254 people) and Method II projects a decrease in population of 1,670 persons. The most accepted projection, given past trends is that shown in Method II, which is based on actual housing starts and household densities. Even though this method projects a decrease of 1,670 people in the Township over the next 20 years, it is the most realistic given lower birth rates, and the overall trend of migration from the northcentral and northeast portions of the country to the south and west. Overall, under any of the four methods, the Township is not expected to undergo the dramatic growth in the population it experienced up to 1980. It must be emphasized that this forecast is based upon historic growth patterns. The ability of the Township to implement the goals established in this Plan, along with the strength of the region's long-range economy and the Township's "carrying capacity" will define the �actual population growth rate. A continued decrease in population is not considered desirable. Therefore, a "target" population, which will enhance the overall stability and quality of life of the Township is presented in Method V. Method V: A 7.5% increase during each five year period (or 1.5% per year) over the preceding 5 year increment. This is a projection method that, unlike the other four, is based on an economic growth scenario rather than past trends. This reflects an accelerated growth dependent upon the regional economy and includes individuals not living in households. This accelerated growth scenario assumes the area's economy will do well over the next 20 years and the projection reflects a "target" population the Township would prefer to reach. Therefore, this is the population projection upon which this Plan will be based. It is predicted upon regional and local conditions and policies that will, in effect, reverse the overall decline in population in this area of the State in recent decades. Year Population 1990 16,031 1995 17,233 -18- 2000 18,525 2005 19,918 + • • • • • 2010 21,411 • • • • • • • �FIGURE 2 BANGOR TOWNSHIP POPULATION PROJECTIONS 25,000 ..... , 20,000 z 0 ~ --- 17,233 17,090 17,020 15,201 18,0J"I 1133 1S,S2.5 18,110 -' ~ - - ,..... 18,373 ~· ~r+~BB 1,, METHOD V 285 20.000 11,037 14.262 18,179 METHOD IV 15,201 15,000 ... METHOD II 14.311 14,7111 <( _J • =:) o_ O 10,000 o_ 5,000 • • • • • • 0 1990 1995 2000 YEAR -19- 2005 2010 �• Housing • �HOUSING Housing Characteristics • Many elements of a community make up its quality of life, and housing is one of the most important elements. Housing is unique because it is really the only component within the community that is intimately associated with each household and at the same time, when taken as a whole, is a primary community resource. Whereas businesses and community facilities are important to the total perception and functioning of an area, they are not as integral to household functioning as individual residences. Consequently, the quality of housing more directly reflects the quality of life of a household. Housing Type Bangor Township's housing stock consists primarily of single-family units, as does the rest of Bay County. The proportion of single-family housing in the Township is slightly higher than the county in general. Mobile homes comprise the second largest proportion of housing units within the Township, followed by multiple-family housing. • • • • Table 4 profiles the characteristics of housing types, including changes between 1970 and 1980, for Bangor Township, Bay County, Bay City and selected comparable townships. The most dramatic change in single-family housing took place in Bangor and Hampton townships, where each increased by 1,000 units, although the proportion of single-family units within Hampton Township actually decreased by 1980. Hampton Township experienced a relatively larger rate of growth in multiplefamily housing than other jurisdictions, while Bay City actually lost multiple-family housing during that decade. The increase in mobile homes in Bangor Township was minimal, while the other jurisdictions (except for the county) doubled or tripled the number of mobile homes placed within their boundaries. This trend has essentially continued through the 1980's, with new housing construction being primarily singlefamily. The rate of growth, however, especially in Bangor Township has decreased substantially, with new construction between 1980-89 representing about 12 percent of the new construction that occurred in the Township during the 1970's. Hampton and Monitor townships experienced less of a decrease in new construction during the 1980's, with new residential building representing approximately 20 percent and 37 percent, respectively, of those township's building activity during the 1970's . -20- �t TABLE 4 HOUSIN3 TYPE (YEAR-ROUND) SELECTED O)MMUNITIES 1 Unit Unit of Government % of 1970 1970 'Ibtal % of Co. Bangor Township 3,964 81. 7 Harcpton Township 1,597 z.t:>nitor Township z.t:>bile Hones 2+ Units % of % of 1970 1970 'Ibtal % of % of % of 1980 1980 'Ibtal % of Co. 1980 'Ibtal % of 562 9.2 9.4 493 10.2 29.4 507 8.3 22.7 10.2 966 24.8 16.1 104 4.6 6.2 333 8.6 14.9 1.6 0.7 131 3.8 2.2 160 6.5 9.5 311 9.1 13. 9 3,910 24.1 74.3 3,562 21.8 59.5 46 2.8 2.7 172 1.1 7.7 5,261 14.6 100.0 5,985 13. 9 100.0 1,679 4.7 100.0 2,236 5.2 100.0 % of 1980 1980 'Ibtal 13.6 5,020 82.4 14.4 395 8.1 7.5 71.4 5.5 2,589 66.6 7.4 536 24.0 2,264 91.9 7.8 2,961 87.0 8.5 39 Bay City 12,262 75.6 42.1 12,577 77.1 36.0 29,121 80.8 100.0 34,949 81.0 100.0 Co. % of 1970 'Ibtal % of Co. 1980 Co. 1970 Co. I N _. I Bay County SOURCE: 1970, 1980 Census of Housing _____ ,,,-1--- �Housing Occupancy Housing occupancy refers to owner-occupied, renter-occupied or vacant housing that is available for occupancy. In 1970 there were 4,957 total housing units in the Township (of which 4,852 (97%) were year-round) and 4,665 were occupied. At that time, 3,364 or 69 percent, of the year-round units were occupied by households that owned their own residences, 1,114 units (23%) were renter-occupied and 187 units (3.5%) were vacant. There were 105 seasonal units in the Township in 1970. The Township's rental activity decreased during the 1970-1980 decade. By 1980, the total number of housing units in the Township increased to 6,142 (an increase of 1,185 units, or 23.9%), the year-round housing increased to 6,089, or 99.1 percent of the total supply, indicating that the majority, if not all, of the units that were removed during the 1970's were seasonal, or that seasonal units were converted to yearround housing. During the same 10 year period, the number of owner-occupied houses increased by 1,469 units while the number of rental units decreased by 42. Of the total number of units in the Township in 1980, about one-third were in Area F, with Areas A and C containing about 18 percent each of the Township's housing stock. Conversely, Area H only contained about two percent of all housing units. Countywide, rental housing decreased substantially as a proportion of total housing. This may be partly due to the declining economy of the area, which created an impetus for migration out of the county. Renter households have more flexibility in this ability to move. By 1980, therefore, owner-occupied housing comprised almost 82 percent of the supply of occupied housing, while countywide, owner-occupied housing accounted for about 79 percent of all occupied housing units. New housing in the Township between 1980 and November, 1989 continued to be oriented toward owner-occupied units. Of the 182 new units built during that period, all (except for 5 mobile homes) were single-family site built units. Table 5 Planning Area Housing Units - depicts the changes that have occurred over the past 19 years within the Township, Bay City and Bay County. "• • -22- �TABLE 5 PLANNING AREA HOUSING UNITS City of Bay City 1970 Total Units 16,622 Year-Round 16,618 I of Total 1980 100.0 16,320 99 . 98 16,311 % of w 1989 100.0 16,460 99.94 16,451 Occupied 66.9 11,321 72.8 11,760 Renter--Occupied 5,233 33.l 4,224 27.2 3,925 % of Year- YearRound 73.8 12,577 2 Units 2,047 12.3 - - 3 or M::>re Units 2,263 2.8 3,562* 46 0.2 172 I »:>bile Hares or Trailer 99.9 -1.0 -1.0 4,959 100.0 6,142 97.8 6,089 4,852 N:>v. 1980 100.0 6,288 99.11 % of 1989 6,235 % of 72.l 4,831 81.8 4,959** 25.0 -25.0 1,301 27.9 1,072 18.2 1,089** 7.3 3,964 81.7 5,020 100.0 26.8 36,579 100.0 43,395 99.2 28.5 36,061 98.5 43,170 47.4 22,699 65.7 32,771 18.0 -16.3 11,872 34.3 8,577 % of YearRound YearRound - 5,156 82.7 - % of YearRound ' % of N:>v. Total 1989 % of Total ChangE 70-85 100.0 44,942 100.0 22.9 44,717 99.5 24.0 99.4 % of Occueied % of Occupied % of Occueied 82.0 % of 82.4 1980 Occupied 3,364 80.0 1970 I of Total % of Occupied I of YearRound Est. ' Olange Total 70-89 11.l 75.0 YearRound 77.l 13,161 Bay County I of Total % of O::cueied % of Round Single-Family 12,262 100.0 1970 I of Total Occupied 10,585 % of ' I of OlangE Total 70-85 % of CM!er--Occupied No. of Units in Structure: Year-Round I N:>v. % of Oc~ied N · I of Total ~or Townshie 79 . 3 32,911** 80.0 45.0 8,228** 20.0 -30.7 20.7 % of YearRound % of YearRound 30 . l 29,121 80.8 34,949 80.9 36,221 81.0 24.4 - - 2,370 6.6 - - - - - N.A. N.A. N.A 53 1.1 - 21.8 N.A. N.A. N.A. 342 7.0 562* 9.2 567* 9.1 43.5 1,552 4.3 5,985* 13.9 5,949* 13.3 51.6 1.1 N.A. N. A. N.A 493 10.l 507 8.3 512 8.2 3.9 1,679 4.7 2,236 5.2 2,549 5.7 51.8 *Includes 2 Unit Residences **Gove Estinates SOURCE: U.S. Census 1970 Census Tract I:ata; 1980 STF3A; Field Survey; O:msuner Q.Jestionnaire; Building Permit I:ata ~ '. -l__ ,1,111 �• • • • " Age of Housing Stock An important indicator of the quality and cultural significance of a community's housing stock is its age. In 1970, 19 percent of the Township's housing was built before 1940, that is, these units were 30 years old or older. By 1980, 11.5 percent of all housing units in the Township were built before 1940 and of those, eight percent were rental units. About seven percent of all rental units were constructed prior to 1940, compared to 16 percent for all owner-occupied housing, indicating that, in general, deteriorated housing is not concentrated within rental units although owner-occupied housing is typically maintained in better condition than rental housing. Overall, there were 933 units in the Township in 1970 that were constructed before 1940. By 1980, the Township contained 842 pre-1940 housing units indicating 91 older units were removed from the housing stock during that 10 year period. According to the 1980 Census, the largest proportion of the Township's oldest housing units are located in the Areas E, D and B, each with over 60%-70% of their existing units having been built prior to 1960. The largest number of newer dwellings (built since 1975) have been built in Area F. Housing Value "• • • The market value of housing, both in terms of median value and percentage of housing under a specified value, is a good indicator of housing quality as well as housing demand. In 1980, the median value of an owner-occupied residence in the Township was $42,400, which was 118 percent of the county's median owneroccupied housing value. However, it represented only 93 percent of Hampton Township's median value of $45,700 and 87 percent of Monitor Township's median value of $49,000. This can partly be attributed to the larger number of older (pre1940) homes in Bangor Township than in those two townships. In 1980, the median price asked for vacant homes for sale in Bangor Township was $50,000, or 93 percent of the $53,800 asked in Hampton Township, 102 percent of the $48,800 asked in Monitor Township and 189 percent of the $26,400 asked in Bay City. In 1989, the current value of owner-occupied housing for sale in Bangor Township is $69,916, compared to $70,333 in Monitor Township, $57,754 in Hampton Township and about $37,000 in Bay City. These figures indicate that the value of housing in the real estate market in Bangor Township has increased 40 percent over 1980, compared to a 44 percent increase in Monitor Township, a seven percent increase in Hampton Township, and a 40 percent increase in Bay City . -24- �FIGURE 3 MEDIAN HOUSING PRICE ASKED 80 70 n n n ,,---...._ 0 0 0 0 60 ,- 50 <( 40 w u er: - 0) c..o ffl -tjlJ) r------- ffl - lJ) Q_ 0 0 0 ....... ······· 0 0 20 r------- n ffl -tj- c..o- N ffl 10 z 0 IQ_ 2 <C I . Q_ er: w 1- I- 1- 3 . >- >OJ u o_ <( I- o:S z er: . Q_ 03 0 z I- <( 0 2 OJ AREA SOURCE: 1989 lJ) ...... . 0 . w .. ..... 30 ED 1980 ~ r------- n - ffl ~ U) 0 0 co w - r---- ffl .._____,, 0 c..o ,0) BAY CITY BOARD OF REALTORS ,25- • • • �Median contract rent is another indicator of the quality of housing, although it is also dependent upon the availability of supply and the extent of local demand for rental units. In 1980, the median contract rent in Bangor Township was $302, compared to $219 in Hampton Township and $223 in Monitor Township, indicating that, in general, rental housing is of a relatively higher quality in Bangor Township. Rental housing in the area is currently in demand, with low vacancy rates and an average rent of $350-$400 per month. Within the Township in 1980, the median value of owner-occupied (primarily single-family) housing varied from $30,868 in Area H to $52,940 in Area C. In general, housing in the western portions of the Township, Areas A, B, C and D averaged about $48,883 compared to approximately $33,054 in the remainder of the Township. Areas A, B, C and Dare more established areas of conventional yearround housing, some being newer subdivisions of larger single-family homes. Much of the balance of the Township is comprised of smaller homes on larger, irregularly split parcels. Synopsis Bangor Township, which experienced substantial residential development in the 1970s has, during the 1980's, become a 'maturing' residential community. Although the growth in single-family housing in the Township has continued at a relatively high rate during the past decade, other townships such as Monitor and Hampton seem to have surpassed Bangor Township in housing starts. This 'stabilization' - that is, the moderate growth in housing the Township has experienced during the 80s - is desirable in that it permits a steady growth in the Township's tax base, while creating minimal impact upon the Township's resources. This is reflected in the 40 percent increase in the sale prices of owner-occupied homes in the Township . • • • ..:26- �• • "• " Economy �ECONOMY Introduction The development of a community is influenced to a great extent by economic activity within its boundaries as well as the economic vitality of the region in which it is located. Studies of the local and regional economy are therefore essential as a basis for forecasting the type, amount and timing of the growth that will occur in the community and consequently the impact upon land use and the public facilities that will be required. Regional Economy The economy of a community is heavily influenced by regional trends. In large part, when the region is prospering, this prosperity is reflected in local communities. For this reason, regional economic trends need to be assessed before local trends are evaluated. Bangor Township is in Bay County, which is the Bay City Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA). The Bay City MSA is part of the larger East Central Planning and Development Region, which contains 14 counties in what is referred to as the "Thumb Area" of Michigan. The Region's economic base has historically been associated with automobile manufacturing and agriculture. Although the automobile industry has been declining it still remains a major employment source within the Region. As with the country as a whole, the Region's economy is becoming increasingly oriented toward nonmanufacturing industries, such as professional services, motel and restaurant employment. • In October 1989, there were 192,500 people in the labor force living in the Saginaw Bay City - Midland Labor Market Area (LMA). At the same time, there were 162,600 people engaged in wage and salary employment in the LMA, with 52,300, or 32 percent, in goods producing industries and 110,300, or 68 percent, in service producing industries. The largest manufacturing category was transportation equipment, followed by chemicals and petroleum. These are associated primarily with General Motors operations in Saginaw and Bay City and Dow Chemical in -27- �Midland. The largest service-producing industry was general services, such as medical, professional, social and other similar activities, with 38,100 employees, followed by retail trade (31,700 employees) and government (20,900 employees), most (including school teachers) of whom were employed with local governments. As the automobile industry - a major economic force within the region - enters the 1990's, it is expected to undergo substantial changes, including possible reduction in size of operations and employment. At the same time, the start-up and expansion of new small businesses will likely continue providing greater opportunities for additional employment than the area's major manufacturers. As a matter of fact, data available in County Business Patterns shows that over 50 percent of all firms in Bay County employ one to four persons. In Michigan, small firms enjoyed a net growth of 91,866 jobs between 1979-84, while employment in large firms declined by over 383,000 during that time. To facilitate this trend, and promote economic and employment diversity for residents of the Township as well as the Bay City area, Bangor Township should orient and design its industrial land uses to accommodate small manufacturing and service industries (i.e. incubator programs). The Region has identified issues and trends pertaining to economic development within the east-central portion of the state. These trends are important to the future of Bangor Township, as they will impact the type, quantity and location of land use activities the Township must provide to accommodate future economic development. These trends are: Retail and service industries will continue to grow, although they will provide a relatively low wage scale. Manufacturing operations will continue to downscale but the slack will be taken up by new small businesses. Job training programs continue to be important. Diversification will continue to be pursued. This includes tourism, service and retail businesses. Recreation development particularly on the Saginaw Bay, should also be sensitive to the environment. -28- �Boating, fishing and waterfront access and recreation are key elements in the state's and region's effort to bolster tourism and recreation development. Bangor Township is in a position to capitalize on this effort (i.e. access to water). Water quality issues related to the Saginaw Basin can have a significant negative effect on the tourist industry. These issues must be addressed on an areawide basis. Providing water and sewer systems on an areawide basis contributes to coordination and cost-effectiveness in development. Aging infrastructure, especially roads and bridges, need to be upgraded. These can be deterrents to economic development (new roads also need to be developed). Local Economy An assessment of the local economy of Bangor Township provides an insight into the role that the Township plays in the Region. In 1980, approximately 52 percent of all employed residents of the Township worked in Bay City and 45 percent of all employed Township residents worked in either the durable goods manufacturing industry or in retail trade. Most of the retail trade employment is either in downtown Bay City or in the Euclid Avenue strip commercial corridor. Within Bangor Township, service and manufacturing industries provide the largest employment base. Major employers include Bangor Township School (300 full and part-time employees), Dow Chemical Plastic Line Pipe Plant (132 employees) on E. Wilder Road, Made-Rite Potato Chip Company (100 employees) on N. Euclid, Euclid Tool and Machine (36 employees) on N. Euclid, Schmidt Tool and Machine (26-30 employees) on Patterson, Dobson Heavy Hau,I, Inc. (25 employees) on N. Euclid, and Bay Health Systems (2,000 total employees in the Bay City area). In addition, there are approximately 200 other employees in the Dow Chemical complex in the Wilder Road area. These companies are fairly randomly dispersed within the Township and except for the Dow Chemical complex, do not require large parcels -29- �for their activities. Other major employers include Bay Medical Center West Complex; Bayshores Nursing Home; K-Mart (with 135 employees, mostly part-time) . Retail trade is an important component of the Township's economic base, with the existence of retail and service establishments within the Euclid Avenue corridor, including the North Pointe Mall. The construction of a new regional mall at the intersection of Wilder and State roads, will enhance the Township's position as a major commercial retail and service center in the Bay City area, as well as the TriCounty region. The mall will likely have "spin-off" effects, creating a market for additional retail and service businesses, and perhaps multiple-family housing, along Wilder road, as well as State Street. The overall effect will be a substantial increase in service employment, especially retail trade, within the Township. At the same time, the Township, as well as Bay County, is analyzing the potential of the Saginaw Bay and Saginaw River as major economic resources, particularly for recreation oriented activities. The Bay County Growth Alliance has formed a Waterfront Steering Committee to oversee the development of the County's waterfront resources, including those in Bangor Township. The Committee has developed a strategy that essentially calls for a greater enhancement and diversification of the waterfront, including fishing, hunting, parks, commercial shipping, storage and processing, boating, housing and infrastructure improvements. These are all to be accomplished in a manner sensitive to the waterfront's natural environment. Many of the activities that the Committee will be addressing are located in Bangor Township adjacent to the Saginaw River, as well as the shoreline of the Saginaw Bay. While portions of this shoreline area are lowland and consequently not developable, there are sites that are buildable or conducive to recreational access and could be used to enhance the shoreline's economic viability, which in turn will contribute to the diversity of the Township's economic base. This will be addressed in more detail in a separate section of the Plan pertaining to shoreline development. -30- "• �State Egualized Valuation The State Equalized Valuation on real property is very important to a community since it is the basis for local property tax revenues, one of the primary sources of revenue to meet government expenses. Egualized Value Equalized value is a barometer of the economic activity occurring in an area. Equalized value reflects market value of real property and hence a comparison of equalized values of real property classifications over time will indicate the relative strengths of the various types of property in the community. Between 1980 and 1989, the Township's total state equalized valuation increased by 28.5 percent from $147,920,400 to $190,078,500. Equalized valuation for real property only increased by 28.7 percent from $131,154,500 to $168,835,800 during that period. In 1980, the Township's real property valuation accounted for 11.6 percent of the total county valuation. By 1989 the Township's real property valuation was 14.3 percent of the county's. Table 6 displays the change in real property values for the Township and other jurisdictions in the county. The table shows that, Bangor Township's equalized valuation for all real property grew at a higher rate than other comparable jurisdictions. The Township's real property valuation also increased as a portion of the entire county's real property SEV between 1980 and 1989 (from 11.6% to 12.2%). Overall, the Township has the third highest SEV in Bay County, behind Hampton Township and Bay City. Hampton Township's real property valuation actually decreased as a result of a decreasing or re-adjusted industrial property valuation. ~ •I In 1989, Bangor Township's real property valuation consisted of commercial ($37,802,300 or 22% of the Township's total real property), industrial ($11,012,800 or 6.5%), residential ($118,878,600 or 70.4%), and developmental ($1,142,100 or 0.7%). Obviously, residential land use is the greatest contributor to the Township's economy. As a matter of fact, except for Bay City, Bangor Township has the highest assessed residential property valuation in the County. It also has the third highest industrial and second highest commercial valuation in Bay County. As commercial development continues to grow in the Township, it is expected that this property valuation will likely increase at a faster rate than residential. Overall, Bangor Township's economic base, in terms of real property value, is healthier than most other jurisdictions in Bay County . -31- �TABLE 6 REAL PROPERTY VALUATION (S.E.V.) 1980-1989 Unit Bangor Twp. Hampton Twp. 1980 $131,154,500 %of Total 1989 11.63 %of Total % Change 1980-89 $168,835,800 12.2 28.7 328,426,400 29.1 320,576,650 23.3 -2.4 Kawkawlin Twp. 22,313,800 3.6 48,206,600 3.5 120.0 Monitor Twp. 87,319,100 7.7 109,029,900 7.9 24.9 223,460,939 19.8 254,840,600 18.5 14.0 $1,127,957,361 100.0 $1,378,554,676 100.0 22.2 Bay City Bay County Total SOURCE: Bay County Equalization Department -32- �• •,. • Natural Resources and Existing Land Use �NATURAL RESOURCES AND EXISTING LAND USE Introduction Any decisions that impact upon or change the physical development of the Township must be done in the framework of existing development. Residential, commercial, industrial and other land use patterns will greatly influence such decisions. Following are some of the basic applications of the analysis of existing land use that local officials may find useful: defines principal traffic generators can be used to estimate existing needs for municipal services shows areas and particular locations of incompatible land uses provides an understanding of physical features and their relationship to the development of various land uses can be used in the day-to-day problems of zoning and subdivision review Along with the relationship of various land uses within the Township, the strengths and weaknesses of land use patterns will be analyzed. Major problems in land development, including drainage, destruction of scenic areas, strip commercial development, and other natural and man-made problems will be identified. On the other hand, inherent positive resources such as shoreline areas, will also be discussed. Natural Resources The specific land uses of any area are often determined, in large part, by the existing natural resources. This includes factors such as topography, soil types, climate, vegetation, groundwater, and wildlife. Because Bangor Township is a part of a much larger area - i.e. Bay County and the "Thumb Area" of the State - many of its features are similar to the surrounding areas, and may be dealt with in general terms (i.e. climate). Other resources, such as wetlands, forest areas and shoreline, are much more specific to various parts of the Township, and can be mentioned independently. -33- �Bangor Township covers only 15 square miles, less than one-half of a standard geographical Township, which contributes to its high population density of 1,195 persons per square mile - the highest in Bay County. It has a level topography throughout. The residential portions of the Township are located around a strip commercial business district, and there are dispersed woodlots and wetlands within the Township. An important consideration when determining the use of land in most areas are the various soil types available. Soils, and their various associations, are related to geology, relief (topography) and natural vegetation of the area. Each soil type and/or association has defined limitations for specific types of development, and is, in turn, reflected in the analysis and establishment of the land use plan. Bangor Township contains 16 different soil types and associations, primarily consisting of the Pipestone, Tobico and Belleville associations and areas designated as Urban Land. Except for a small portion of the Township comprised of the Rousseau series, running in a northwest - southeast direction south of the Kawkawlin River, an overwhelmingly large proportion of the Township has soils with severe limitations for development. These limitations are due primarily to wet soils and potential flooding. The fact that a good portion of the Township is already developed with single-family dwellings and commercial and industrial businesses on these soils, obviously indicates that these limitations have been overcome through various engineering and construction processes, primarily the placement of storm sewers and retention basins during the 1970's. Topography The topography of the Township is representative of the county and surrounding areas in general. The relatively flat land varies only from a low point of 585 feet above sea level in the northern portion of the Township, to a high of 600 feet above sea level in the southwest corner of the Township. Generally, elevations range around 585 feet above sea level, which is only about five feet above the average 580 feet mean sea level of Lake Huron. This slight difference between the level of Lake Huron and the elevation of much of the Township creates a substantial potential for flooding. As a matter of fact, a large portion of the Township is in the 100 year floodplain (see Map 3). Almost all of the Township south of the Kawkawlin River is subject to 100 year flooding for about a mile and one-half inland from the Saginaw -34- " �·-- - - - - ~ ---- 11 • • • • • • • • -------- \ - ~ ! i ~ ..,.,_ ! j•· ~Q-1'~"' 9-il- ! ' ,tf ! !) -., • ., lf=d en -· I w II~~/= (JI I - ST II OffYf6M'f'CffY I~ ! ,, • ...IYbl,4. I I ill i ~ J~ legend ~ 100 YEAR FLOODPLAIN ~ 500 YEAR FLOODPLAIN MAP3 FLOOD PRONE AREAS _,,. .... @I Gove Associates Inc. �II I II I I I I I I I -I I a I I • •I Bay and the Saginaw River. Most of that land is currently vacant and zoned for industrial use. There are, however, a number of residential plats that are also within the 100 year flood zone. This includes parcels of both sides of the Kawkawlin River and along the Saginaw Bay shoreline between the Kawkawlin and Saginaw rivers. Water /Wetlands Water plays a predominant role in the natural (and man-made) environment of the Township. There are five and one-half miles of Lake Huron (Saginaw Bay) shoreline, five. miles of Saginaw River shoreline and 5. 7 miles of shoreline on the Kawkawlin River. In addition, Tobico Marsh, the largest inland body of water, and Tobico Lagoon are surrounded by approximately four and one-fourth miles of Bangor Township shoreline. These bodies of water and shoreline areas are important resources for a wide variety of activities, from wildlife habitats to boating and swimming, to Great Lakes shipping and storage, as well as select residential development. Because of their impact upon the Township's economy and environment, shoreline land uses will be treated as primary components of this Plan. Tobico Marsh is a shallow body of water/woodland covering approximately 660 acres in Kawkawlin and Bangor Township. About 200 acres are open water. Approximately 80 acres of open water within the Marsh are in Bangor Township. Tobico Lagoon, which covers about 30 acres, is southeast of the marsh and has direct access to Saginaw Bay. This open water /woodland system is part of the 2,000 acre Tobico Marsh State Game Area. The Game Area also contains the Tobico Marsh Interpretive Areas, a wildlife refuge containing a wide variety of water fowl, as well as natural vegetation ranging from cattail marshes to stands of oaks and maples. The Tobico Marsh is a registered natural landmark of the U.S. Department of Interior. In addition to Tobico Marsh and Lagoon, there are over 600 acres of wetlands (primarily shrub and hardwood) distributed throughout the Township (see Map 4). These wetland sites are protected by Michigan law and consequently it is difficult to alter them to accommodate development. Climate Because Bangor Township is on the Lake Huron shoreline, the influence of Lake Huron is substantial. Lake Huron's most noticeable influence is its capacity to moderate temperatures during the summer and winter. The average temperature -36- �- • 1111 • • • - ••••• Ill • ,i;.9, \. ,g .,._. LEGEND ~ OPEN WATER E!] SHRUB, EMERGENT, AQUATIC BED ~ LOWL AND HARDWOOD -t.. <il\-..., ill , ... ! "''"* •• ~j 1111111 1,Y·f~..... ~ "8m&• n,.~ c::i ··......... % --•:•:•:•.:•.. %, ~ ~/~///////// ::. : /::;,/ :::. . • • ,W//, IP~ ~ - I ftQ Y • lllf, , ~ ¥• ... .,. ': •• :-. . .)iW-.". . . /b'l"": ·--·: :=: : : : :X~ , I ~i;i,,,..,,. 9-1>- ~ DR ! I ----'sf' I L-...U..._ILJL I ~r--,r-- • ST u.) --.I 1, I 'i MAP4 WETLANDS . _,,. , @I Gove Associates Inc . �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • during January is about 23 degrees F., and in July, the hottest month of the year, the average temperature is about 72 degrees F. The Township's location on the eastern side of the state protects it from the lake effect snows of Lake Michigan. Consequently, the area receives relatively less snow than most of the state. The Township's climate is continental. Because the day-to-day weather is controlled largely by the movement of pressure systems across the nation, prolonged periods of hot, humid weather in summer, and extreme cold in winter, are seldom experienced . Precipitation averages approximately 28 inches a year, with the majority falling in June (about 3. inches). More snow falls in January (11 inches) than in any other time of the year. There are 147 frost-free days during the year, and 197 days when the temperature is 28 degrees F. or higher, allowing for a relatively longer growing season than many parts of the state. Again, this is primarily due to the tempering effects of Saginaw Bay. Vegetation When the Bay City Area was first settled (about 1831), lumbering and farming were the major enterprises. Lumbering reached its pinnacle in the mid-1880's, giving rise to agriculture. Trees common to the area include Red Maple, White Ash, Eastern Cottonwood and Pin Oak. Existing soils lend themselves well to plantings of White and Norway Spruces, Eastern Cottonwood and Eastern White and Austrian Pines. Although much of the Township is urbanized there is still a large amount of woodland, particularly in the Tobico Marsh State Game Area, within the Bay City State Park, near the mouth of the Kawkawlin River, near the mouth of the Saginaw River and on the northside of the Kawkawlin River on the westside of the Township. In addition, there are several large woodlots in the southwest portion of the Township . The Township also contains several protected plant communities, all located either within the Tobico Marsh State Game Area or the Bay City State Park. Special Areas A portion of the Saginaw Bay shoreline in Bangor Township is designated as an Environmental Area under the Shoreland Protection and Management Act (P.A. 245) of 1970. This area (see Map 4) is currently subdivided and improved (Shady Shores -38- �Subdivision) and activities such as earthfilling are reportedly occurring within this area without permits which is a concern to both the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Army Corp of Engineers. Environmental areas are designated as such for the preservation and maintenance of fish and wildlife, including spawning, nesting, migration, shelter or refuge. Permits must be obtained for any dredging, filling, diking, soil or natural drainage alteration, removal of vegetation or construction of permanent structures. Bangor Township also contain two stretches of shoreline, approximately 1.25 miles long that are designated under Act 245 of 1970 as High Risk Erosion Areas (see Map 5). These areas, one within the Bay City State Park and the other within the Shady Shores and Sunset Shores subdivisions near the mouth of the Saginaw River, are unstable and present a degree of hazard and risk for development. Under the Act, permits for construction or enlargement of a permanent structure on a site is required. Shoreline recession rates (erosion) vary from an average of 0.9 feet per year to 3.5 feet per year along the State Park Shoreline and from 1.6 feet per year to 5. 7 feet per year near the mouth of the Saginaw River. Protection of these areas from further erosion is important for the maintenance of a viable beachfront and shoreline. Land Use Classifications A classification of land uses is necessary to ensure a common understanding of the material presented. Land use can be grouped into major categories such as residential, commercial, industrial, open land uses and others. However, these categories are not precise enough for planning purposes and further division of the major categories is necessary. The following is a description of the various land use classifications used in this Plan. " •-. • • • • ' ' Residential This indicates an area in which dwellings with their accessory buildings occupy the major portion of the land and include the following subcategories: Single-Family Residential - An area in which a single-family dwelling unit and its accessory buildings are located. -39- • • • • �--11111111 ~~ 1:,~ l LEGEND i lffl ~ .,.,_ • HIGH RISK EROSION AREA ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREA 2 6 h~ ~ ~ O()~ '· ~ ~ ~ ~ fl ~Gl'J,.. ,,_ ~ DR l I n CllYflMY«rn" Il * ... ., •• "==fl 1,d, ~If!!!;~~ • OTYifl-MTCITY ~~~ I I ST 1r +:> 0 CIT"fflU't<ffY' I U [Jil m;:;m 1 MAP 5 •• AREAS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN _,,.,,,, @I Gove Associates Inc. �• " • • • • • • •I I I I I Duplex - A building containing two separate living quarters for occupancy by two households. Multiple-Family - An area in which there are three or more dwelling units per residential structure or lot, consisting primarily of apartments. Mobile Homes - Year-round or seasonal mobile homes . Commercial These uses are land areas, with or without structures, where goods are distributed or personal business services are provided, including the retail sale of goods and services to local residents and highway oriented uses. Offices This category would include such uses as professional offices, real estate offices, banks and insurance companies . Public and Semi-Public Land areas and facilities which are available to or used by all of the people within a particular service area, such as schools, libraries and government buildings, are in this category. Also included in this classification are areas and buildings which are used by a limited number of persons with particular interest and nonprofit organizations. They are uses such as churches, clubs and other activities . Recreation and Open Space This category includes land areas with or without structures that cater to the recreation needs of the public. Such land uses include parks, recreation areas and similar uses. Planned Unit Development (P.U.D.) A Planned Unit Development refers to a residential, commercial, industrial land use (or mix of any or all of those three) that encompasses a fairly large area, is designed -41- �• and presented in substantial detail as a single entity and is not necessarily subject to local zoning regulations, but rather is approved and constructed within specified standards and agreements with the local governing body, and in effect contains substantial capacity for design flexibility. Warehousing and Storage This classification applies to land areas which are used for the open storage of materials, such as concrete block, coal, junk cars and other waste materials, or enclosed storage areas, such as store houses, depots or other warehousing. Manufacturing and Utility Plants Manufacturing includes land areas with or without buildings where new or semifinished material is processed, fabricated and/or manufactured. Utilities include both public and private uses for providing general utility services, such as electric power stations, gas regulator stations and other facilities of this nature. Transportation This category is comprised of all dedicated surface rights-of-way, including highways and railroads, which are used for the movement of people and goods and parking areas. Agricultural Land This classification is applied principally to land areas used for crop land, permanent pasture land and land lying fallow but which indicates cultivation at an earlier date. Due to the variations in the agricultural practices of farmers in terms of land cultivation, this classification is flexible for specific parcels. Vacant Land Vacant land is land not used for any purpose heretofore listed in built-up areas or undeveloped portions of the planning area and includes scrub areas and vacant lots within built-up subdivisions. -42- "• �• Analysis of Land Use Patterns The land use categories defined above are essentially similar to those used in the Township's 1981 Future Land Use Plan. The distribution and quantities of land uses defined in that plan were used as the basis for determining the quantities of land uses in the updated plan. That is, new residential, commercial, industrial and public improvement acreages between 1980 and 1989 were added to the 1979 land use inventory to determine current land use quantities. The updated inventory was obtained through building permit data and 1989 aerial photographs of the Township. The comparative 1979 and 1989 tabulations are displayed in Table 7. The distribution of these land uses in 1989 are shown on Map 6. • • • •I I I I I I I I Overall, the Township's land use is devoted primarily to residential development, with substantial amounts of industrial acreage in large tracts and an increasing volume of vehicular-oriented commercial corridor development. There are 75 recorded singlefamily residential subdivisions distributed throughout the Township as well as a substantial number of larger parcels (5 or more acres). Bangor Township contains approximately 180 privately owned parcels of five or more acres, not including blocks of large acreages, particularly along the west bank of the Saginaw River owned by corporate (industrial) entities . The following analyses describes each land use classification within Bangor Township in further detail. Residential Single-Family Residential Within Bangor Township, approximately 2,126 acres or 22 percent of the Township's total area is devoted to single-family use. Single-family development in the Township has occurred in three distinct patterns. These include the small lot subdivisions along the Bayshore and the mouth of the Kawkawlin River, the splitting of metes and bounds acreage into parcels throughout the central portion of the Township, and larger lot subdivisions located in the southwest corner of the Township. Metes and bounds parcel development is prevalent throughout the central portion of the Township, along the major roadways and backing onto the Kawkawlin River. This type of development creates, in many places, a confusion of properties and -43- �········-----•-,,,, ~~ ...... ...... LEGEND II f~:i SINGLE-FAMILY m Wfm MULTI-FAMILY , II MOBILE HOMES • mi 111n INSTlllJTIONAL CONVENIENCE COMMERCIAL WAREHOUSING/STORAGE Ill PUBLIC RECREATION OFFICE RETAIL/SERVICE COMMERCIAL • PUBLIC FACILITY COMMERCIAL RECREATION INDUSTRIAL . ~~ ,., e.,,_ -- ~ _p. art•·-M.v MAP 6 EXISTING LAND USE @ Gove Associates Inc. �I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I rights-of-way. Many larger parcels with river frontage have been divided and subdivided into smaller, irregularly shaped parcels with frontage on the water. Several parcels appear to be landlocked. Parcel divisions along the roadways generally contain more acreage than those parcels with river frontage. The original parcel splits on the major roads averaged 1,320 ± feet in depth and contained five to ten acres in area. Many parcels were further segmented. Thus, there are a multitude of parcels of one-third to one acre in area fronting on the roadways. This type of metes and bounds parceling has almost precluded the development of any future improved subdivision development because of the difficulties of combining enough acreage to make platting feasible. There are, however, a few larger parcels of yet undeveloped land between State Road and Patterson Road and in Sections 30 and 31 in the northwest portion of the Township, north of Lauria Road. More intensive development has occurred in the southwest area of the Township. Some older plats, located along Euclid Avenue, have lots averaging 50' x 100' (5,000 square feet) and were developed in a now outdated grid pattern. Over the past ten to fifteen years many of the platted properties along Euclid Avenue have undergone a transition, changing from residential to commercial uses. Between Euclid Avenue and Two-Mile Road, the Township' westerly boundary, there are many subdivisions which are developed around 1,300-foot cul-de-sacs, with no provision for vehicular and pedestrian access between subdivisions. The more recent subdivisions contain lots of 90' x 110' (9,900 square feet) and larger. Many of the newer developments have also been developed with curvalinear street patterns, with connections between adjacent subdivisions, thus allowing for a better internal traffic flow and providing alternative routes for public safety vehicles. The subdivisions in this area of this Township are more fully developed, with many at 100% capacity. The eight "neighborhood" areas of single-family use, based upon census tract data, are described in further detail in the following analysis. Area A, bounded by the Michigan Central Railroad tracks on the north, Euclid Avenue on the east, Kiesel Road on the south and Two Mile Road on the west, encompasses approximately 886 acres with a mixture of single-family, multiple-family, public, commercial and vacant land uses. About 50 percent of this "neighborhood" I I -45- �is platted into small residential lots in 14 single-family subdivisions. This area contains 1,220 housing units, of which 840 (69%) are single-family. Area A is one of the highest average density areas in the Township for single-family housing (one single-family house per 0.35 acres overall). The majority of housing units are on 1/4 to 1/2 acre parcels. Twenty-one percent of all single-family housing in Area A were constructed during the 1950's, 55 percent were built between 1960 and 1979 and 12 percent between 1979 and 1989. Only 12 percent were built prior to 1950. About 75 percent of those lots are currently developed with larger, modern houses with a 1980 median price of $50,978. Using the 40 percent average Township-wide increase in housing prices between 1980-1989, the current median value of a house in Area A would be $71,684. Between 1980 and 1989, 34 (18%) of the 187 singlefamily residences constructed within the Township were built in this Area, primarily within the Allen, Northgate #1, 2, 3 and West Central Park subdivisions, north and south of Wilder Road. These subdivisions contain 1/4 to 1/2 acre lots and have full public services and utilities, including sewer, water and natural gas. Area B is an area of older homes adjacent to the City of Bay City municipal boundary and is defined by the Mid Central Railroad tracks on the north, Wenona Street on the east, North Union Road on the south and Euclid Avenue on the west. This area contains about 462 acres, comprised of vehicular commercial, single-family residential and vacant (undeveloped) lands south of Wilder Road and a more complex mix of single-family, commercial, industrial and undeveloped parcels north of Wilder Road. There are four single-family subdivisions in Area B containing 291 single-family homes with an estimated 1989 median value of $54,982. The overall density for single-family housing in this Area is one unit per 0.30 acres, although about 90 percent of all single-family units are located between Gary Street on the north and North Union Street on the south. Forty-three percent of the single-family residences in this Area were constructed during the 1950's, with only 28 percent constructed during the past 30 years. Most of these units are situated on smaller, standard residential lots of 1/9 acre to 1/2 acre. Since 1980, one new single-family structure has been built in Area B. A connecting spur of the Michigan Central Railroad runs north and south in this Area, in effect separating single-family residences into two neighborhoods. The single-family neighborhood north of Wilder Road is also adjacent to a railroad right-of-way and is surrounded by industrial and commercial land uses. In effect, this neighborhood is defined by a relatively high degree of incompatible land uses. -46- • • • • • • • �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •~ Area C contains a predominantly single-family residential area bordered by Kiesel Road on the north, Euclid Avenue on the east, Midland Road on the south and Two Mile Road on the west. This area contains 12 single-family subdivisions incorporating 577 single-family units, with a mean value of approximately $75,025. These are homes that are predominately located on 1/4 to 1/2 acre parcels, although there are a number of 5, 10 and 20 acre parcels that are also improved with single-family residences. The overall single-family density in Area C, which encompasses 587 acres, is one unit per 0.38 acres. Most of the single-family residences are within the designated subdivisions. There is approximately 100 acres of larger undeveloped, unplatted land within Area C that could be developed as single (or multiple) family residential. Seventy-nine percent of the single-family residential housing in this Area was built between 1950 and 1980, with another 15 units constructed between 19801989. In Area D, which is bounded by Midland Road, Euclid Avenue, Fisher Road and Two Mile Road and encompasses 293 acres, there are 300 single-family units, with an overall (gross) single-family density of one unit per 0.32 acres. There are five singlefamily subdivisions in Area D that contain about 2/3 of all residential units. Many of these, to the west of Euclid Avenue, are on small lots of less than 1/4 acre, while others, along Two Mile Road, are an acre or larger and some parcels along Midland Road are approximately .5 acres in size. The estimated 1989 mean value of these units is $53,513, with most (62%) constructed before 1950. Thirty-seven percent were built between 1950 and 1980 and two new units have been added to the singlefamily inventory in this Area over the past 10 years . Area E is located near the Saginaw Bay shoreline, primarily north of the Kawkawlin River. This is an older area of small platted parcels in two subdivisions. There are approximately 300 single-family housing units in this Area, which covers about 264 acres, with an overall (gross) density of one unit per each 0.44 acres. Almost half of these units were built prior to 1950, while 10, or 23 percent have been constructed within the past 10 years. The mean value of pre-1980 housing in this Area is estimated to be $35,676. Single-family housing built in 1989 has averaged $81,675 in value . The Bayshore area was developed with a water orientation and has lots which front the Bayshore or the Kawkawlin River. Interior lots have access to the larger bodies of water through canals or accessways. Lot sizes at 25' x 80' and 20' x 125' (2,000 and 2,500 square feet, respectively) are small when compared with today's -47- �standards. Two or more of these small lots must be combined to provide adequate area for the construction of a dwelling unit. In the past, seasonal dwellings were developed on the 40 foot lots and subsequently converted to year-round living quarters. The lots fronting the Bayshore appear to lie along the ridge while those interior to the subdivisions are lower in elevation in areas which tend to be wet and swampy. .. • Development of the lots along the Bayshore area is nearly 100 percent complete, with very few waterfront lots available for construction. Development will require special attention, however, because of the majority of this vicinity has been designated as a flood hazard area by the Department of Housing and Urban Development Flood Hazard Study. Area F is the largest census block area in the township, covering approximately 4,750 acres, most of which are platted into lots of one acre or more, including numerous five acre parcels. There are seventy single-family subdivisions in this Area with lots ranging from being small parcels along the Saginaw Bay that must be combined to obtain a large enough site to be buildable to larger one and two acre parcels within the third addition to Lagoon Beach Subdivision. Because of the Kawkawlin River and the alignment of major transportation routes, such as Old Kawkawlin Road, a number of lots in this Area are irregular in shape. Many parcels of five acres or more also have a long and narrow configuration. Most of the land east of Patterson Road is in industrial "holding," that is, only a portion of this Area is actually used for industrial/storage purposes. Excluding these industrial lands, the balance of Area F, which is used primarily for residential activities, covers approximately 2,960 acres and contains 1,740 single-family dwellings, with a gross singlefamily density of one unit per each 0.43 acres. About 47 percent of these units were built prior to 1950, with another 47 percent constructed between 1950 and 1980, and the balance, (six percent) were built since 1980. The estimated mean housing value for 1989 in this area is $43,050. In Area G, which is bordered by Lauria Road and Boy Scout Road on the north, the Kawkawlin River on the south and Two Mile road on the west, there are five singlefamily subdivisions, along with a substantial number of larger parcels ranging from five to 13 acres as well as one to five acre lots. As in Area F, most of the singlefamily housing borders major section and half section roads, with a core interior land mass that is undeveloped. There are approximately 709 acres in Area G, housing 703 single-family units, and an overall single-family density of 0.40 acres per unit. -48- " '• • • •• �• •II • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •I The estimated 1989 value of single-family housing within Area G is $52,878, with 41 percent being built prior to 1950, 53 percent constructed between 1950 and 1980, and six percent. constructed since 1980. Area H, which is essentially that portion of the Township north of Lauria and Boy Scout roads, contains 1,730 acres, much of wh_ich is in State Park ownership. Subtracting State Park property from the total acreage results in 930 acres used for private land uses, including single-family. There are 129 single-family units in this Area, with an overall density of one unit per each 2.0 acres. There are 1O singlefamily subdivisions in Area H, with eight of those located between the MCRR Railroad right-of-way and the Saginaw Bay. As with other plats along the shoreline that were recorded many years ago, these contain lots that are not individually wide enough to develop. Many of the housing units in Area H, however, are located along this waterfront. Inland parcels are long and narrow, with 'ring' development along major section roads and little or no interior development. The estimated mean value of single-family housing in this Area is approximately $46,800, with 32 percent constructed before 1950, 61 percent built between 1950 and 1980 and nine (7%) having been constructed since 1980. Table 7 provides a comparison of land use acreage by category and area over the past ten years (1979 and 1989). The 1979 acreages as taken from the 1979 Land Use Plan, with the figures redistributed from composition by Section to composition by Area and the 1989 tabulations are based upon aerial photographs. This table indicates that Single-Family Residential developments account for 22 percent of the Township's total area, and 43 percent of the Township's developed land, encompassing 2,126 acres or an increase of 61 acres over 1979. Area F, because it is the largest geographic Area in the Township, also has the largest amount of acreage (755 acres) devoted to single-family use. This Area accounts for 36 percent of all single-family acreage in the Township . Multiple-Family Duplex units are included in the analysis of multiple-family residential land use. Bangor Township contains approximately 650 multiple-family units, which accounts for nine percent of the Township's total housing stock. These units are generally adjacent to, or within, single-family residential areas and are compatible with singlefamily activities. Area A contains 300 units in four apartment complexes and eight duplex units. The largest of these is Bangor Downs, a 180 unit complex located off -49- �• • •II TABLE 7 BANGOR TOWNSHIP LAND DISTRIBUTION BY AREA 1979-1'989 Total A II Ill Ill II II • • • • • • • • • • B 1979 1989 % of Acres Acres Change % of Total Area 1989 C 1979 1989 % of Acres Acres Change E 0 % of Total Area 1979 1989 % of 1989 Acres Acres Change % of Total Area 1989 1979 1989 % of Acres Acres Change F % of Total Area 1979 1989 % of 1989 Acres Acres Change % of Total Area 1989 G 1979 Acres 1989 % of Acres Change 733 . 0 6.0 94. 9 755.0 5.0 91 . 6 3.0 -16.7 % of Tota l Area H 1989 1979 1989 % of Acres Acres Change · 3. 5 15.9 0.1 1.0 270.0 1.0 0.0 282.0 1.0 0.0 4.3 0.0 0.0 7.0 113.8 1.1 34.6 267.8 449.8 ·26.7 -32.2 0. 1 2.4 0.0 0.7 0.4 15.9 0.0 18.2 14.5 % of Total Area 1979 1989 % of 1989 Acres Acres Change % of Total Area 1989 1979 Acres % of Tot al Twp. 1989 % of Ar ea % of Acres Change 1979 Twp . Residential Single-Family 275.0 Mult i -Family 21.8 Mobile Home Parks 4.6 284 . 0 21.8 4.6 3.5 0.0 0.0 32.1 2.5 0.5 87.0 3.6 0.0 87.0 3.6 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 18.8 0.7 0.0 29.0 4.9 2.9 -20.3 227.0 0.0 0.0 3.2 0.6 0.3 3.0 58.9 2.8 0.0 0.6 58.9 2.0 9.8 ·80.0 0.0 ·28.6 222.0 16.4 a.a 1.1 0.0 a.o 37.8 2.8 o.o 219.0 16.4 a.a 0.1 12.7 0.4 2.1 0.6 23.6 17.9 3.2 2.2 25.2 1.5 1.6 267.0 6.7 -91.6 -so.a 95.0 6.3 0.0 1.1 a.a 0.0 32.4 2.2 a.a 137.0 0.0 8.8 140.0 0.0 8.8 1.8 0.0 51.3 0.0 0.0 94.0 6.3 a.a 0. 0 3. 2 0.4 4.3 0.3 0.3 a.a 6.4 4.0 6.9 0. 0 0.0 7.8 62.5 0.0 2 .3 1.2 0.0 0.2 0.5 -83.3 6.9 6.5 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.0 3.2 0.2 0.0 39.8 250.0 0.1 1.0 o .o 0.0 261.0 1.0 0.0 4.2 0.0 0.0 15 .1 0.1 0.0 2065 . 0 56.1 108 . 3 2126.0 55. 1 105 .0 2.95 -1.8 -3.2 21.3 0 .6 1.1 22 0 1 14.3 0.0 0.0 324.0 0.2 0.2 0.1 2.3 11. 7 165.5 29.3 13.2 256. 1 17 .6 12.8 54.7 39.9 0.1 1.7 0.3 0 74.7 90 . 0 20. 5 0.8 0 0.6 486.3 527 .9 8.6 5.0 5 0.3 45.9 1.9 11 4 .3 785.0 114 . 3 832 . 0 0.0 6 .0 88 .5 88.5 0.0 8 0 0.0 113 . 7 119.9 5.5 1.1 8.1 0.9 1.2 3.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 578.0 161.2 322.7 80.7 578.0 40.9 322. 7 80.7 0.0 -74.6 0.0 0.0 28.1 4456.0 4328.0 -3.0 Comr.ercial Convenience General Office Amusement 1.1 36.4 1.5 2.9 Industrial 49.2 36.1 -26.6 4. 1 0.0 1.2 0.2 a.a o.o a.a 0.0 1.2 1.2 0.0 0.4 2.6 20.7 1.5 51.1 -93 . 6 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 433.3 480.0 10.9 10.1 0.6 0.6 0.0 0. 0 0.0 9.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.9 6.9 0.0 4.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 20.2 0.0 27.0 24.6 20.2 38.0 27.0 24.6 0.0 100.3 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.2 794.0 33.0 0.5 20 . 0 20.0 0.0 0.0 6.2 0. 0 785.0 0.0 33.0 2.8 12.1 221.0 68.5 273.3 66.a 221.5 0.0 273.3 66.o 0.0 26.3 0.0 26.2 26 . 3 0.0 26.2 0. 0 0.0 0.0 a.a 4.7 0.0 5 .8 1.3 3.7 0.0 3.7 -4.3 54.3 349.0 2.2 0.0 0.9 2. 6 0.0 0.0 2.8 3.6 1.6 9.4 3.2 3.6 1.6 39.9 2 1 Public/Semi-Public Schools Parks Public Semi ·Public 72.5 72.5 0.0 8.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 21.2 27.4 29 . 2 3.1 4.5 4.5 0.0 0.0 a.a a .a 1.0 7.8 1.02 18.6 7.8 1.02 18.6 0.0 a.o a.a 1.3 0.0 0.2 3.2 0.0 14.5 24.8 14.5 24.8 0.0 0.0 4.9 8.5 0.0 1.1 0.0 Rights·of-1./ay Roads Railroads Rivers Utilities Undeveloped or Vacant 92.0 8.1 14.3 285.0 92.0 8.1 14.3 288 . 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0. 1 0.9 0.0 1.6 32.5 38.6 27.6 38.6 27.6 0 .0 0.0 8.4 a a.a 6 0.0 236.0 228.0 -3.4 49.4 52 . 7 s.2 0.4 221.0 52.7 5.2 0.4 233 . 0 0.0 o.o 0.0 5.4 8.9 0.9 a.a 0.1 39.7 58 . 7 74.0 58.7 80 . 0 0.0 8.1 20.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 27.3 33.1 3.0 23.2 46.0 33.1 0.0 23.2 47.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.9 8.5 a.a 19.8 2703 2588 0.0 55.1 48.8 55.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 335.0 -4.0 45.8 534.0 523.0 -50- -2.0 6.0 1. 7 6 3.3 0 3 0.8 0 46.0 44 �of Alaire Drive, west of Euclid Avenue. This complex consists of 41 units on 16.5 acres and is approximately 20 years old, having been built in 1971. Other apartment complexes in this Area include Bay Manor (96 units in 2 buildings) located on the corner of Kiesel and North Euclid, Bramblewood Apartments (49 units) located off of Kiesel road, and an eight unit complex on Two Mile Road about one-half way between Wilder Road and Wheeler road. Area A, in effect, contains almost one-half of the multiple-family housing units within Bangor Township. There are 63 multiple-family units in Area B, including one six unit building and three four unit buildings on North Chilson, two four unit and two six unit apartment buildings on Webb Drive and one four unit complex on Mosher Drive, as well as other four unit apartments distributed within this Area. Area C contains 188 apartment units, the largest being Orchard Manor (77 units in 7 buildings) located east of Morningside Drive off of Midland Road. Other multiplefamily housing in Area C includes a 49 unit co-op on Kiesel, a 24 unit on N. Woodbridge, an 18 unit on N. Union, and a 1o unit on Columbian Street. There are also several four unit complexes in this Area. Area D contains 93 apartment units, most of which are in three and four unit buildings. The largest is Brennan Apartments, consisting of 44 units in seven buildings on Shirwinjo Drive. There is also a 28 unit complex comprised of seven buildings on Gies Street near U.S. 10, as well as other smaller three and four unit structures within this Area. "• • • • • • • Area E contains no multiple-family units and Area F has 60 apartments in complexes of three, four and five or more units. There are two six unit and two five unit apartments as well as a number of three and four unit complexes spread throughout this Area. Area G has one five unit complex and Area H contains one seven unit complex. Most of the multiple-family dwellings within Bangor Township were built during the 1960's and 1970's, with several having been constructed during the 1940's and 1950's. There were no multiple-family units constructed during the 1980's. Most duplex and triplex housing units are older large single-family buildings that have been converted to apartments. Map 6 displays the general distribution of multiple-family housing within the Township, excluding two and three unit structures . -51- �In total, multiple-family housing encompasses just over 56 acres and accounts for only 0.6 percent of the total Township area. The largest amount of acreage devoted to multiple family development is in Area A, west of Euclid and north of Kiesel. This Area accounts for almost 40% of all land which contains multiple-family housing. Mobile Homes Mobile and modular housing, because of its affordability, has become a popular alternative to "site" built housing over the past 20 years. Traditionally, mobile homes have, in most communities, been restricted to mobile home parks, which are regulated by the State of Michigan. The Michigan Supreme Court, within the past 1O years, has in effect lifted that restriction by ruling that mobile homes must be treated equally with site built homes in the application and administration of local ordinances. Consequently, mobile homes can legally locate anywhere within the Township, subject to reasonable restrictions that would require such homes to meet the same general standards that would apply to site built homes. The result is that the character of mobile homes as an alternative housing type could change from a restricted mobile home park setting to being more incorporated into standard residential neighborhood settings. The Township has, through its current zoning ordinance, in effect restricted all new mobile homes that do not meet specific requirements to mobile home parks, while allowing existing mobile homes located outside those parks to be "grandfathered" in under the existing ordinance. There were 541 mobile homes in the Township in 1979. Since that time, several new mobile homes have been located on lots outside of mobile home parks. Six State certified mobile home parks are located in Bangor Township, four in Area F, one in Area A and one in Area E (see Map 6). These parks contain a total of 583 spaces and there are currently no vacancies. In 1979, Area A contained 23 mobile homes, all in Valley Circle Mobile Home Park and each occupied by the owner. In 1989, there were 25 mobile homes in this Area. No mobile homes are located in Area B, Area C, Area D, Area E and Area G. Area F contained 454 mobile homes in 1979, of which only 28 were occupied by renters. The majority of these mobile units were in the five mobile home parks existing at that time. In 1989, there were an estimated 514 mobile homes in Area F, including about 20 that were outside of mobile home parks on individual lots. Area E housed 64 mobile homes, all in Oak Ridge Mobile Home Park in 1979. Presently this Area -52- ' : • • �contains 65 mobile units. The acreage within the Township devoted to mobile home parks decreased from 108.3 acres in 1979 to 105.0 acres in 1989, due to the closure of a 3.3 acre park on State Park Road between Wheeler and Wilder roads. Mobile home parks comprise 1.1 percent of the Township's total acreage. Commercial In 1979, commercial parcels (retail, service, office) covered 261 acres (or 2.7% of the Township's land area). By 1989, commercial properties had developed or were proposed for development on 377 acres (4% of the Township). The majority of these properties are located along South Euclid Avenue/Huron Road and Wilder Road. Both of these thoroughfares are major arteries with "vehicular" highway oriented retail and service businesses that have their own off-street parking. Euclid Avenue is an established commercial corridor with businesses consisting of general merchandise and specialty stores, including food stores, restaurants, department/variety stores, lumber and building material stores, household appliance stores, mobile home and boat sales, furniture stores, and other similar outlets, as well as service-oriented businesses (banks, automotive repair), and recreation-related businesses (bowling alley, skating rink). These include businesses located within the 20 ± acre North Pointe Mall at the corner of Euclid Avenue and Wilder Road. ~ • • • Wilder Road, running east and west through the Township, and bordering the City of Bay City, is an evolving commercial corridor, with newer convenience service outlets recently constructed on the south side of the street (in Bay City) and the 600,000 square foot Bay City Mall, which is currently being built on the majority of a 74 acre parcel at the corner of State Street and Wilder Road. This regional mall, which will contain 93 stores, including three anchor stores is expected to serve a multi-county area. Consequently, the "spin-off" effects of this development, in terms of additional commercial and possibly multiple-family housing development in the general area should be substantial. As a matter of fact, a new shopping center, the Bangor Plaza, has recently been proposed on the west side of State Street at the intersection of Wilder Road. This facility will contain over 280,000 square feet of retail space on 29.63 acres and is being constructed by the developer of the Bay City Mall as a complementary shopping area. Other commercial activities occur in "spot" locations throughout the Township, many within the general vicinity of the State Park to serve the convenience/recreational needs of Park visitors as well as local residents along the shoreline. These activities are often interspersed among residential land uses along major streets . -53- �In addition to existing improved commercial properties, there are 49 undeveloped parcels that are either zoned commercial or zoned residential and could presently be considered by the Township for use as commercial or industrial property. These parcels total almost 341 acres and are mainly concentrated along Old Kawkawlin Road, Wilder Road and North Euclid Avenue (see Map 7). If these were all developed as commercial properties (excluding multiple-family housing), the total potential commercial acreage within the Township under existing circumstances would be 722 acres, or 8 percent of the Township's total land use. Because of the Euclid Avenue Corridor and the emergence of shopping malls on Wilder Road, the majority of the Township's commercial land uses are concentrated in Areas A, B and F. These three areas accounted for 70 percent of the total commercial activity in 1989. Overall, about 68% of all commercial land uses are general (comparison shopping) stores, mostly within the Euclid/Wilder corridors, while only 13.2 acres, or 3.5 percent are devoted to convenience commercial operations (party stores, small grocery stores, drugstores, branch banking, etc., catering to day-to-day needs). The largest "concentration" of convenience stores is in Area F, which has 7 acres devoted to this use. Office uses occupy very little acreage, (17.6 acres) or 0.8 percent of the Township's area, and consist of medical facilities and professional and real estate offices. About 65 percent of these uses are distributed along both the M-13/Euclid Avenue Corridor in Areas A and D. Some of the offices have been developed in older residential units which were caught in the transition from residential to commercial use. The development of a residence into office use is usually less expensive than leasing new office space or constructing a new building. Uses in the amusement category presently encompass about 90 acres of land. These uses include the amusement facilities located along State Park Road between the railroad and Euclid Avenue, the driving range at the northwest corner of Beaver Road and Euclid Avenue, the Bay Harbor Marina at the end of Wilder Road, and those scattered along the M-13/Euclid Avenue Corridor. Also included is the health club on Euclid Avenue between Kiesel and North Union Roads, Skateworld Roller Rink south of the North Pointe Shopping Center and the Bay Lanes bowling alley. -54- '• • �----------~~~~~~~~~ ,,;.~ ..,~ 'f, ! I . ..,.L ~ ... ~ ~Q-...... ,,, 8_.1- ! 11 I EE If' IJ '?7\m=rl ciTYfJIIIAYCl'TY I (.11 (.11 I MAP7 legend PARCELS PARCELS FOR POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT (CURRENTLY UNDEVELOPED) _,,., . @I Gove Associates Inc. �Industrial Historically, a substantial amount of Township land, particularly those parcels adjacent to the Saginaw River, have been devoted to industrial/warehousing uses. This was a standard use of shoreline areas throughout the country during and after the Industrial Revolution when bodies of water, including rivers, were treated as resources for transportation of both supplies and finished products as well as depositories for raw waste. Most of the industrial related land within the Township is located along the Saginaw River. Of the total 527.3 acres of industrial property in the Township, over 300 acres are concentrated east of Patterson Road Along the River in Area F. Ill • • • • • •I I I. I I The majority of the industrial activity along the river involves processing and storage of chemicals and fuels. Much of the acreage in this vicinity is owned by the Dow Chemical Company and is currently vacant. Approximately 1,024 acres are currently owned by Dow Chemical Company in Sections 3, 10, 14 and 15 adjacent to the Saginaw River. Dow Chemical which is the largest single land holder in the Township, utilizes about 200 acres for actual industrial and manufacturing/ warehousing, while retaining the balance of their property as undeveloped open space. Other corporate holdings along the Saginaw River shoreline include 69 acres owned by Union Oil Company, 85 acres owned by American Oil Company, 70 acres owned by Delta Petroleum Corporation and 31 acres owned by Total Pipeline Company. These holdings are primarily storage tanks for chemicals and oil products that were at one time shipped into and out of the area by freighter. There are also docking facilities for receiving and shipping along this part of the river. This area is consequently well suited for water shipping facilities and for other industrial activities . It would also, as an alternative, provide a potentially desirable setting for planned unit development. The capacity of this area to maintain any additional type of development may be limited however, because of the possibility of environmental contamination. There are several storage tanks along the river, south of Wilder Road that are currently being dismantled and the immediate area is being cleansed of contaminants. Also included under this category is the large Consumers Power office and maintenance operation on Wilder Road and the many small industrial uses such as machine shops, manufacturers, salvage yards, trucking, warehouses and pipeline related uses. Much of the area adjacent to M-13, north of Wilder Road, now has a mixture of both commercial and industrial uses; however the trend appears to be ' -56- �~ toward additional commercial development. The west side of Patterson Road is developing as a mixture of industrial and residential land uses, often with the occupant residing on the same property as the business. This is not necessarily an incompatible use of land, as long as the industrial operation is at a scale and type that does not conflict or interfere with the adjoining residential activity. The total amount of land developed for, or oriented toward, industrial activity (including manufacturing, storage and shipping) is about 528 acres, or 5.5 percent of the Township. This represents an increase of 8.6 percent, or 42 acres, over 1979. A good portion of that development occurred along Patterson Road. Area F contains the largest amount of land devoted to industrial use (480 acres, or 91% of all industrial land in the Township). This is an increase of about 11 percent over the 430 acres of industrial land in the Area in 1979. Other Areas, such as B and H, also experienced increase in industrial land use (1.2 acres in Area Band 9.8 acres in Area H) while others such as Area A, actually saw a decrease in industrial land use (from 49 acres in 1979 to 36 acres in 1989). Public/Semi-Public Uses Public and semi-public uses occupy approximately 1, 138 acres or 11. 7 percent of all Township land uses. Public uses include school buildings and playgrounds, hospitals, Township and State park properties. Semi-public uses include fraternal organizations, churches and institutional uses. These uses serve the residents of the local community as well as a regional clientele. School Related Bangor Township operates its own school system from administrative offices located at the southwest corner of Wheeler Road and Old Kawkawlin Road. The Bangor system maintains thirteen buildings, including 6 school buildings - four elementary schools, one junior high, one high school, all of which are located in the Township. In addition the Bangor South School is used tor adult education programs and the Bangor Edison School building is leased to the Bay-Arenac Intermediate School District (see Table 8). These buildings are housed on approximately 114 acres, with Area A containing over 60 percent of the Township's school acreage, primarily the junior and senior high schools. These two facilities located on Kiesel Road encompass 63 acres. The bus garage and maintenance barn are located adjacent to the administrative offices. The School District's student enrollment has decreased -57- ,.• • • • • '• • • • "• • •I •I �• • •1111 • • "• • "• "• • • • •I TABLE 8 TOWNSHIP SCHOOL FACILITIES BANGOR TOWNSHIP, BAY COUNTY, MICHIGAN - 1989/1990 School Facility Location Central Elementary Between State Park and State Road north of Wheeler Road Edison Elementary Acreage 1978/1979 4th Friday Count* 1989/1990 4th Friday Count* 14.00 460 335 North side of Midland Road west of Euclid Avenue 7.80 270 ** Lincoln Elementary Intersection of Lauria and Euclid Avenue 6.16 457 302 North Elementary West side of Revile Road north of Pembroke Road 6.92 234 187 South Elementary West side of State Road north of Wilder Road 5.00 145 *** West Elementary North side of Wilder Road east of Two Mile Road 9.46 401 337 Junior High North side of Kiesel Road between Two Mile Road and Euclid Avenue 23.00 622 615 John Glenn Senior High North side of Kiesel Road between Two Mile Road and Euclid Avenue 40.00 1,414 930 4,002 2,706 Administration Building 2.00 TOTAL *4th Friday student population supplied by School Administration. **Building leased to Bay-Arenac Intermediate School District. ***Building used for Adult Education . SOURCE: Bangor Township School -58- �over the past ten years by 32 percent, and is anticipated to continue to decrease over the next three years. This decline is expected to be reversed, however, with an increasing enrollment of students in the early elementary grades. Should a future increase in enrollment result in the demand for additional space, both the South and Edison school buildings can be reverted back to elementary schools. The Township has a Recreation Commission which is responsible for planning, scheduling and implementing a Township recreation program. The Commission has a cooperative agreement with Bangor Township Schools by which school facilities are made available for the recreation program. All of the School District's facilities are equipped with baseball diamonds and playground equipment. Central, Lincoln and Edison elementary schools, as well as the junior high, also have outdoor basketball courts. The junior and senior high schools also have gymnasiums and other outdoor sports amenities. A jogging track and tennis courts are currently being constructed at the high school for community recreation use. Park Lands At the present time, the Township owns 38 acres east of Patterson Road that is used for organized community athletic recreation, such as soccer and flag football. A community park at one time was planned for a 30 acre parcel owned by the Township at the corner of Lino and Bangor Roads. This acreage was platted as part of Addition No. One to Bay Side Park Subdivision. However, for various reasons, the park was never constructed. There are also approximately 794 acres of state park and game preserve land within the boundaries of Bangor Township. These State owned lands include the Bay City State Park (approximately 235 acres) located along the bayshore between Euclid Avenue and State Park Road and the Tobico Marsh and Interpretive Area located north of Beaver Road. Both the State Park and Interpretive area provide unique recreational opportunities. The Tobico Marsh Area provides a nesting place for a variety of wildlife as well as spawning ponds for fish. The Bay City State Park contains 263 campsites along with a small launch site for catamarans, a swimming beach (approximately 1/4 mile long), dumping station, restrooms and showers, picnic shelter, nature center and hiking trails. The State recently purchased the old D&M Railroad right-of-way running through the park, and approximately 9 acres at the corner of State Park Road and Euclid Avenue. A trail is presently being constructed to connect the campground to the Tobico Marsh Area. Total public park lands account for 8.6 percent of the Township. -59- • • • • • •II • '• • • • • • "• • • �• • • • • • • •,. • • • • • • "• • Public Property The present Township offices and main fire station occupy a 2.0 acre parcel on the north side of Wheeler Road, east of State Park Drive. The County Council on Aging recently relocated in the Township Hall from the Bangor South School. A second fire station is located on a 0.32 acre parcel on the north side of North Union Street, east of Euclid Avenue . Other publicly owned properties include the 13 acre County Drain Commission garage on the south side of Wheeler Road, west of State Park Drive; the old water treatment plant property (10.8 acres) located on State Park Road, north of Lagoon Beach Drive; the 22.2 acre Bay Metropolitan Water Treatment Plant, on the east side of Euclid Avenue, north of Lauria Road; the 25 acre Bay County Wastewater Treatment Plant facility, located on the east side of Patterson Road, north of Wilder Road; the 19 acre retention basin and pumping station located between Old Kawkawlin, Wilder and State Park Roads and the MCRR right-of-way; the 14.5 acre retention basin located at the rear of the hospital property on the north side of the US-1 O bypass into Bay City; a newly constructed retention basin north and east of the Bay City Mall; and the Michigan State Police Post on .74 acres on the west side of Euclid Avenue south of the Michigan Central Railroad tracks. Public property encompasses over 88 acres within the Township, accounting for less than 1 percent of the Township's geographic area. Semi-Public Uses The semi-public land use category includes 120 acres of land generally consisting of relatively small parcels scattered throughout the Community. Much of this acreage is church related (there are 17 churches within the Township, located on parcels ranging from about 0.6 acres to 20 acres in size). Also included in this classification is the 68 bed Bay Medical Center West Campus on the south side of Midland Road, between Euclid Avenue and Two-Mile Road; the 126 bed Bay Shore Nursing Home located east of and adjacent to the hospital; the Bay County Y.W.C.A. on the north side of Midland Road between Euclid Avenue and Two-Mile Road; a small pet cemetery on the east side of Two-Mile Road, north of M-13; a UAW Hall located on the north side of Wilder Road, west of Patterson Road; and the telephone switching office on the east side of Euclid Avenue, north of Wilder Road. Semi-public uses, which have increased by 5.5 percent over the past 1O years, account for 1.2 percent of the Township's total acreage . -60- �Undeveloped Lands This category includes a total of 4,328 acres of land, and a few scattered parcels here are being cultivated for agricultural activities. Since 1979 approximately 263 additional acres of previously vacant land have been developed for various purposes, mostly general commercial, single-family residential, state parks and industrial. About 60 percent of the Township's vacant undeveloped parcels are located in Area F, primarily east of Patterson Road and north of Lauria Road, as well as the section bordered by State, Wheeler, Zimmer and Patterson Roads. As mentioned earlier, there are irregular patterns of platting within this area and the existing 5 and 10 acre parcels on the perimeters of the sections in Area F contribute to larger interior lots that could potentially be developed. Currently, almost 45 percent of the Township is undeveloped, compared to 46 percent 10 years ago. Shoreline The most predominant natural feature associated with Bangor Township is its 5.6 miles of shoreline along the Saginaw Bay, 4.6 miles of Saginaw River shoreline and approximately 3 miles of shoreline on each side of the Kawkawlin River. Within those shoreline areas are four primary classifications of land use: residential, industrial, recreational and undeveloped. Shoreline residential land uses occur within the 14 residential subdivisions along the Saginaw Bay. These are parcels that were platted a long time ago and contain small (narrow) lots (25' x 80' and 20' x 125') that promoted high density residential development over the years. Today, two or three of these lots must be combined to form one buildable lot. Most of the shoreline from the northernmost Township limits to the Bay City State Park is residentially developed, with a limited number of remaining vacant buildable sites. Those shoreline parcels east of State Park Road are also developed as medium/high density residential to a point west of the Sunset Shores Yacht Club and Bay City Yacht Club at the mouth of the Saginaw River. This stretch of shoreline is also substantially developed in residential use, although there are still several building sites left. Certain portions of the Saginaw Bay shoreline are designated as a Natural Vegetation and Wetlands Area. Most of the Shady Shore Subdivision in Area F is a Natural Preservation Area (see Map 5) meaning there are certain species of fish and wildlife in the area that are protected under the Shoreland Protection and Management Act of 1970. This area, as well as most of the shoreline -61- • • • • • • • • ' '• ' ' '• "• • �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •I I I I within the Bay City State Park are also designated as high risk erosion areas under the same Act. Under the Act, dredging, filling, grading, alleviation of natural drainage, and vegetation placement of permanent structures and farming require a permit from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). A permit is also required for a permanent structure in a high soil erosion area and the structure must meet or exceed minimum established setback requirements. The lands adjacent to the Saginaw River are predominantly undeveloped between the MDNR boat ramp at the mouth of the River to the Bay Harbor Marina north of Wilder Road. Most of this undeveloped shoreline area (approximately 1.6 miles) is owned by Dow Chemical Company, with a portion (about 0.3 miles) owned by Union Oil Company. Much of that undeveloped shoreline is wetland. The balance of the shoreline south of the Bay Harbor Marina (approximately 2 miles) is used for bulk storage and shipping. These parcels are owned by various corporations, including Dow Chemical. The Township shoreline has been developed over the years into the variety of uses described above. The intent of development along the Saginaw Bay shoreline along with the state owned property and environmentally sensitive lands in this area ensure that this portion of the Township's shoreline will likely remain as it is today. At the same time there will likely be some properties in which transition will occur from one use to another, such as the re-development of the Wenona Beach Trailer Park site into condominiums and the old Bay City Water Works Building into a residential or commercial use. The Saginaw River Shoreline presents a unique situation because of the wetland near the mouth of the River and the existing storage tanks and shipping facilities south of the Bay Harbor Marina. The ultimate use of this portion of the riverfront will depend upon the economic stability of bulk cargo shipping, the degree of demand for waterfront access by the public and developers and the environmental condition of the area . Synopsis Bangor Township is primarily a residential community. However, its close proximity to Bay City and the relatively undeveloped (and hence less expensive) character of the land west of the city limits were key factors that contributed to the establishment of the linear commercial development of Euclid Avenue. The ability to provide off street parking along with newer buildings lending themselves to modern merchandising techniques, make Euclid Avenue a commercial center not only for Bangor Township, but for the entire Bay City area. Commercial growth is still occurring within the Township, but along a different thoroughfare. Wilder Road, particularly -62- �east of Euclid Avenue, is quickly developing as another major commercial corridor that will service the greater Bay City area. The two commercial malls now being constructed or proposed for. construction, will create a substantial change in surrounding land uses along Wilder Road. While single-family development remains the single largest category of developed land use within the Township, the number of new single-family houses has decreased substantially from the housing activity that occurred in the 1970's. This can partly be attributed to a slower growth rate in the entire Bay City area, as well as a substantial increase (nationally) in the cost of housing. Surprisingly, no multiple-family units have been constructed within the Township during the past 10 years. The increasing number of elderly persons, the high cost of home-ownership and the low rental vacancy rates in the Bay City area may indicate a demand for additional multiplefamily housing. Mobile homes are generally confined to mobile home parks, with relatively more strict requirements set forth in the Township's zoning ordinance for placement of mobile homes outside of mobile home parks. With an existing capacity of 518 mobile home spaces, mobile homes along with multiple-family dwellings have been utilized as alternatives to home-ownership for lower income households. Industrial land uses within the Township are not cohesive or organized. Rather than being confined to improved industrial parks, which are designed specifically for industrial activities, such uses are distributed in a random manner throughout the Township. This incudes scrapyards in various locations that are subject to alternative future development. Most recently, properties bordering the west side of Patterson Road are being developed for industrial uses, often associated with on site residences. Historically, much of the Township's industrial activity was related to storage of chemical and petroleum products along the Saginaw River for water transport. Several of those tanks are in the process of being dismantled. While such use of the shoreline is valid for Great Lakes shipping, it is not necessary to devote so much land for storage or shipping activity as in the past. Changing economic conditions, environmental concerns, and recreational needs warrant a greater use of the shoreline for public access, recreation and environmental preservation activities. -63- • • �• • • • • • •~ • • • • • •I I I I I The overall character of the Township's public and semi-public uses has remained substantially the same (except for additional land added to the State Park) over the past 10 years. The Township School system has experienced a decrease in enrollment and consequently reduced the number of schools in the system from 8 to 6, although the two now used by other agencies are still owned by the school system and can be reverted back to school use when needed. The newest building is about 25 years old, with other buildings having been made more energy efficient. Unless there is a substantial increase in student enrollment over the next 20 years, it is not likely the Township will require an additional school. It might be necessary, however, to replace or upgrade one of the older structures during that period. While the Township owns several large parcels, the ball fields on Patterson Road are the largest developed parcel owned by the Township and the only Township owned park/recreation facility. The Bay City State Park and Tobico Marsh State Game Area comprise the largest recreation/preserve area in the Township. These state lands will likely continue to improve their facilities and attract more visitors, impacting the volume of traffic using Euclid Avenue and State Park Road. This land use will likely precipitate additional convenience commercial enterprises in the northern portions of the Township . The existing lot split configuration in the Township, especially in Area F, is inefficient for full development of the Township. However, it is also conducive to retention of open spaces. The projected growth within the Township over the next 20 years does not require that these larger interior parcels be developed. Their ultimate development will, however, depend upon the Township's adopted goals and objectives which will in time impact the area's future growth rate . Overall, according to Table 7, the development of general commercial land uses, particularly the two malls on Wilder Road, have had the greatest impact on the Township over the past 10 years. The addition of 91 acres of general commercial land use represents a 54.7 percent increase over that land use in 1979. Office and amusement land uses have also increased at a relatively high rate, although the acreages devoted to their use are comparably small. An additional estimated 61 acres of single-family residential use have been added to the Township's land use inventory (a 2.9% increase) since 1979 and this category continues to be the predominant developed use within the Township, encompassing 22 percent of all land and water areas. Industrial land uses have increased over the past ten years largely due to new development along Patterson Road. Undeveloped land, while still -64- �a large portion of the 15+ square miles of the Township, continued to decrease at a low rate as new commercial and residential development takes place. The development characteristics portrayed by these trends displayed in Table 7 point to a relatively slow change within the past 1O years. The pace of these changes in the future will depend upon national and areawide economic conditions as well as the land use policies and implementation efforts developed in this plan and adopted by the Township. -65- • �Road and Railroad Analysis II Existing Conditions The primary roads in Bangor Township are Euclid Avenue (M-13), which is the northsouth commercial core of the Township and Wilder Road, which is a rapidly developing east-west corridor with a growing traffic volume between 1-75 on the west and Bay City to the east. Wilder Road is an extension of M-15 running through Bay City. Euclid Avenue becomes M-247 north of Schumann Road to State Park Drive. M-13 continues in a north/northwest direction to Standish, becoming Huron Road north of Wilder Road. Another major transportation route is the US-1 O Business route which runs in an east-west direction through the southern portion of the Township and provides access to 1-75 and M-13. There are also 14 county primary roads within the Township with a total length of 30.4 miles. • • • • • • • •I I I Road Classifications The network of streets in Bangor Township may be defined in a functional hierarchy, by evaluating the size and use of the road, and the land uses it serves. This includes: Arterial (e.g. M-13 and Wilder Road): Relatively high capacity roads which provide unity throughout a contiguous urban area; medium speed/capacity roads for intracommunity arterial highway system. Should have minor access control and channelized intersection. Approximately 15 miles of arterial roads exist within Bangor Township. These consist of Euclid Avenue, Huron Road, Wilder Road, State Park Drive, Business Loop 1-75 (M-10) and Midland Road. Euclid Avenue and Wilder Road are 5 lane arterials . Collector (e.g. Bangor Road): Relatively low speed/low volume street, typically two lanes, for circulation within and between neighborhoods. The roads serve generally short trips and are meant to collect trips from local streets and distribute them to the arterial network. The Township currently contains over 24 miles of collector streets. -66- �Local Streets (e.g. Richmark Lane): Low speed/low volume roads which provide direct access to abutting land uses. Nonconducive to through traffic. There are approximately 34 miles of local streets in the Township. Daily Traffic Volumes Twenty-four hour traffic counts (using automated counters) have been taken at various locations along county primary and state trunkline roads within the Township in different years. These counts vary from 400 vehicles per 24 hour period on Two Mile Road south of Midland Road (count taken in 1983) to 28,250 vehicles per 24 hour period on Euclid Avenue south of Midland (in 1988). In general, the heaviest traffic volumes are on Euclid Avenue between Wilder Road and Fisher Road, which has an overall average volume of approximately 26,130 vehicles per day (counts taken in 1983 and 1988) and along Wilder Road from east of Two Mile Road to Patterson Road, with an average volume of 19,854 vehicles per day. These counts were taken in 1983, 1984, 1987, and 1989 (see Appendix 8). Traffic counts taken over a seven year period between 1983 and 1989 suggest that the heaviest traffic volumes within the Township are generally carried on north-south roads, with the southern half of the Township retaining the largest volumes. Map 8 depicts these 24 hour traffic counts. The development of the Bay City Mall and the Bangor Plaza will bring a substantial increase in the traffic on Wilder Road, as well as State Road between Wilder Road and Wheeler Road. Travel time to work is a valid indicator of the general direction of travel flow during the week. Overall, in 1980 about 34 percent of employed persons in the Township took from 5 to 15 minutes to travel between work and home, while 42 percent took 16 to 30 minutes, 16 percent took between 31 to 44 minutes and only about 4 percent each took less than 5 minutes or more than 45 minutes. When analyzed, 35 percent to 40 percent of all workers in Areas A, B, C, D and F required 5 to 15 minutes to travel between work and home, compared to 19 to 22 percent in Areas E, G and H whose work trips require that much time. Conversely, those "close-in" areas (A, B, C, F) had a lower percentage of resident employees who took 16-30 minutes to travel to work than Areas E and G, where 58 to 63 percent of the work trips were 16-30 minutes long. In effect, since almost one-half of all residents' work trips take 16 to 30 minutes, it is likely that a high percentage of Township residents work in Bay City and other locations within a 30 minute driving time radius. _.,,,67- �________ ..... -,;..,.. '1,- ~ ! i d> ,..,_ ! 6 h~ ~ \, 0 ()~ ~ ~ TRAFFIC COUNTS (24 HOUR PERIOD) Q,\,_.., ! iii 1 11 11 • • •· ~ • llllllll,~ 'i .l,.L "..!~ II ~Gl'-v..,,_ • & y ! f !) --a ,, t ,. • ~ I S~ • i aff I :J"l ::0 I 0, MT Cffl' ST II Cffl'OIMY~ MAP 8 TRAFFIC COUNTS @I Gove Associates Inc. �Sidewalks, Curbs and Gutters The majority of the Township's streets are essentially paved or seal-coated. Of the approximately 73 miles of streets within the Township, about 25 percent are improved with curb and gutter. These are primarily located within residential subdivisions in the Township and along the major arteries such as Euclid Avenue and Wilder Road. • • • •II • •I •I I I I There are a limited amount of sidewalks within the Township. As with curb and gutter, the majority of the sidewalks are located in residential subdivisions, and most of the sidewalks that do exist are in the older subdivisions adjacent to the Euclid Avenue corridor. Sidewalks in the Township are maintained by property owners. In essence, while about 25 percent of all roads in the Township contain curbs and gutters and/or sidewalks, the majority of collector and local streets do not have curb, gutter and sidewalk improvements . Railroads Until recently the Michigan Central and Detroit and Mackinac Railroads owned approximately 10.4 miles of railroad rights-of-way within the Township. This included 6.2 miles of railroad running through Essexville and north along the Saginaw Bay which has been abandoned by the railroad and the tracks have been removed. This right-of-way is presently being sold to private and state entities (e.g. the Bay City State Park). The balance, about 4.2 miles, is still being utilized on a daily basis by both railroads to provide freight service to Northeast Michigan and Midland. These active rights-of-way traverse through areas of fairly dense activity and intersect major thoroughfares (Euclid Avenue in two locations, Wilder Road, Wheeler Road, and Two Mile Road). The D&M and Central Michigan Railroad share the same trackage and operations. The Wenona Switch Yard located between Wheeler Road and Euclid Avenue, undertake approximately 30 switching operations per day, which require the blocking of either Euclid Avenue or Wheeler Road for short periods of time. These operations occur five days a week. In addition there are presently four 'through' trains per day going south each day during a six-day week and five through trains going north every other day. There is also one trip per day to Midland and back (at night) on the rail line running across Euclid between North Union and Midland Road. This trip occurs five nights per week, with an average train length of 15 to 20 cars. -69- �Alternative Transportation Methods Other than by private vehicle, Bangor Township's only other forms of transit are via the Bay Metro Transit Public Bus System and the Bay Dial-A-Ride (DART) system for senior citizens and handicapped. The Bay Metro Transit System is an areawide public bus system with two routes in Bangor Township. The routes run on Midland Road, North Union Road, Euclid Avenue, Kiesel Road, Wilder Road, Euclid Road, Beaver Road and State Park Road, providing linkages to other routes within and around Bay City. The closest commercial airport is the Tri-City International Airport in Freeland, approximately 15 miles southwest of Bangor Township. Synopsis There is a relatively high volume of traffic using the arterial and collector streets within Bangor Township. The existing arterials can be expected to experience an increase in traffic volume over the next 20 years, especially Wilder Road. If private development and public access along the Saginaw River increase, and if some of the existing single-family areas along the Saginaw Bay are converted to higher intensity condominium development, there will likely be a need for an improved collector road system, capable of carrying a higher capacity of local traffic within those areas. As stated in the 1981 plan, some areas are dependent upon a single access road, which could be an obstacle to quick emergency response. The Tobico/Bayshore area and the Shady Shores Subdivision are examples. Although most of the roads in the Township are paved or sealcoated, there are still several local gravel roads that will eventually need upgrading to a bituminous surface, as development along these roads increases. Should large interior parcels, such as those located in Areas F and H be developed, they will require new access as well as local roads. Additional volumes on arterial roads may eventually impact other existing streets. It may be necessary, for example, to eventually widen Wheeler Road or construct a new arterial or collector to accommodate excess traffic from this arterial, or the Township may have to separate truck traffic by reassigning truck traffic on Wheeler Road to another designated truck route. It should be noted that the Euclid Avenue/ Wilder Road intersection has had the highest accident rate in Bay County over the past three years. -70- • • '• • " ; • •I I I I I I I I �• • •· • • • "" • "• • • •• The existing railroad rights-of-way in Bangor Township in effect divide the Township into two separate areas for emergency response capability. Fire and ambulance equipment cannot always use the most direct routes to an incident because of the railroad's street crossings. Currently the volume of traffic using these tracks is relatively high, although traffic is typically detained for five minutes or less near the Wenona Switching Yard between Euclid Avenue and Wheeler Road. While the amount of railroad activity is expected to decrease over the next twenty years, these crossings are obstacles to efficient traffic flow . In general, as additional commercial, and in some instances residential land uses evolve with the Township, increased traffic volumes will likely require new or expanded transportation routes. • •I -71- �• • " "• • • • • • • • • •I PART II FUTURE LAND USE �• Introduction • "• • • • • • •II I �INTRODUCTION Up to this point, the text has defined and analyzed past and present data and information that comprises Bangor Township and its immediate area. In Part I, the Township's characteristics relative to population, housing, land use, natural resources, and community facilities were described individually and as integral components of the area's total economic, human resource and physical (land use) system. Part II relies on that analysis to formulate a development plan for the next 20 years. This Plan sets forth the various components that will comprise Bangor Township, given the opportunities that are currently available and will likely be available at some future time for residents and elected and appointed officials. • • • • • • If trends over the past 10 years continue, the Township will not grow substantially in terms of quantity (new residents and new businesses). However, Township officials consider controlled growth in population, housing, commercial and industrial activities to be desirable. Consequently, this Plan proposes policies and programs that will in effect attempt to accelerate the Township's growth rate of the past decade, understanding that the impetus for such change is also dependent upon regional and areawide influences, particularly economic growth. At the same time, the Plan realizes the importance of promoting and setting forth the need for revitalization of those elements that now comprise the Township to consistently improve and maintain the area's quality of life. The format for describing _this development plan consists of identifying its individual components - i.e., the individual plans and programs for residential, commercial, industrial, transportation, parks and recreation, community facilities and services, overall land use, natural resources conservation and improvement, and overall sense of community. Each component is described in terms of its goal, objectives and policies, land use pattern, narrative description and implementation program, for easy reference and assessment. -72- �.. .. .. .. . .. ....-. •••••• LEGEND • SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL • PUBLIC - INSTITIJTIONAL MULTIPLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL FTI Wil PUBLIC - RECREATIONAL MOBIL£ HOME PARK r.::J GREENBaT ~~gu ~ INDUSTRY ~ COMMERCIAL - RECREATION/AMUSMENT ii mmm lllillill PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT (PUD) ~ ' ' ::<: ... ', ... o Ml:xnJRE - RESIDENTIAL/COMMERCIAL rm • f##] OFFICE Ml:xnJRE - COMMERCIAL/OFFICE INDUSTRIAL/WARB-iOUSING • • B COMMERCIAL - RETAIL/SERVICE INDUSTRIAL PARK Ml:xnJRE - RESIDENTIAL/INDUSTRY PROPOSED ROADWAY UTILITIES RIGHT-OF-WAY :COT'rlllit. ! LA~A lfoAD ' ~ ioY- SCOUT - ~ ~,§ a !I ·ff~ n ' F ' : : ~ -· .. .., """"" OT'r' <S BAY OTY BANGOR TOWNSHIP FUTURE LAND USE MAP 1" I ....... w I = 3000' EB MAP 9 FUTURE LAND USE @ Gove Associates Inc. �l I I I I I I ~ I I I I I I I I I Overall Land Use �I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1· I I OVERALL LAND USE Bangor Township has enough vacant developable land within its boundaries to accommodate expected growth over the next 20 years. Approximately 28 percent of the Township's land area (approximately 2,740 acres) will be devoted to singlefamily or duplex residential development. Another 67 acres will be allocated to multiple-family housing in various locations, particularly in the western portion of the Township as well as adjacent to Saginaw Bay. Both single-family and multiple-family housing may also be located in Planned Unit Development areas, which will encompass almost 700 acres in four different locations throughout the Township. In addition, senior citizen housing may be located on State Road adjacent to the Bay City Mall (or in several residential locations in Area A and C). Additional multiplefamily (condominium) development will take place along the Saginaw Bay shoreline . . These will be conversions of existing developed properties (e.g., the Wenona Beach Mobile Home Park). Multiple-family development will also be expanded in those neighborhoods west of Euclid Avenue. Mobile homes will continue to be primarily located in the existing mobile home parks. In total, residential land uses will occur at various densities on approximately 3,000 acres of land, or 60 percent of the Township's total area. Commercial land use will continue along the major thoroughfares (Euclid Avenue and Wilder Road) and will be expanded along Huron Road. Commercial activity along Euclid Avenue will consist primarily of redevelopment and revitalization, while new development will continue to occur along Wilder Road, State Park Drive and Beaver Road. Office development will be concentrated in three areas within the triangle formed by the intersection of Wilder Road and Euclid Avenue and the D&M/Michigan Central Railroad; the area at the rear of the existing commercial development on Euclid Avenue north of Mosher Drive, and surrounding the Bay Medical Center West Campus south of Midland Road as well as along both sides of the I-75/US-10 Business Loop. Mixed commercial/industrial development would be promoted within the area adjacent to the Saginaw River south of an extended Wilder Road. This area is currently used primarily for chemical storage. The commercial portion of this development would be designed as a planned commercial development with emphasis on waterfront activities. Industrial related land use will continue to exist within the Township, increased in total area and be concentrated in three locations along the D&M/Michigan Central Railroad west of Euclid Avenue, in the area bounded by Patterson Road on the west, Wilder Road on the south, the Saginaw River on the east and an extension of - 74_, �Wheeler Road on the north in the southeast quadrant of the Township, and on approximately 30 acres on the northeast corner of Beaver Road and Two Mile Road It is the Township's intent to concentrate these activities as much as possible in these areas. Industrial land uses will include manufacturing and warehousing operations. Most of the existing Dow Chemical properties currently used for manufacturing and storage will remain as industrial/warehousing land use. I Public facilities, including municipal administrative offices, police and fire station, Department of Public Works garage, sewage treatment plant, ball field and school grounds and buildings will encompass approximately the same acreage over the life of the Plan. All facilities, except for the Township Hall, are considered to be adequate to accommodate the Township's needs over the next 20 years. A new Township Hall/Fire Station adjacent to the existing Township Hall will be constructed to replace the existing complex. \' :i .I Open space and recreation will play a major role in forming the quality of life in Bangor Township. Linear greenbelts adjacent to the river as well as state and township parks and natural preservation areas will be located primarily within the northern and eastern portions of the Township, oriented to waterfront activities. These areas will, in some cases, include playground and recreation/entertainment facilities, and in other cases remain essentially undeveloped. They will take advantage of the Township's major resources to provide a full range of passive and active recreation activities for the Township's residents and visitors. Much of the shoreline will actually remain in open space, with some development of boardwalks and a boat launch facility for public access along the Saginaw River. The open area directly north of the Bay Harbor Marina will essentially remain undeveloped, but will be classified as industrial. School playgrounds will provide the major neighborhood recreation resources for residents west of Euclid Avenue. Road improvement and expansion will be required primarily for existing collector streets and thoroughfares. Wheeler Road will be expanded eastward from Patterson and extended northward to loop back into Shady Shores Road. Patterson Road, Wheeler Road and Zimmer Road may require expansion to three or four lanes to accommodate the additional traffic that could be generated from the Planned Unit Development in that area. A new local street would also be constructed between State Road and Bangor Road to open up additional parcels for single-family development and several local streets would be constructed or extended between State Park Drive and State Road to allow for additional development and access to those properties. Two Mile Road would also be widened and expanded to function -75- I -I I I I �(! I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I as a major thoroughfare connecting Business Loop I-75 to Beaver Road and ultimately to 1-75 north of the Township. This would help alleviate through traffic on Euclid Avenue. A total of 2.2 miles of new collector roads and 1.1 miles of new local roads, in addition to local roads included in the new Planned Unit Development would be added to the Township's inventory. Separate walking/biking paths would be constructed within a linear greenbelt on Consumers Power easements connecting the western portion of the Township with the shoreline. The abandoned D&M rightof-way would also be used as a right-of-way to connect recreational areas along the Saginaw River to the State Park and Tobico Marsh, assuming easements can be obtained. This is the proposed land use distribution that the Township will attempt to achieve over the next 20 years. In reality, not all land that is designated for the various types of development scheduled in the Plan will actually be developed. It is expected that at the end of the planning period a substantial amount of vacant land will still exist within the Township. Obviously, the extent to which land is developed depends upon the overall economic, social and physical attractiveness of the Township, county and region to new businesses and residents and to existing businesses looking for expansion. Table 9 depicts the general allocation of future land uses proposed in this Plan. These are intended as "broad" estimates of future land use distribution to provide the reader a general understanding of relative coverage. -76- �f{ I TABLE 9 FUTURE LAND USE ALLOCATIONS Estimated Acres Land Use i: Percent of Total Residential - Single-Family - Multiple-Family - Mobile Home Parks Office Commercial - Retail/Service Recreation Commercial Industrial/Warehouse Industrial/Residential Industrial Park Public Facilities - Schools Parks/Natural Areas Linear Greenbelt Public Semi-Public Streets Planned Unit Development* Mixed Residential/Commercial Mixed Commercial/Office 5,135 60 107 78 582 122 828 160 24 116 806 62 108 122 611 683 18 75 53.0 0.6 1.1 0.8 5.9 1.2 8.6 1.6 0.2 1.2 8.3 0.6 1.1 1.3 6.3 7.0 0.2 0.8 TOTAL 9,697 100.0 * Area includes streets, recreation, residential and/or commercial development. A Planned Unit Development is a type of development on a larger site that requires the total development concept, land use patterns, circulation, landscape and structure design, utilities and other site amenities to be identified prior to approval and development. The Planned Unit Development concept allows flexibility in design, platting, street layout, and other elements relative to standard development controls, such as zoning and subdivision regulations. The result is a more efficiently design development that creatively utilizes the environmental conditions of the site on which it is located. A Planned Unit Development can consist of all residential land use, all commercial land use, or industrial land use, or a combination of land uses. Typically, Planned Unit Development contains open space/recreation areas. SOURCE: Gove Associates Inc. -77- - �I I I I I I I I I I I Incremental Development Patterns As with any community, the continued development of Bangor Township will occur in various phases over time. This development will not likely be consistent, but rather the Township will experience change in "spurts", typically in conjunction with regional, state and national economic fluctuations. To achieve the results (goals) called for in this Plan, the Township will have to develop programs to direct and guide growth in the desired manner. While it is not possible to determine with any certainty where and to what extent development will actually occur within the Township, this Plan attempts to describe, in graphic form, the patterns of development for the Township over the next 20 years. Map 9 depicts the most desirable (preferred) land use pattern for the next 20 years. These depictions are general and, in reality, actual land uses at specific locations may very well differ from what is proposed, although it is the intent of this Plan to have development occur within the parameters of this 20 year recommendation. Overall, changes will consist of new residential developments in the northern and shoreline sections of the Township, with commercial development taking place along Wilder Road and office development expanding along Euclid Avenue and along Business Loop 1-75. Various local streets will be expanded, connected and improved as necessary throughout the 20 year planning period to accommodate additional development. The following briefly describes the progressive changes by land use category: I Year 0-5 I I I I During the first five years, single-family residences will continue as the predominant land use, with new single-family units along collector roads around section lines, in Areas F and G. Single-family units will continue to be constructed as "infill" development in existing subdivisions in Areas A, 8, C and D. One or two new multiple-family rental complexes will be constructed in Areas A or 8, with shoreline condominium development occurring at Wenona Beach. Senior citizen apartment housing will be constructed in Area C, possibly along North Union Road, along Kiesel Road, or near the newly developed Bay City Mall. I I I New commercial development will continue along Wilder Road. This will include the Bay City Mall and Bangor Plaza as well as other automobile oriented strip mall development. Euclid Avenue will remain essentially as it is today, with "turnovers" in -78- �retail and service businesses, and some additional development north of Wilder Road. Limited additional commercial development will also take place along Huron Road along State Park Drive between Lauria Road and Boy Scout Road. Mixed commercial and residential development will also occur along State Park Road and Euclid Avenue between Beaver Road and Lauria Road. Wheeler Road will be extended eastward adjacent to the Consumers Power right-of-way. River Road will be extended east of the Michigan Northern Railroad right-of-way to connect with the existing River Road southwest of Birch Ridge Road. Lapan Road will be extended southward between Lauria Road and Boy Scout Road. Danne Street will be extended north to Lauria Road and Cramer Street will be extended westward to join with Danne Street. 11 Some offices, particularly those associated with medical practice, will be constructed around the Bay Medical Center West facility north of Business Loop 1-75. Mixed industrial and residential activity will continue along the west side of Patterson Road and the Township will initiate development of an industrial park on its property adjacent to the regional wastewater treatment plant. This will include the parcel that is currently used as a soccer field. Within the next five years, the Township will also initiate development of a public boat launch site by the MDNR within the Township. A new Township hall facility is to be constructed near the site of the existing Township hall. Year 5-10 Between the 5th and 10th year, additional linear single-family development will occur in Areas F and G and single-family "infill" will continue west of Euclid Avenue in Areas A, C and D as well as in Area B. Additional multiple-family apartment development will take place in Area A, off of Two Mile Road as well as Area C, adjacent to Kiesel Road. The Township will discuss with Dow Chemical Company the potential for making the land in Section 3 available for Planned Development and for public access to the Coast Guard light house as a historical tourist attraction. Coyer Road will be expanded eastward to connect Bangor Road and State Park Road, and an additional entrance road will be constructed off of Coyer Road to the Bay City Mall. Kiesel Road will be connected to North Union Road west of Darla Drive, a new local road will be constructed east of E. Birch, connecting Boy Scout Road and Hidden Road and a new local road will be constructed between Euclid Road and the aforementioned road. This will open up the northeast portion of Section 6 for -79- �I I I I I I II I I I I I I I I I I I I residential development. On the east side of Euclid, Hartley Street will also be connected to Miller Street. Commercial development along Wilder Road will continue with the Township undertaking public access improvements, including landscaping, sidewalks and street lighting. Attempts will be made to provide a planned commercial development concept between State Park Drive and Euclid Avenue. This would be a mixture of office space and retail and service commercial. Additional commercial infill will also take place along both sides of Huron Road. Office development will continue along Business Loop 1-75. The portion of Wilder Road east of Patterson Road will become more warehouse/storage oriented, in a planned development configuration. The Township will negotiate with Consumers Power to determine the feasibility of converting the utility's right-of-way to a linear greenbelt. Year 10-15 By the 15th year, new single-family development will continue around the perimeter of the section lines and major streets in Sections F and G. Infill of single-family subdivisions will continue in Sections A, B, C and D, as well as in portions of Sections F and G. By this time virtually all buildable properties in Section E and along the Saginaw Bay shoreline in Sections F and H should be developed. Further opening up of the Dow Chemical property east of Patterson Road and north of a line representing an extension of Wheeler Road should take place. This area would become a planned residential development, consisting of a mixture of single-family and condominium units. The shoreline portion of this area could possibly include canals for mooring pleasure boats at the rear of residences. Commercial development and redevelopment along the north-south and east-west axis of Euclid and Wilder roads will continue, with further public landscaping, curb-cut and street lighting improvements along both thoroughfares. Additional retail and service commercial activity will be constructed along Huron Road and along M-247 (Euclid Ave.) north of the D&M Railroad right-of-way and on the west side of M-247 south of Wheeler Road, as well as along Wheeler Road between the D&M/Michigan Central right-of-way and Old Kawkawlin Road. If the demand for office space warrants it, additional office development will occur behind the North Pointe Mall north of Gary. The existing complex of storage tanks -80- �along the Saginaw River will remain, with the removal of older, environmentally hazardous tanks over time. This area will be partially converted over time to a mixed use of industrial/warehousing and commercial activities that are compatible with each other. Shipping facilities along the riverfront will be improved and a foreign trade zone and improved trucking access will be established. Waterfront oriented commercial and open space development will occur with a portion of this area. I, I The Township will extend and widen Wilder Road east of Patterson Road to provide a better access to the mixed use area. Wheeler Road will also be improved and extended eastward and connect with Shady Shores Road to provide a collector road access to the proposed Planned Unit Development in this area. A new "shoreline" road will also be constructed connecting the extended Wheeler Road with Shady Shores Road. Shady Shores Road will be widened and improved as a collector street. These new extensions will become part of the Planned Unit Development. Two Mile Road will also be improved to a three or four lane thoroughfare between the 1-75 Business Loop north to Beaver Road. A new local street will be constructed halfway between Zimmer Road and Wheeler Road connecting Bangor Road and Patterson. A new "service" road will be constructed southeasterly of North Point Plaza at the corner of Euclid and Wilder to open that area up for future commercial and office development. The existing bridges on State Park Drive and on Euclid Avenue over the Kawkawlin River will be improved, and East and West River Drive will be connected over the abandoned railroad right-of-way. The Township will initiate improvements to the railroad and utility rights-of-way to provide pedestrian/biking access between the Saginaw River and State Park/Tobico Marsh areas. Township owned property near the Bayside Park Subdivision, adjacent to the Kawkawlin River, will be used for spoils from Kawkawlin River dredging. This would be a temporary storage area and would have appropriate restrictions. Beaver Road will be widened and improved as an east/west entrance into the northern part of the Township from 1-75. Years 15-20 By the end of the planning period (the 20th year), single-family residential development along the major streets and subdivision infill will continue. There will still be a substantial amount of undeveloped land remaining, much of it in wetlands, particularly in Areas F, G and H. Vacant lands will still be available in Areas A, B, C -81- I �and D as well. Mixed residential and some commercial development will continue in the Planned Unit Developments in Section F. I I I I I I I I I Commercial development and redevelopment will occur along Wilder Road and Euclid Avenue, remaining primarily automobile-oriented, with substantial off-street parking facilities. Both Euclid Avenue and Wilder Road will be adequately landscaped, with controlled signage and appropriate street furniture and street lighting. Ferris Drive will be extended to connect State Park Drive and State Road to open up that area for residential development. Schumann Road will be extended eastward to State Park Drive. Ada Drive will be connected to Boman Drive and an eastward extension will be constructed to State Park Drive. A service road will be constructed from Wilder Road, east of the Central Michigan Railroad right-of-way, north to Old Kawkawlin Road to open that area up to commercial development. All office space within the Township will be low density (one and two story buildings). Warehousing and industrial development will occur along the D&M/Michigan Central Railroad tracks between Euclid Avenue and Wheeler Road. The storage tank complex on the Saginaw River will become more oriented to multiple use shipping, with the International Trade Zone designation and storage facility as the focal point of development, and water-oriented commercial development. The foregoing descriptions are intended to reflect and identify the most desirable timing and location of land use development and redevelopment. The following sections will describe each component of the Township's future land use in more detail. I I I I I 'I ' "".82- �I I I I I I I I I I I I Residential Development �I I I I I RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT High quality residential development which will fulfill the needs of the various population segments in the area. Objectives I A. Provide decent housing for persons of all economic levels. I B. Provide a range of housing types while improving housing conditions in the Township. I C. Obtain coordinated and balanced housing development between Bangor Township and surrounding communities as well as within Bangor Township itself. D. Protect the welfare, character and quality of existing neighborhoods. E. Promote water recreation oriented housing development. F. Encourage home ownership in the Township, while providing for adequate multiple-family and duplex rental units. G. Encourage, directly or indirectly, rehabilitation of substandard dwellings and preservation of quality older homes. H. Encourage demolition of severely dilapidated housing and develop, adopt and administer a Township housing code to ensure adequate code enforcement of existing housing. I. Encourage new developments to be built in a manner sensitive to the physical character of the Township, including the infilling of vacant lots in established residential areas through the use of architectural design ordinances and flexible zoning. I I I I I I I I I I I -83- �J. Encourage continued single-family residency in established single-family neighborhoods. K. Promote planned residential development using state-of-the-art design standards. L. Establish creative land platting and development through flexible zoning and land use control measures. Land Use The definition of the residential Future Land Use Plan must be consistent with the goal of obtaining a high quality residential development to fulfill the needs of the various population segments in the Township with its specific objectives. I I I Bangor Township will likely experience a 10.4 percent decrease in population if existing trends continue over the next 20 years. However, if favorable economic conditions and Township policies to promote growth are enacted, a "target" increase of 33.5 percent over the next 20 years will occur (refer to Figure 2 "Population Projections", Part I). Under both scenarios, new housing stock must be made available, and in a variety of forms, to suit household needs and financial requirements. Under the Existing Trends - declining population scenario, the Township will require 500 additional housing units, while under the Target Population scenario, an additional 3,770 units will be required. Both housing unit projections are based upon the declining number of residents per household as identified on page 15. The Future Land Use Plan reflects single-family housing throughout the Township, with most new single-family development occurring in the northern and eastern sections (Areas F and G). Additional single-family residential development is proposed as "infill" in scattered vacant areas which are now predominately residential, in areas A, B, C and D. Single-family major roads existing low divisions will housing in Areas F, G and H will continue to be located primarily along or the perimeter of larger 5 and 1O acre parcels. This will retain the density residential nature of these areas. Smaller multiple lot subalso continue to be platted and developed in Areas F and G. -84- • = • - �ri J I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Planned Unit Development will take place in Section F within property currently owned by Dow Chemical and other corporations. These planned developments will contain a mix of housing types with some commercial activities. New multiple-family housing units are designated for Area A off of Two Mile Road between Wheeler Road and the Consumers Power easement. Expanded multiplefamily apartment development will also occur off of Kiesel Road and North Union Road. Multiple-family apartment complexes will be constructed in Area F, north and east of the Bay City Mall and on the Charbonneau property (east of Mall) off of Bangor Road. A senior housing complex may also be constructed in this general area, or along North Union Road. Multiple-family condominium development will also take place on the old Water Works property, potentially including conversion of the existing Water Works building into condominiums, and on the Wenona Beach trailer park property. The existing multiple-family housing development within the Township will remain essentially intact, with ongoing modifications as necessary. The mobile home parks will continue to exist. However, the design standards for these parks should be upgraded. While no new mobile home parks will be developed in Bangor Township, the demand for additional low/moderate income housing will be met through rental apartments and manufactured (modular) home subdivisions. Modular homes could and should be a component of any new residential construction within the Planned Unit Development areas designated in the Future Land Use Map. Table 10 depicts the proposed additional acreage devoted to residential development for the 10.4 percent growth decline and the 33.5 percent growth projection. Both projections utilize existing residential dwelling density factors in each area as a basis for determining additional acreage needed. -85- �- - TABLE 10 PROJECTED ADDITIONAL RESIDENTIAL UNITS AND ACREAGE REQUIRED* Area A Existing Average Density (Ac./Unit) Projected Trend - Population of 14,361 Add. Units Needed Add. Acreage Needed S.F. M.F. S.F. M.F. 80 0.35 26 0.034 Existing Average Density (Ac./Unit) 25 0.30 6 0.06 C Existing Average Density (Ac./Unit) 50 0.38 17 0.09 Existing Average Density (Ac./Unit) 27 0.32 8 0.06 E Existing Average Density (Ac./Unit) 28 0 0 5 Projected Target - Population of 21,411 Add. Acreage Needed Add. Units Needed S.F. M.F. S.F. M.F. 1 603 201 211 0.5 192 42 58 2.5 19 1.5 379 126 144 11. 5 9 0.5 205 62 65.5 3-. 5 12.5 0 210 0 92.5 0 66 0.5 1,150 39 494.5 3.0 0 468 0 187 0 24 0 93 0 186 0.0 168.5 4 3,300 470 1,438.5 27 . 5 28 B 7.5 D I (X) 0) I F Existing Average Density (Ac./Unit) G Existing Average Density (Ac./Unit) 0.44 154 0.43 62 0.4 0.08 0 0 2.5 H Existing Average Density (Ac./Unit) TOTAL 12 2.0 438 *Rounded to nearest 0.5 acres. SOURCE: Gove Associates Inc. 7 0 0.0 62 - .:1. �I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Because Area H has a substantial amount of wetland area, it is unlikely that many additional residential dwellings will be constructed there. Consequently, the units designated for Area H should be reallocated to Area F, giving Area F target singlefamily dwelling units of 90 and 1,243 for target projections of 14,361 and 21,411 respectively. Although the Future Land Use Map and allocations defined in Table 9 indicate 20 year planning period designation of 5,390 acres for residential development, it is evident that amount of acreage for residential development will not actually be achieved. Approximately 2,300 acres of the Township are currently in residential use, leaving about 3,100 acres for future development. In effect, from 2 to 18 times more land will be available for residential development than is actually expected to occur under the two population projection scenarios used in this Plan. Qualitative Description The quality of the Township's housing stock is a prime component of the overall attractiveness of the community - both to individual residents and potential employers. To attain a desirable level of quality, existing housing in various portions of the Township should be upgraded and design and construction standards that promote quality need to be encouraged. Existing housing that is deteriorated or dilapidated, especially those concentrated in certain locations or "pockets" need to be upgraded -to meet housing codes. Such upgrading should be the Township's top priority in addressing the quality of its housing, as no individual or household should lie in a unit that is, or is close to being, uninhabitable. At the same time, the upgrading of these units should not make them unaffordable for those residents that are on limited or fixed incomes. This is a critical factor in meeting the objective of providing decent housing for persons of all economic levels. In addition, a limited number of housing units that are in good condition and affordable for low-income first-time buyers and those displaced because of conversion of rental properties to condominiums or commercial development, should be made available within the Township. The Township's overall housing program should, however, emphasize middle income and higher income housing. Additional housing would include a wide range of multiple-family projects that meet higher yet affordable site plan standards, medium to luxury priced condominium units and single-family housing on single lots, in subdivisions, and in planned unit I -87- �f i I developments. The Township should keep abreast of up-to-date concepts in housing development and analyze each concept to determine its applicability to Bangor Township. Flexibility in design and regulation should be adhered to. For example, local development standards should be adopted for "site" condominium development. Site condominium development essentially allows single-family detached homes to be built on separate condominium "envelopes", or parcels, with streets, sidewalk and open spaces considered as belonging to the condominium association. II Existing mobile home parks should be encouraged to be upgraded and maintained with an emphasis on quality. That includes circular streets, relatively larger mobile home sites, landscaping, open space, on-site recreation and continued maintenance. Such standards can be retained while making the units affordable to low/moderate income households. Finally, senior citizen housing should be made available to accommodate senior citizens from the Bay County area. Such high density apartment-type housing should be close to shopping and medical facilities and senior citizen activity centers. An alternative is to allow what is termed Elderly Cottage Housing Opportunity (ECHO) housing in low density single-family neighborhoods, such as Area F. ECHO housing is a concept whereby a second "modular" temporary dwelling is allowed on the same lot as the principal residence. This second dwelling would house an elderly or handicapped relative who is able to live independently, and yet be easily accessible to the relative in the primary dwelling. The ECHO unit is temporary in that when it becomes vacant it is removed from the premises. The Township zoning ordinance would have to be revised to allow for this type of dwelling. Implementation Policies The actions related to housing in Bangor Township deal basically with the retention of existing housing character and residential densities, the upgrading of substandard units, the preservation of quality older homes, and the supply of housing units for households with different income categories. In any case, actions should respond to the clear identification of the needs of the Township. -88- �I r J fi Bangor Township could implement the following actions in order to obtain reasonable quality residential development which will fulfill the needs of the various population segments in the area. 0 I r I I I I I I I I I I I I I Contact private developers and study the possibility of establishing a public-private partnership to develop multiplefamily projects for low/moderate income households and senior citizens. Although the majority of housing in the United States is provided by the private sector, it is possible for the public sector to influence the market and increase the supply of housing units. The Township must develop an entrepreneurial attitude in originating or taking a lead role in such development, using, for instance, Township or school district owned parcels or other assets to participate in joint ventures with private developers. Often, the Township may have to assume much of the risk involved in these projects; however, this leadership role has the advantage that once the projects have been completed, the Township could also share in their benefits. Furthermore, any successful project is an incentive for additional developments in the area. 0 Give priority processing to those projects that provide housing. 0 Promote ownership of housing units among residents. This action could be implemented through the promotion of programs among landlords aimed at giving incentives to renter households to become owners. Preferences could be given to occupants willing to make improvements to the house and with a long-term period of occupancy. Incentives such as setting aside a portion of the annual rent to be used, after a specified number of years, as a down payment could be effective for renter households. -89- �0 0 Promote the creation of community development corporations and other types of com~unity-based nongovernmental organizations related to neighborhood development. Encourage the maintenance of quality older homes, the rehabilitation of deteriorated housing units, and in some cases the demolition of severely dilapidated housing units. The Township Board and the Building Inspection Department could implement this action by creating special incentives such as communitywide recognition for well maintained older homes, or assist owners in identifying available resources for housing and neighborhood rehabilitation, and organizations such as the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (USC) and the proposed Michigan Neighborhood Builders Alliance, whose main objective is to improve the conditions of neighborhoods by supporting local community development. Financing Program for Housing At the federal level, rehabilitation of existing housing, including multiple-family units can be funded through the Section 312 Rehabilitation Loan Program. These loans are available to low/moderate income homeowners at low interest rates (approximately 3%) and to owners of multiple-family units (5 to 99 units) at higher rates) . At the state level, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) is the public agency that has been created to address the housing needs of low and moderate income citizens. The MSHDA has several housing programs to meet the needs of the community, including loans, grants and different types of subsidies. The following are some of the existing housing programs of the MSHDA: Home Improvement loans, Michigan Energy Bank, Section 8 Rental Assistance and Rental Rehabilitation. Home Improvement Loan Programs are designed to provide below market interest rate loans for home improvements. The MSHDA offers three alternative programs: the Home Improvement Program (HIP), the Neighborhood Improvement Program (NIP), and the Community Home Improvement Program (CHIP). It is important to -90- II Ill Ill •II �I I I I I I I I I I I stress that these programs are not mutually exclusive, they are all possible simultaneously and open to lenders and communities. In no case can these funds be used for luxury and/or recreational improvements. MSHDA housing projects are funded through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, as well as sale of bonds through the State of Michigan. The Community Block Grant program in Michigan has two major components: one for economic development related projects (managed by the Michigan Department of Commerce) and the other for housing projects (administered by the MSHDA). Eligible applicants for the Housing Grant Programs are small cities, townships and villages of less than 50,000 population. Resources in this program are dedicated to projects related to home improvement programs, rehabilitation of rental units, homesteading of vacant properties, programs for the homeless and public facilities' improvements linked to targeted home improvement programs. I I I I I I I -91- I I �r ~ I I I Commercial Development �[ r r r r f J COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT Continued development of Bangor Township as a commercial/service center of Bay County, while meeting the shopping and employment needs of local citizens. Objectives A. Attract visitors and shoppers from throughout the County and Region. 8. Reinforce the role of Bangor Township as a commercial/service center of Bay County through planned commercial development. C. Improve the "mix" of retail and commercial service businesses to meet the needs of local and areawide residents. D. Complement the commercial businesses in downtown Bay City. E. Increase recreation/tourist-oriented Township. r I I I I I I I I I I I commerce within the Land Use The proposed Land Use Plan should provide the Township with enough commercial space to achieve the general goal and the specific objectives defined in the commercial development plan. The following table identifies the maximum commerical development acreage identified in the Future Land Use Plan. -92- �TABLE 11 PROJECTED COMMERCIAL LAND USE (Acres)* Area Existing Proposed Change A 32 145 +63 8 69 68 -1 C 29 47 +16 D 7 3.4 -3.6 27.7 +10.3 E 1.9 F 155.4 G 18.2 12.4 -18.2 H 46.7 81.2 +34.5 279 +73.6 *Includes recreation/amusement commercial. SOURCE: Gove Associates Inc. These tabulations reflect the optimum allocation of commercial land uses by area and The differences between existing and future commercial land use by area. The differences between existing and future commercial land use distributions are based primarily upon consolidation or elimination of some existing dispersed commercial land uses with the main emphasis upon the Wilder Road/Euclid Avenue corridors. These allocations do not include the proposed mixed commercial/residential development along State Park Drive (15.5 acres) and M-247 (10 acres) or the mixed commercial/industrial development along the Saginaw River (approximately 300 acres) and adjacent to the Michigan Northern rail line east of Euclid Avenue (19 acres). "• • • • • • • • • ' �r r r r r r r r r I I I I I I I I I I The proposed Land Use Plan distributes commercial activities along two major thoroughfares - Euclid Avenue and Wilder Road. Euclid Avenue is, and will continue to be, primarily automobile-oriented strip commercial development. Wilder Road will continue to develop in an automobile-oriented strip commercial (mall) pattern. Additional commercial oriented land uses will develop along Huron Road and on M247 south of Wheeler Road. A pedestrian oriented planned commercial/office complex would be located on the northeast corner of Euclid Avenue and Wilder Road. Commercial land uses will also continue to develop along both sides of State Park Drive between Kawkawlin River and Saginaw Bay, except State Park, and at the southeast and southwest intersection of Beaver Road and M-247 to serve visitors to the State Park and residents in the northern portion of the Township. Local convenience commercial establishments will also be located along Patterson Road where it intersects with Zimmer Road - again to serve local residents and boat. ers/fishermen/swimmers. The property on both sides of State Park Drive between Boy Scout Road and Saginaw Bay is currently developing as a mixture of residential and commercial activities (with the exception of State Park property). This mixture of residential and commercial uses will continue with appropriate restrictions defined within the Township Zoning Ordinance. This type of use will also be allowed on the east side of M-247 between Beaver Road and Lauria Road. The Future Land Use Plan calls for commercial activities to be concentrated within those locations identified on Map 9. Water-oriented commercial development is proposed along the Saginaw River south of the Bay Harbor Marina. Such Development would occur in conjunction with industrial/warehousing activities in this area, in a controlled development pattern. This could include facilities such as restaurants, small specialty shops and outdoor amusement activities, combined with public improvements such as a boardwalk, landscaping and off-street parking. The intent would be three-fold: to open up a portion of this area to water-oriented commercial development, which is a "higher and better" use, to improve industrial, warehousing an shopping facilities in this area, and to allow for, and promote, spectator access to shipping activities. This should be developed on a larger planned unit development scale. Mixed commercial and industrial development would also occur adjacent to the Michigan Central Railroad "spur" line east of Euclid Avenue in Area B. Such uses could include combined commercial/industrial activates such as manufactured home fabrication and sales. -94- �Qualitative Description Bangor Township's commercial development, along with its shoreline, is one of the most obvious physical elements that defines the image of the Township. The east-west and north-south axis of Wilder Road and Euclid Avenue will form the core of the Township's commercial and service activity. However, to maximize that potential, modifications and alterations to the streetscape should be promoted. These could include sidewalks, street lighting, landscaping, street furniture, reduction of curb-cuts/access points and upgrading off-street parking to include curbing and landscaping. Signage along both thoroughfares could be regulated and compatible with an overall theme (e.g. marine/waterfront). The construction of the Bay City Mall and Bangor Plaza along Wilder Road on both sides of State Road should set the standards for future commercial development along Wilder Road. Streetscape improvements (sidewalks, landscaping, street lighting and signage) should all be integrated with new commercial growth along this corridor. A planned retail/commercial development, which would in effect be a mixed use development of office and retail/service commercial development would be constructed on the northeast corner of Wilder Road and Euclid Avenue. While this would be a pedestrian-oriented complex, it would contain off-street parking for employees and customers. Recreation and specialty shop commercial development would also be located within the area adjacent to the Bay Harbor Marina. This would be a thematic touristoriented complex of shops oriented to waterfront development. Additional marina capacity would also be established in this vicinity. Again, this type of development would be pedestrian-oriented, with adequate parking available. Smaller convenience and recreational commercial cores would be located at the corner of State Park Drive and M-247 near the intersection of Zimmer Road and Patterson Road, along both sides of State Park Drive, between Lauria Road, Boy Scout Road and Saginaw Bay. These strip commercial developments would be designed to serve local residents and visitors to the State Park. -95- .. Ill • • • • • • • • • • • • : • '• �,~ r. r· r r r r I r I I I I I I I I Implementation Policies Those actions recommended to achieve the commercial development goals and objectives are aimed basically at reinforcing existing commercial development, attracting investment to the Township, promoting the expansion of local businesses, and improving public facilities related to the commercial development of Bangor Township. Commercial activity plays a key role in the economic development process of the Township. The volume and variety of commercial activity continues to increase with the construction of the Bay City Mall and the Bangor Plaza. The impacts of these developments upon the Township's infrastructure should be significant, with a need to increase street capacity, and provide concurrent streetscape amenities. The following are some of the actions recommended to improve and facilitate the commercial conditions of the Township. 0 Contact private developers in order to promote the market possibilities in the area. This should be done by the Downtown Development Authority Search Committee. Develop a Market Study identifying businesses that could fit into the Township's commercial "niche." 0 Establish a program to control the type, location and timing of new commercial investment into the Township while working on retention of existing business. The following are some of the incentives that could be established: purchase or acquisition of tax delinquent properties to be used by the Township as leverage for new or expanded commercial development (land "writedowns"); entering into a public/private partnership with a qualified developer (such an arrangement can vary from offering Township funds for "start-up" costs to a full partnership in which the Township and developer share assets and liabilities); the establishment of commercial corridor associations for Euclid Avenue and Wilder Road to oversee the general development of these areas and work with the Township's DOA; improvement of I -96- I �public facilities; and the retention and expansion of local development corporations. Some financial assistance for these actions could be obtained from the Community Development Block Grant and Small Business Administration programs. o The DOA and other Township organizations, such as the commercial corridor associations mentioned above, should be involved in the construction of new parking facilities, the promotion of special events to attract people downtown, the rehabilitation of deteriorated facilities, the demolition of dilapidated facilities, the occupancy of vacant structures, and the adequate provision of public services, such as police protection, fire protection, snow removal, etc. o The DOA, corridor associations and property owners should work together within a committee structure to ensure that vacant retail and office spaces are filled accordingly. These organizations should also work with the Township in developing corridor improvements along Euclid Avenue and Wilder Road, as well as Huron Road. The Business Development Committee could serve an important function as a ODA clearinghouse for information on business opportunities in Bangor Township. The committee could handle initial inquiries but would particularly be helpful as a group to which inquiries from prospective new business operators could be directed. Information about such contacts/inquiries would then be given to the appropriate organization for further follow-up. Business people should be encouraged to keep any negative opinions they may have to themselves and to direct inquiries instead to the Business Development Committee. The committee should poll local business operators frequently to elicit information on inquiries or expressions of interest which they may have had from friends, business associates in other towns, or information on potential new business operators who might be contacted as prospective occupants of space. Membership on this committee should consist of realtors, bankers, etc. II '• II �J I I I I I I I I I I I I I I r I r I Financing Programs for Commercial Development While there are many programs related to economic development, the majority of them are oriented to financing projects that support business activity, especially infrastructure (sewer, water, streets, etc.). Many of the programs directly related to economic development are aimed at the promotion of small businesses, due to the recognized importance of these types of businesses for regional (and national) economic development. At the federal level, the Small Business Administration is the agency that provides loans and loan guarantees to help small businesses. The SBA has several different programs, such as: Section 7(a): Regular Small Business Loans. Their objective is to aid small businesses that are unable to obtain financing in the private credit market. Besides the independently owned small businesses, state and local development companies can apply for loans, for projects such as construction, purchase of buildings, equipment and material, and working capital. Section 8(a): Business Development Program, ensures participation of businesses owned and controlled by disadvantaged persons in federal contracting, in their process to become independent. Section 503: Certified Development Company Programs. Their objective is to stimulate the growth and expansion of small businesses by providing them with long-term financing. Activities such as acquisition of land and buildings, construction, expansion, renovation and modernization can be financed by this program; however, some restrictions apply for applicants. At the state level, the principal program directly related to economic development is the Michigan Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), which is administered by the Michigan Department of Commerce. The primary criterion for economic development grants is the number of jobs that the project will generate. The program also addresses economic development planning, community redevelopment and economic development related infrastructure. -98- �Two specific programs offered by the CDBG for commercial development are: Commercial/Retail Loan, and Downtown Development and Emergency Community Assistance. At the local level, the Township has financial resources that could be used to promote commercial development. Besides its normal revenue sources, the Township could use, and has in place, Tax Increment Financing. In addition, Public/Private Partnerships and Special Assessment Taxes could be used. Tax Increment Financing programs can be used to redevelop business districts that are experiencing declining property values and create and improve public facilities and buildings for industrial development. These programs, under P.A. 198, the Downtown Development Authority Act, or P.A. 450, the Local Development Finance Authority Act are not tax abatements, as long as they do not lower any tax rates. Basically, the idea is to establish a project area and "freeze" all property valuations (assessments) of the project area at the beginning of the TIF, and all increases in assessments due to property improvements are either pledged for bonds or used directly for making further public improvements in the TIF district. Once the TIF program is completed, future tax revenues are returned to the full tax base of the community. Public/private co-development is another tool to induce commercial growth. One form of co-development is ground leasing. whereby the Township leases land or buildings it owns to a developer or business for a minimum base payment plus a percentage of the income generated by the project or business or some other arrangement. There are several advantages to ground leasing as a means of public/private partnership in commercial development. If the project is successful, the Township can recover all of its costs plus additional revenues. Ground leases can be subordinated - the Township can mortgage its interest in the property as security for a development loan to the business or developer. The smaller capital investment required for leasing a space will give a developer a better return on his or her investment. Leasing also allows the Township control over the way the property is developed or used, and offers flexibility by structuring payments to meet the needs of the project's requirements for cash flow. This type of program may fit into a Town Center development which could include Township administrative offices. Special assessment taxes are another means of financing public improvement which, in turn, can lead to further private development. Special assessment districts require the approval of the majority of the property owners in the proposed district. Since this is, in essence, a self-imposed tax, there is little likelihood of approval of a -99 ... • �[ [ downtown assessment district unless the projects it is intended to fund are regarded by those property owners as necessary. Such a district is beneficial if the improvements lead to increased business, and it is established only for a specified period of time, unless it is approved by the property owners as an ongoing assessment. [ I I I Ii I I I I I I I I I I I I Another way to finance programs and promote small business development at a local level is the creation of a Community Development Corporation (CDC), which is a nonprofit, private and community-based organization. Its main purpose is to involve low income residents in the long-term and comprehensive development of their communities. CDCs participate in programs related to housing rehabilitation, commercial revitalization, infrastructure development, job training, planning, and financial and technical ·assistance for small businesses. Some of the advantages of this type of organization include no bureaucratic constraints, use of local initiative to address local needs, use of private development techniques for public purposes, attraction of private resources and reinvestment in the community. Neighborhoods could also create their own neighborhood development corporation. -100- �I I I I I I ~ I I I I I I I I I I I Industrial Development �I I INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Diversified clean industrial growth in Bangor Township through orderly placement of land uses and strengthened local organization. Objectives A. Encourage noncyclical industries to locate in Bangor Township in accordance with the Land Use Plan and at a rate which is consistent with the ability to provide housing, services, utilities and amenities (example - food processing, ... ). B. Locate industrial uses in areas which have the necessary transportation carrying capacities, while preventing industrial development in environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands and controlling such development adjacent to the Saginaw River. C. Increase the number and diverse small, clean industries in the area (example -machine shops, ... ). D. Promote professional, employment. E. Provide for planning industrial development in park-like settings with minimal or no impact upon surrounding nonindustrial land uses. F. Prevent or minimize polluting effects of industrial developments. G. Utilize the transportation access provided by the Saginaw River to establish a consolidated shipping facility. 'high technology' industrial/service -101- �Land Use The general goal of the industrial development plan is to provide Bangor Township with a diversified clean industrial base through orderly placement of land uses and a restructuring of the industrial base along the Saginaw River. The Future Land Use Plan calls for the consolidation of industrial activities within the Township. The majority of land devoted to this use will actually be for manufacturing and warehousing and storage, particularly along the southeastern section of the Township adjacent to the Saginaw River. Dispersed manufacturing and warehousing activities currently existing along Euclid Avenue would be relocated to the Township's industrial park, which will be developed on Township property on Patterson Road. Other warehousing/storage activities, such as automobile wrecking yards, currently dispersed throughout the Township, would be relocated to warehousing facilities north of Wilder Road (east of Patterson). The Township industrial park would, in addition to containing light industrial operations, also house an industrial/business incubator facility for start-up businesses. Land on both sides of the D&M Railroad switching yards would become more structurally defined as warehousing/shipping and industrial fabrication and manufacturing as would the area along Wilder Road east of Patterson Road. The existing mixture of industrial/warehousing and residential activity on the west side of Patterson Road, except for the triangle formed by the D&M Railroad right-of-way and the intersection of Wheeler and Patterson roads, would be designated for those mixed uses, with increased design standards and regulations defined in the Township zoning ordinance. The triangular areas on Patterson north of the D&M Railroad right-of-way would be an area of mixed commercial/residential use. A strip of property approximately 800 feet long and 200 feet deep along Wheeler Road east of the D&M Railroad would be used only for residential activities. The north side of Wilder Road, east of Patterson Road, would be devoted primarily to warehousing activity mixed with light industrial operations. Dow Chemical and other corporate tank storage facilities would still remain in the area, with removal over time of deteriorated or unused tanks. It should be the Township's policy to reduce the total number of storage tanks in this area over time to allow for transition to other industrial/commercial uses. The portion of this area closest to the Saginaw River would be revamped to house modern warehousing and shipping facilities as part of a designated Foreign Trade Zone and Port of Entry, and to accommodate wateroriented commercial uses that will be compatible with industrial/shipping activities. • •I I I I Table 12 compares existing and proposed manufacturing and warehousing land uses by Area. I -1a2.,. I �I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I TABLE 12 INDUSTRIAL LAND USE ALLOCATIONS (Acres) Area Existing Industrial/ Warehousing Proposed Industrial/ Warehousing Change A 36.1 48 + 11.9 B 1.2 0 -1.2 C 0 0 0 D 0.2 0 0 E 0 0 0 F 480 727* +247 G 0.6 0 -20 H 9.8 0 -9.8 *Does not include approximately 344 acres of proposed mixed industrial/warehousing commercial land use along the Saginaw River and east of Euclid Avenue adjacent to the Michigan Central Railroad track, and approximately 183 acres of mixed residential/industrial land use along the west side of Patterson Road. SOURCE: Gove Associates Inc. -103- �Qualitative Description Bangor Township's industrial and warehousing activities will continue to be concentrated within the existing Dow Chemical and other corporate storage complexes along the Saginaw River and the plastic pipe operation along Wilder Road. The majority of this area, especially adjacent to the Saginaw River will continue to be used for chemical storage and shipping activities. Some of the older existing storage tanks, and those immediately adjacent to the river, will be removed, as will the existing deteriorated warehouse structures. These will be replaced with larger warehousing facilities that will be linked to a foreign trade zone office located in the area. Water-oriented commercial facilities, including restaurants, small amusement operations, specialty shops and boardwalk will be developed along a portion of the river shoreline in such a fashion as to allow spectators to view shipping activity designed and developed to ensure minimal conflict and maximum efficiency and safety. Road systems in the shoreline area will be improved with landscaping, to give the site a more functional and "organized" appearance. Manufacturing and warehousing will both occur along the north side of Wilder Road east of Patterson Road. The property currently owned by the Township between Patterson Road and the regional wastewater plant, will be developed into an industrial park. Such a park will include paved streets, curb and gutter, underground utilities, and landscaping. This site, approximately 38 acres, will be split into parcels of various sizes, ranging from 1 to 5 or more acres. It will contain design and performance standards relating to buildings, their placement, ingress and egress of vehicles, etc. One of the operations in the facility could be an industrial or office "incubator" for start-up businesses. The land on the west side of Patterson Road, which is currently a mixture of residential, warehousing, and some manufacturing operations, will continue to develop with that mix of activities. It is evident that there is a demand for combined residential and small warehousing or manufacturing operations on the same or adjacent parcel. This designation is intended to facilitate that demand in a controllable fashion. These will be regulated through zoning standards to minimize negative impacts between such uses. Warehousing/shipping operations will also occur on both sides, but particularly the north side, of the D&M switching yard between Euclid Avenue and Wheeler Road. The facilities here could function as central storage, shipping and receiving operations for the railroad. ..-104- • "' ' • • • • •I I I �I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Overall the intent of the future industrial land use program is to remove smaller manufacturing operations, particularly along Euclid Avenue, from dispersed locations and concentrate them within the areas described above with improved design and vehicular access standards. Landscaping or greenbelt barriers should be constructed between industrial and residential/recreational land uses. Implementation Policies The actions proposed to control industrial development within Bangor Township are very similar to those proposed for commercial development, in the sense that they are both intended to attract investment into the Township, and/or expand businesses and industries already located here. · At least two factors should be considered before any action is implemented: first, the need to identify the types of industries that are most conducive to the economic, labor force and physical characteristics of the area; and secondly, an analysis should be conducted to identify the effects (i.e., environmental, social and economic) these industries could have on the Township. This analysis would be incorporated in an industrial market study. The study would include the identification of industries by Standard Industrial Classification (S.I.C.) Code. These would be industries that would best "fit" into the area's existing industrial and employment base. Once those industries were identified, they would be prioritized for a marketing campaign. The marketing campaign would consist of a strategy to attract and retain those priority industries as well as retain existing industries. Some of the actions recommended to achieve the industrial goal are the following: 0 The Township should form a Local Development Finance Authority under P.A. 281 of 1986 to promote and oversee industrial development within the Township. This organization should work closely with the Planning Commission and keep the Commission informed of its activities. The LDFA should identify industries with a potential for success within the area, and then contact prospective companies - especially nonpolluting industries - in order to promote their location in Bangor Township. Any marketing plan to promote the Township must consider the factors that affect the decision of a firm when conducting a business .., l 05- �location search and selecting a site. The necessity of a new plant could be the result of an anticipated capacity shortfall, or any other factor such as too many workers at an existing plant, new production technology that requires a new facility, improved proximity to markets, etc. Although the selection process is different depending on the factor that motivates the new location, there are some common factors that concern companies when making their decision. There are, among others: labor costs, transportation costs and facilities, proximity to raw material sources, proximity to existing company facilities and quality of life in the area. For this reason it is important for the Township to maintain updated information about its socio-economic conditions, and to prepare a brochure that could be sent to prospective companies when required. 0 Create some incentives in order to attract industrial investment into the Township, and retain and expand those industries already located in Bangor Township. 1111 1111 1111 ' The following are some of the incentives that could be established: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. real property tax reduction, industrial revenue bonds, federal loan guarantees, joint ventures, and investment tax credits. The Township, through the LDFA, could establish a tax increment finance program for development of the industrial park. This could be combined with federal and state grant and loan programs to achieve a varied source of funding. 0 Encourage industries to enter into voluntary agreements to give hiring preferences to local residents and to improve training programs. -1 G6"-- •I •I I I �I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 0 Research the potential for rev1v1ng the area's free trade zone designation (which it held at one point in time) and attempt to develop an operation and associated facility along the Saginaw River to actually utilize the trade zone designation (Detailed information on Free Trade Zone designation is available at the Township office). Financing Programs for Industrial Development The financing of industrial development in the township will come from two major sources: public and private. Within the public sector, funding is available from state and federal, as well as local sources. Private sector financing primarily consists of banks and other lending institutions and company capital improvements. -107- �I I I I I ~ I I I I I I I I I Parks and Recreation �I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I PARKS AND RECREATION The following Goals and Objectives are defined in the Township's 1990 Recreation Plan Update, which was extracted from the 1980 Land Use Plan. The primary goal (A) implicit in all other secondary goals is the desire of the officials and citizens of Bangor Township to develop and maintain an attractive, pleasant, clean, healthful and economically stable community environment. A secondary goal (B) assures the preservation of sufficient open space and the development of recreation facilities to adequately serve the needs of Bangor's present and anticipated population. Objective A. Seek means of expanding recreation programs and facilities designed to serve the needs of all segments of Bangor's population. Policies 1. Foster cooperation with adjacent communities, particularly in the coordination of land use planning efforts and in the provision of area wide recreation services. 2. Seek involvement in all State and Federal programs which can assist the Township in providing improved services and facilities to Bangor's residents. 3. Encourage the development of appropriate recreation facilities within each neighborhood. Objective B. Encourage, wherever possible, the development of public open space on a scale large enough to allow the implementation of a multiple use concept of recreation services. -108- �• Policies 1. Encourage the acquisition of land and a conservation measure to protect specific natural features. 2. Encourage the development of neighborhood open spaces to provide both active and passive recreation opportunities. 3. Encourage a Township wide development pattern that will provide for convenient and ample recreation areas throughout the Bangor community. 4. Encourage the development of recreation centers in the Township to provide for social interaction of various age groups. 5. Cooperate with other governmental jurisdictions to provide a full range of recreation facilities and programs. 6. Encourage cooperation with Federal, State, County and Local agencies in the preservation of open space as a natural resource. 7. Coordinate Bangor's recreation plans _with those of adjoining communities and the County as a whole to help avoid costly duplication and to create a greater variety of recreation opportunities. 8. Coordinate efforts of land subdividers and school officials in developing recreation areas and facilities. 9. Work closely with the County, State and Local recreation authorities in developing inter-regional recreation and open space areas. 10. Provide for the acquisition of park sites prior to the time that development preempts the land. 11. Preserve floodplains for recreation use wherever possible. 12. Encourage joint use of school sites and buildings. -109- • '• �I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 13. Encourage subdividers to provide recreational areas in new residential developments. 14. Provide a variety of recreation facilities. 15. Stimulate interest among established groups, such as Parent Teachers Association and business service organizations, to assist the Township in assuring preservation of open space and recreation areas in Bangor. 16. Establish programs designed to implement the Recreation Plan goals, objectives and recommendations. 17. Encourage the utilization of drainage courses and utility easements for recreation purposes. 18. Wherever possible, incorporate drains as part of the community open space. 19. Develop design standards which permit drains to be incorporated as an integral part of a recreation area. 20. Develop design standards which facilitate easy drain maintenance. 21. Wherever feasible, develop pedestrian pathways and bicycle paths following drainage and utility corridors. 22. Make all recreation facilities handicap accessible. Land Use The proposed Land Use Plan provides the Township with elements that are necessary to achieve the goal and the objectives associated with parks and recreation. The overall goal of the parks and recreation plan is to provide the Township with an open space system and with parks and recreation facilities that are accessible, affordable, safe and attractive to all residents. --110- �The existing park and recreation system in the Township will be expanded with the dedication of a number of additional areas. Primarily, this includes developing an additional public access site with a boat launch either on the Bay or Saginaw River. Another open space/recreation site would be developed around the old lighthouse on the Saginaw River. This could be an interpretive area and also include limited picnicking, as well as a boat launch. A boardwalk along the Saginaw River south of the Bay Harbor Marina would be constructed as part of the mixed commercial/ industrial development proposed for this area. • A linear greenbelt system would be established through the Township along the Consumers Power easement running east and west between Two Mile Road and the Saginaw River. In total, there would be about 4 miles of linear greenbelt within the Township. This could be used for both hiking and biking. The Bay City State Park and Tobico Marsh will remain as they are, with continued improvements for visitor access and camping, water-oriented and interpretive facilities. The existing elementary schools will continue to function as neighborhood recreation centers and the high school and junior high school, as community recreation centers, with running track, baseball diamond, gymnasium, exercise area, tennis and basketball courts, etc. Qualitative Description The intent of this Plan is to identify and formalize those areas of the Township that are to be used for recreation and open space preservation. The improvement and use of the Township's natural resources for the enjoyment of the Township's residents and visitors will substantially add to the quality of life in Bangor Township. The majority of open space/recreation activity will be oriented to the Saginaw Bay, utilizing the Bay City State Park and Tobico Marsh as well as an additional public boat launch and the Old Lighthouse area. The Township needs to work in conjunction with the County and State to ensure that land uses surrounding these State owned lands are compatible and that the shoreline is adequately advertised through appropriate signage along 1-75 and other major thoroughfares. The intent is to make the shoreline more accessible and widely known to the general public. The State Park and Tobico Marsh are currently being linked by a hiking trail along the abandoned D&M railroad. This should be well advertised to the general public. -111- • • • �I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I The Old Lighthouse area would be opened to the public at the end of the extension of Wheeler Road. It would be the southern terminus of a boardwalk running along the Saginaw River to the Department of Natural Resources boat launch at the end of Shady Shores Road to the north. It would include parking, directional signage, possible tours of the lighthouse itself, and a boat launch with parking. This site would also be a terminus for the Township's east-west linear greenbelt system. The potential for shore (pier) fishing in this vicinity should be studied. Obviously, polices and programs would need to be adopted and administered to minimize abuse and vandalism. There are currently some major obstacles and constraints to opening the lighthouse property to public access, including the substantial amount of wetlands in this area and the close proximity to Dow Chemical. A major component of the Township's park/open space system is the development of a linear parkway /open space area in an east-west direction. This would utilize the Consumers Power utility easement through the Township. While it may not be possible to construct hiking/biking paths along the entire length of this greenbelt, efforts should be made to make those improvements wherever possible. Implementation Policies Open space, parks and recreation facilities are very important for a community, in the sense that they make life in the Township more enjoyable and attractive. The following are some programs that should be implemented by the Township. Equally important, the natural resources of the Township (i.e., shoreline and associated wetlands) are also economic assets in terms of both visitorship and associated commercial spending, and shoreline residential development. 0 Bangor Township should purchase several acres along the Saginaw River and Bay waterfronts to ensure increased public access to these resources and to complement existing State owned waterfront attractions. The property around the old lighthouse and the riverfront between the lighthouse and the existing Department of Natural Resources boat ramp and between the Bay Harbor Marina and the City limits for a boardwalk and development of a Trade Zone facility. I I I -112- �Research should also be undertaken to determine the potential for utilizing the Consumers Power easement for hiking/biking trails within the Township. To ensure those facilities, the Township should establish a recreation capital improvements program, identifying specific projects and their associated costs and revenue sources as well as project phasing. Those capital improvements should be in conjunction with the recreational improvements identified in the future land use element and build upon the Township's Park and Recreation Plan. Funding sources could include the establishment of user fees and various grants from federal and state programs. Those grants include the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund which provides revenue for purchase and improvement of recreation property, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is a federal program for acquisition and improvement of recreation sites and the Michigan Recreation Bond program, which allocates revenue for recreation improvements. The Recreation Bond program, however, is expected to terminate in the near future, as revenues will be completely allocated. The federal Coastal Zone Management Program can also be used for park and recreation, or other public improvements, within 2,000 feet of the Lake Huron/ Saginaw Bay shoreline. All of these grant programs are competitive and the Natural Resources and Land and Water Conservation Fund require a current recreation plan adopted by the Township. o The Township Board could create incentives for the private sector to develop recreation facilities within the Township, including requiring recreational facilities to be included in residential developments as a prerequisite for site plan approval, if it is determined such development would create additional recreation demands that the Township cannot immediately provide. In addition, in 1990 the Township Recreation Commission has established the following projects to be completed in both the short- and long-term. -113- • • • �I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I TABLE 13 BANGOR TOWNSHIP RECREATION PLAN SCHEDULED PROJECTS Short-Term Plan 1. John Glenn School, located on Kiesel Road Objective Funding Source 7 Lighted Tennis Courts Jogging Trail Remove 3 Existing Tennis Courts Subsurface Drainage Soccer and Practice Football Field Four Mini Basketball Courts Off Block Parking Lot Dugouts for J.V. and Softball Diamonds 2 Softball Diamonds Estimated Development Cost $154,000 42,000 7,000 16,000 3,200 21,000 70,000 TOTAL $313,200 2. Bangor Central, located on State Park Drive Objective Funding Source Subsurface Drainage in Playground Area Playground Equipment Relocate Ball Diamonds with Backstops Mini Basketball Courts Enlarge Parking Area, including Drainage TOTAL -114- Estimated Development Cost $25,000 15,000 120,000 3,200 31,000 $194,200 �TABLE 13 - CONTINUED 3. West Central School, located on East Wilder Road Objective Funding Source Subsurface Drainage on West Side of School Playground Equipment Walking/Nature Trail (1,800 L.F.) Par Course Fitness Stations (7 Stations & Signs) Relocate 4 Ball Diamonds Mini Basketball Courts Parking Lot Expansion (300'x40') including Drainage Estimated Development Cost $ 3,200 15,000 12,000 6,000 120,000 4,000 20,000 TOTAL $180,000 4. Lincoln School, located on corner of North Euclid and Lauria Roads Objective Funding Source Estimated Development Cost Basketball Court Expansion Relocate Ball Diamond Subsurface Drainage Remove Old Septic Field $ 3,200 12,000 4,000 2,000 TOTAL $ 47,700 5. Edison School, located on East Midland Road Objective Funding Source Remove Play Equipment Relocate Ball Diamond Estimated Development Cost $ 5,000 15,000 TOTAL $ 20,000 SOURCE: Bangor Township Recreation Plan - 1989 -115- • • • �I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ,, I The following is the recommended long range program as identified by the Township Recreation Commission. It is an excerpt from the 1990 Recreation Plan. Long Range Plan It is recommended that a total of six separate recreational facilities be developed within the 20 year period. These include four neighborhood parks, one community park and one tot lot. Tot Lot It is proposed that the existing 1/2 acre site on North Union Road and West Lewis Street be developed to service the adjacent subdivisions. Proposed facilities include: 1. 2. 3. 4. Various types of children oriented playground equipment. Small parking area for approximately 10 cars. Landscaping and fencing around the outer perimeter of the parcel. Benches installed throughout the park. Neighborhood Parks It is proposed that four neighborhood parks be developed within the planning period. These neighborhood parks would be similar to one another and would provide recreational opportunities to each service area as shown on the following long-range map. A typical neighborhood park would contain the following types of facilities. Picnic Tables and Grills Pavilion Restrooms Landscaping Fencing Parking Facilities Playground Equipment Basketball Court Baseball Field I I -116- �Open Space Areas Tennis Courts Horseshoes Shuffleboard Jogging Trail Physical Fitness Exercise Stations It is proposed that the eastern service area be split as noted on the longrange planning map if population greatly increases within this area during the planning period. Community Park The long-range recreation plan proposes that a Township owned community park be developed to provide water oriented recreation facilities to all residents of Bangor Township. This park should include 50 to 60 acres situated on the Saginaw Bay.1 Facilities should be provided for a wide range of both active and passive recreational activities, most important are the following: Picnic areas along the waterfront Pavilions for family picnics and reunions Open space areas for volleyball, softball and flag football Park benches scattered throughout the park Trails for hiking, jogging, etc. Restrooms Various types of landscaping Parking facilities Shuffleboard and horseshoes Mini Amphitheater 1 The development of a section of Wenona Beach as a Township Park will generally fill this prescription of the recreation plan, although the site will encompass a substantially smaller area and will not contain areas for softball, flag football, hiking trails, or a mini-theatre. -117- '• • �I I I I I I I I t I There has been some discussion about utilizing the Bangor storm water retention pond area for a possible amphitheater during the summer seasons for outdoor concerts. This ± 60 acre site is approximately 20 feet deep with gradual side slopes which could be utilized for a seating area. The Recreation Commission is currently evaluating this alternative. Financing Programs for Parks and Recreation At the State level, projects related with recreation can be financed using the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (N.R.T.F.), which replaced the Michigan Land Trust Fund in 1985. The overall goal of the NRTF is to financially assist both the purchase of land for recreation uses, or the protection of the land because of its environmental importance or scenic beauty. The community recreation component of the Environmental Bond Issue, passed by the residents of Michigan in 1988, is another potential funding source. In addition, the Coastal Zone Management program, a federally funded program administered in Michigan by the DNA, will finance coastal planning and capital improvement projects. Local funding sources for land purchase and/or site improvements include fraternal organizations, a locally generated recreation trust fund, and general obligation bonds. I I I I I I I 118- �I I I I I I Transportation �I 'l I TRANSPORTATION The provision of safe, efficient, and accessible transportation methods and facilities available to all residents of the community which are compatible with proposed land uses and minimize intermodel conflicts and negative environmental inpacts. f Objectives I A. Maximize the efficient use of existing streets and thoroughfares while providing for a variety of public-transportation modes as desirable alternatives to the automobile. B. Utilize the Saginaw River as a primary mode of commercial shipping while minimizing the impacts of such activities upon the Township's land uses, including recreation facilities. C. Implement street standards for new development which promotes optimum safety, traffic efficiency and design relationships and result in construction and maintenance economies. D. Maintain and improve the Township's existing road system to increase accessibility to developing areas, ensure high quality local, county and state roads, and an integrated efficient network of streets, bikeways and pedestrian walkways. E. Construct additional collector and local streets to improve access to the shoreline and open up additional areas for residential development. I I J I l I I I I I I I I Land Use The transportation plan for Bangor Township is formulated to achieve the goal of providing the Township with safe, efficient and accessible transportation methods and facilities with land uses and minimizing intermodel conflicts and negative environmental impacts. -119- �The major street plan is essentially the transportation element of the Comprehensive Plan, based primarily on the Street and Road Analysis completed earlier in the text. This element is structured to provide general transportation goals for all transportation-related activities in the Township, along with specific objectives, strategies and actions. Because of its obvious importance in the functioning of today's society, a solid transportation analysis and plan must be integrated with the Land Use Plan. The planning of an efficient road network in Bangor Township, and recommendations for solving existing traffic problems, will help ensure a system which is able to accommodate future traffic as the Township changes and grows. Overall, the Township's existing composition of artery, collector and local streets will remain intact, with the major changes associated with extensions of major arterial and local streets into undeveloped areas and the possible upgrading and widening of Wheeler Road to accommodate additional traffic, as future development warrants. Since much of the eastern portion of the Township is still undeveloped, a specific street system does not exist within this area. Curvilinear street systems should be encouraged in future residential development to contribute to design aesthetics and deter excessive speed. Such systems should however, also be designed as to not deter interaction between various developments, but should encourage street systems among various residential developments to be compatible and allow for through traffic. All existing unpaved streets should be paved. Assuming a general increase in traffic volumes for each area of the Township in the near and distant future, a much more in-depth traffic analysis should be undertaken. This is especially critical for areas of the Township which are designated for more commercial development and higher density residential uses, such as Wilder Road, Wheeler Road, Two Mile Road, Beaver Road and Euclid Avenue, and which will carry more traffic. A more detailed study will also be able to include specific transportation planning principles. This involves the development of certain standards for the various types of streets (width, parking, movement, signage, etc.), and the coordination of a local plan with the County and with regional and state planning agencies. In preparing for the future, the Township must provide standards for adequate offstreet parking. As the Township becomes a regional commercial center, industrial and recreation development occur and more activities take place, an increased -120- • "• •I • I I I , �parking demand will be felt by both residents and visitors. Because of the diversity of activities in the Township the demands for parking will fluctuate (i.e., the greatest demand for parking spaces will not always occur during daytime business hours). Specific locations in the Township will have to be identified and improved as vehicular parking lots and new development (or alternatives to existing structures) should meet approved parking requirements as presented in the text of the Zoning Ordinance. The trend of commercial mall development occurring within the Township will help to provide an adequate number of off-street parking sites. The Township does, however, need to regulate the location and sizing of curb cuts, parking lane widths and other elements associated with such development. I I I I J I I I I I Most of the Township does not contain sidewalks and curbs. However, all new residential subdivision developments should be required to include these amenities. Sidewalk maintenance programs funded by both the Township and property owners should be used to ensure safe and functional walkways. Eventually, as residential densities in existing single-family neighborhoods increase, it may be reasonable to construct curbs and sidewalks in those locations. Because a transportation plan is not limited solely to individual vehicular traffic, mention should also be made of public transportation, bicyclists, service/ delivery vehicles and pedestrian walkways. Although these four forms of transportation account for only a small portion of the area's total traffic volume, they are an integral part of any community fabric - especially in a community with major lake and river shorelines. The harmonious functioning of these elements are essential to the Township so that a reasonable and efficient variety of transportation modes are available to residents and visitors. As Township streets are constructed or expand, ample provision should be made to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians. Further, the Land Use Plan calls for a bicycle/pedestrian path throughout the Township which is free of motorized vehicles. To serve the residents who prefer (or are dependent upon) public transportation, the Township should work closely with the Bay Metro Transit system and the Council on Aging to maximize the areas serviced by that system. That includes locating multiple-family housing on major streets that can accommodate public transportation service. I I I -121.:. �Qualitative Description The previously completed Street and Road Analysis identified a number of problem areas in the Township. In summary, these include: Problem Areas 1. A need for an improved collector road system, capable of carrying a higher capacity of local traffic with existing singlefamily areas along the Saginaw Bay; 2. The need to upgrade gravel roads to a bituminous service; 3. Need for new local roads in Areas F and H to provide access to currently undeveloped areas; 4. The need to eventually widen Wheeler Road to accommodate increased traffic; 5. Need for improved traffic flow and safety along Euclid Avenue and Wilder Road. Proposed Changes (not identified in order of priority nor limited to these) 1. Widen and upgrade Wilder Road east of Patterson, to the Bay Harbor Marina, construct new access road fronting on Wilder to serve the proposed mixed commercial/industrial development along the Saginaw River. 2. Extend Wheeler Road east of Patterson and run into Shady Shores. This would not be a direct extension, the extended Wheeler Road would be located to the north of the existing Wheeler Road. Widen and improve Shady Shores to accommodate additional traffic. 3. Connect existing local streets to facilitate through traffic and easy access in residential areas. For example, create a road between Coyer Road and Mall property between Bangor Road and State .. 122- "• • �I I I I I Street; extend Ferris Drive between State Park Drive and State Road; and extend Meadow Drive between Lauria and Boy Scout Road. 4. Improve Wheeler Road to a three lane collector to accommodate traffic flow along the route and help alleviate potential congestion on Wilder Road. 5. Construct Two Mile Road to a four lane thoroughfare and connect the northern and southern portions of this road with a bridge across the Kawkawlin River and an overpass over US-10. This will help alleviate through traffic on Euclid Avenue. 6. Redo bridge over Kawkawlin River on State Park Drive and Euclid. 7. Negotiate with Consumers Power Company to utilize a portion of their utility easement within the Township for hiking/biking path. 8. Construct a interpretive boardwalk between the Old Lighthouse and the Bay Harbor Marina. 9. Construct sidewalks along Wilder Road, Euclid Avenue and Wheeler Road and other local streets within the Township, as requested by residents and businesses. t I I J I r I l 10. Woodbridge at railroad track (cross railroad). 11. Connect River Road with River Trail (over abandoned railroad). 12. Connect Kiesel to north Union, west of Darla Drive along storm drain. -123- �Implementation Policies Improvements in transit facilities such as streets, sidewalks, signalization, lighting and parking spaces, are a prerequisite for economic development. Fo_r this reason it is important to implement the following actions: o The Township should improve street conditions by instituting a street and roads capital improvements program. Special assessments, Act 51 revenues, and tax increment financing programs, as well as allocations from the Township's general fund represent various means of conducting street and sidewalk repairs and improvements. o The Township should ensure that new residential streets, especially those incorporated into PUD's and new subdivisions meet reasonable design standards. Curb cuts, especially along Wilder Road and Euclid Avenue should be minimized to allow for safe, efficient traffic flow. o Bangor Township should keep abreast of truck traffic volume on major thoroughfares and study the feasibility of designating truck routes within the Township as the need warrants. o All senior citizen housing developments constructed within the Township should be served by the County's bus system. o A comprehensive biking/hiking route should be laid out within the Township, utilizing separate bike paths and bike lanes in appropriate areas. o The construction of bicycle routes within the Township, connecting the shoreline with residential and commercial use, is an action associated with both transportation and recreation. The development of this system should be identified in a long-range capital improvements program, specifying those increments to be constructed or designated during each year of the program. -124- • • • �I I I I 'I I 'I l l l l Financing Programs for Transportation The U.S. Department of Transportation provides funds that can be used to develop a community's infrastructure and improves its communications network. Funds are available through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA). Two of its programs are the Capital Improvement Grant, which helps finance the purchase, construction, reconstruction and improvement of equipment and facilities for use in mass transportation service in both urban and nonurban areas; and Section 5, Capital and Operating Assistance Formula Grants, which has the same purpose as the Capital Improvements Grant program but provides additional aid for payment of operating expenses. Publicly and privately owned operators of mass transportation services are eligible to apply to this program. The Michigan Transportation Economic Development Fund is a piece of legislation that provides revenues to meet the demands that economic development places on highways, roads and streets. This program is available to local government units having roadway responsibility as well as to the Michigan Department of Transportation. There are six categories that qualify for funding: 1) highway projects related to economic development; 2) additions to the state trunkline system; 3) reduction of congestion on primary county roads and major city streets within counties with a population greater than 400,000; 4) road improvements in counties with a population of 400,000 or less to create an all-season road network; 5) construction/reconstruction of roads essential to development of commercial forests; and 6) road and street improvements in cities in counties with a population of 400,000 or less. Categories one, two, four and six would be applicable to roads in Bangor Township, particularly for the extension of Wheeler Road to provide access to the Old Lighthouse if it can be purchased and used as a tourist facility, and for road construction within the proposed industrial park on Patterson Road. -125- �I J I r I I ~ r I Public Facilities, Schools and Services �I l I I I I I I I I I I PUBLIC FACILITIES, SCHOOLS AND SERVICES 1 I I Improve the area's existing public and cultural facilities to accommodate existing needs and provide additional facilities and services to serve present and future population. Objectives A. Provide adequate public facilities (i.e., water, sewer, etc.) to allow vacant areas to develop according to the proposed land use plan. B. Ensure that all public facility improvements provide residents with the highest social and economic benefits with the least amount of negative impacts on the environment (air, water, noise, visual clutter, etc.). C. Maximize the extended use of existing schools and recreation facilities for year-round and evening use. D. Promote the development of, and opportunities for, post-high school education in the Township. E. Provide transportation and recreation opportunities in proximity to centers of student population. F. Encourage use of public school sites for before and after school child care. Land Use I I I I I Public Administration Bangor Township's government, which has been housed in its current facility on Wheeler Road since the 1960's is studying the feasibility of constructing a new Township Hall to accommodate growing needs. Such a new administrative center should be designed to facilitate a -126- �functional coordination among departments and accommodate future projected growth demands over the next 20 to 30 years. A new Township hall is proposed for the corner of Wheeler and State Park Road adjacent to the existing Township hall. Public Safety The Township Fire Department, currently housed in two separate facilities in two locations within the Township, will retain two separate facilities. Fire Station #6, on the corner of North Union Road and Webb Drive, will remain an active station with updating and expansion of facilities, if feasible. Fire Station #7, part of the existing Township Hall complex near the corner of Wheeler and State Park roads, would be expanded and modernized, taking over a portion of the existing Township Hall, administrative complex when a new Township administration center is constructed. This fire station would then house fire fighting operations, including structural fire prevention inspecting, along with building inspections. The balance of the Township Hall vacated by the Township administration could either continue to be used for community meeting/banquet hall activities, or rented out for office space to other governmental and non-profit agencies. The Fire Department would also construct and maintain suitable training facilities, including a fire tower. The Department will also improve its dispatch system by installing state-of-the-art alarm dispatch circuit facilities. Four pumper units should also be retained by the Department. The Township has recently purchased the services of a full-time deputy from the County Sheriff Department. This individual will work out of an office in the Township Hall. This arrangement will continue and be expanded as necessary to provide needed police protection within the Township. Schools Assuming the number of school children in the Bangor Township School system decreases over the next 3 years and then increases proportionally to the projected total population of the area, the school district will contribute an additional 54 to 613 students in the next twenty years depending upon the population projection method used (Method II or V). The existing facilities should be adequate to accommodate the increase. If however over 600 students are to be added, both the South -127- I I I I -I I I 'I I I I I I I I I I �I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Elementary and Edison School could be re-activated as elementary schools. John Glenn High School and the Junior High School would, however, likely have to be expanded to accommodate the increased enrollment. Educational administrators and staff should now be looking at different areas in the Township where new development is likely to occur, and the impacts such development may have on existing schools. Central, North and Lincoln Elementary schools would likely realize the greatest impact from new development. At the same time, consideration should be give to design standards for additions and/or new facilities at existing structures and grounds. Library Bangor Township does not currently contain a public library. Even though a significant demand may not exist for such a facility at this time, the Township should consider the potential of constructing a public library, either in conjunction with the school district, or the existing Bay County library system. Social Services Bay County Senior Citizen Office appears to be successful in serving senior citizens in the area, as a wide range of programs and activities are offered to older citizens. A variety and diversity of events (luncheons/ dinners, educational seminars, trips, home meal delivery, counseling, etc.) are scheduled to appeal to a wide range of the seniors in the community. The facility at the Township Hall is used to serve meals to seniors on a daily basis. Volunteerism is becoming a more important element in providing social services to the general public, particularly at a time when federal programs devoted to social programs are decreasing. The Volunteer Action Center would continue to act as a clearinghouse for residents who wish to provide their time and effort in the community. .,.128- �II Medical Services Existing medical services appear adequate to serve the community. This includes the Bay Medical Center West Campus on Midland Road, emergency ambulance service, and various medical offices in the Township, including specialists as well as dental practices. The Bay Medical Center West Campus will form a nucleus around which private medical clinics and individual medical offices will be constructed. Rescue and first responder services, especially those provided by the Township Fire Department, should continually be upgraded and expanded. Emergency service for lake and river rescue operations should be upgraded and expanded as greater public use of shoreline warrants. The Bay Shores Nursing Home located south of the Bay Medical Center West Campus will continue to operate a 126 bed facility. It is highly likely that this nursing home will require expansion over the next 20 years. Water Supply and Distribution Network The Township's municipal water system, which is serviced by three water districts, is essentially considered to be adequate to serve the Township's needs over the 20 year planning period. The distribution system will, however, have to be extended eastward from Patterson Road to serve the new residential and commercial developments in this area as proposed in the Plan. The Bay Metro Water Treatment Plant in Bangor Township pumps and treats water for distribution throughout the entire county, except for the cities of Linwood and Auburn. This facility, which takes water out of the Saginaw Bay, can pump and treat up to 40 million gallons per day, although its intake capacity is only 20 million gallons per day. Because average use is about 10 million gallons per day, this facility should be capable of supporting additional development during the 20 year planning period. However, as need arises, water lines should be upgraded. To increase overall system efficiency, the Township, along with other local units of government, should encourage the Bangor Monitor Metropolitan Water Distict to merge with the Bay County water system. I I I -129- I I I -I I I I I I I I I I �I Sanitary Sewer System I I I I As with municipal water, the Township is well served by sanitary services. Eighty-eight miles of sewer lines and a sewage treatment plant were constructed in the late 1970's and went into operation in 1980. The sewage treatment plant, located on the northeast corner of the Wilder Road/Patterson Road intersection, has a capacity of 10 million gallons per day. Bangor Township has contracted to use 30 to 40 percent of the plant's capacity, and is the largest user of the facility. Frankenlust, Williams, Monitor and Kawkawlin Townships, along with the City of Auburn, are the other users. Since the plant operates on an average of 35 to 40 percent of capacity, it should serve the Township's needs over the next 20 years. The existing sewer collection system, identified on Map 10, covers the majority of the Township and sewers can be easily extended from existing lines to accommodate new development. The only major portion of the Township that is not currently served by sewer is the corporate holdings east of Patterson and north of Wilder roads. As with the water system, new residential and commercial development would require the extension of sewers into this area. Storm Water System I I I I I I I I I Because Bangor Township is located in a low lying coastal area, with a relatively large amount of wet soils, storm water runoff has been a major concern. The Bangor Township storm drain system is adequate to serve most of the existing developed areas south of the Kawkawlin River and west of State Park Drive. However there are areas which need upgrading (e.g., Woodbridge). Each new major development, however, such as commercial development along Wilder Road or residential subdivision/condominium development north of the Kawkawlin River, and east of Patterson, as well as industrial growth along Patterson, will require project specific storm water collection systems and retention basins. These will have to be constructed on a project by project basis, based upon the determined need by a registered engineer. A specific storm water runoff construction ordinance should be developed and passed by the Township to establish standards whereby a developer will be able to determine before initiating a project, whether a storm water collection and retention system will be necessary. The ordinance should also define the proportion of the cost of construction and maintenance -130- �. - - - •• - ••••••• ----- -- • --legend - - INTERCEPTOR SEWER •••••-- COLLECTOR SEWER FORCE MAIN '5' a.. I V'> z -</ Q 1 -----~----tj ---·--------•----~ /1,, -</ ~ I z <S>-</ )- I --' w --' I MAP 10 SEWER SYSTEM MAP @I Gove Associates Inc. �I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I the developer should pay, if the proposed system impacts areas outside the immediate site. Solid Waste Disposal In the future the Township may wish to consider public pickup of the solid waste generated by residents and businesses. This is generally funded through property taxes, although various alternatives are available. However, at this time, private hauling of waste appears acceptable for the Township. Residential, commercial and industrial recycling should be encouraged. To facilitate recycling, the Township should study the feasibility of providing a collection facility for recyclable materials to the general public. Qualitative Description The Township's infrastructure must be maintained to ensure existing residents and businesses are adequately served and expanded to meet future demand as well as to promote the Township in attempts to attract new development and investment. At the same time, Bangor Township has limited financial resources to provide such facilities and services. Consequently, each facility and program that is proposed requiring Township funds should be thoroughly reviewed to determine if it can be efficiently utilized for more than one purpose. All of the Township government's real property should be maintained and improved to meet changing demands and functional design requirements. This includes a new Township Hall or administration office, which could provide the input for a new "Town Center" and expansion of Fire Station #7, using part of the existing Township Hall after the Township administration offices have been moved. Maintenance and (in the case of water, storm water and sanitary sewer lines) expansion of existing facilities should be the primary focus of municipal operation over the planning period. Implementation Policies To maintain, expand and, in some cases, upgrade the Township's facilities and services, the following implementation measures are suggested: o Develop a five year capital improvements program, utilizing Township officials and private sector representatives to provide recommendations for specific projects. -132- �o Review and revise, as necessary, the Township's policies and standards for new residential, commercial and industrial development as they pertain to municipal infrastructure. o Work with private developers to ensure that adequate senior citizen housing is available to all eligible residents. If the private sector is not willing or able to construct such housing the Township should work with the County Housing Commission or develop a non-profit housing corporation to build and manage a senior housing facility. o Continue to coordinate with Bangor Township Public Schools to maximize the use of the school district's facilities and programs, for the Township's residents. o Require that all major public works capital improvement projects be reviewed by the Planning Commission for coordination of consistency with this Comprehensive Plan. o Establish a periodic survey of Township residents to obtain feedback on attitudes and ideas and to provide a mechanism for positive public relations. o Establish a committee to study the possibility of establishing a library within the Township. Such a facility should be associated with the Bay County Library System. o Work with state, regional and local officials and organizations on a continuing basis to encourage an improved and acceptable level of water quality in the Saginaw Bay. Financing Programs for Public Facilities, Schools and Services At the state and local levels there are some programs that have been mentioned before that could be used by the Township to finance public facilities and infrastructure related projects. Community Development Block Grant Programs, administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, provides resources for infrastructure and public facilities improvements and home improvement programs. The Michigan Department of Commerce administers the Michigan Equity Grant -133- I I I I I I I I I I I I I �I I I I I I I I I I I I I program, which will fund up to $100,000 for regional cultural projects, such as libraries, historical projects and tourism facilities. A new library and acquisition/ improvements to the Old Lighthouse may be eligible projects under this program. A state program that can be used to finance local projects is the Michigan Municipal Bond Authority (MMBA). This program was designed to provide Michigan municipalities with low interest bonds by using the state's high bond market rating. The MMBA is authorized to issue bonds to make loans to local communities through the purchase of municipal obligations. This way municipalities do not have to enter this bond market on their own, but combine with other local units to gain access to highly rated low interest bond financing. These resources could be especially useful to finance infrastructure related projects such as water and sewer system improvements. At the local level the Township could finance its infrastructure and public facilities projects using local tax revenues, combined with federal and state loans and grants. General obligation bonds, special assessment bonds and revenue bonds could be issued by the Township to finance these programs. In addition special tax assessments could be used. The Township has a DOA in existence, which has instituted a tax increment finance program of street and sewer improvements, along State Road adjacent to the Bay City Mall. Similar improvements for industrial development, including a new industrial park, could be funded through the establishment of a Local Development Finance Authority, under P.A. 281 of 1986. This act allows for the establishment of the Authority, which is similar to a ODA, while being limited to industrial related public improvements. -134- �~ •• • • •I I I I I I I I I I I I Natural Resources/Energy Conservation �NATURAL RESOURCES/ENERGY CONSERVATION • • •I I I I I I I I I I I I, I I A harmonious relationship between the natural environment and the activities of the Bangor Township community, minimizing negative impacts of one upon the other to the benefit of both . Objective A. Continue to develop recreational and cultural opportunities along the Saginaw Bay and Saginaw River in a manner sensitive to the environment. B. Preserve and protect the wetland in Bangor Township in their natural state as open spaces, natural resources, and habitats. C. Use waterways as a starting/focal point when considering adjacent land uses, redevelopment of existing areas, and new development. D. Regulate, provide, and monitor controls on urban development relative to soil conditions and ground cover. E. Recycle solid waste when possible and promote the conservation of nonrenewable energy resources. Policies 0 Continue to emphasize the shoreline and its linkages to the interior of the Township. 0 Adopt appropriate modifications (i.e., erosion control plan), and institute a flood plain management ordinance to reflect requirements of the Federal Flood Insurance Program, along with a natural resources management program. 0 Maintain wetland areas (marshes, swamps, bogs, etc.) as a naturally occurring habitat for many biotic species through the -135- �subdivision control ordinance and zoning ordinance, as well as property acquisition. Construct interpretive boardwalks through wetlands along the Saginaw River. o Provide for the retention of natural vegetation in all areas of the Township, primarily in areas with new development, and establish screening requirements for all new developments, particularly industrial. o Encourage upgrading the quality of water in the Saginaw Bay and Saginaw River through membership in the Bay County Community Growth Alliance, the East Central Michigan Regional Planning Commission and close contact with state representation and the D.N.R. o Encourage water-oriented activities/recreation in and around waterways, through public acquisition of waterfront properties, especially along the Saginaw River. As an alternative, the Township should require any new development along the waterfront to dedicate shoreline easements in specific locations for public use. o Encourage (and manage) public and private plantings to create and preserve aesthetic and functional landscaping in the Township, while maintaining the functional aspects of plant materials (microclimate). Such plantings should especially occur along major commercial routes (Euclid Avenue and Wilder Road). o Provide land use controls (zoning, site plan review) which permit appropriate flexible design responses to existing soil conditions and problems. o Preserve and protect the waterways in the Township by monitoring existing and proposed development for the type and amount of waste-discharge of any kind into the Saginaw Bay, Saginaw River and Kawkawlin River. o Continue to provide specific open areas in the Township, particularly in Areas F, G, and H (to retain the low density environment of these areas and protect wetlands). -136- "• • • • • • "• ",. I ~ I �• • •I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 0 Provide specific development controls to protect environmentally sensitive areas . 0 Promote solid waste recycling in accordance with the Bay County Solid Waste Plan. Establish a Township recycling facility and program in conjunction with surrounding Townships and the City of Bay City. 0 Encourage conservation of energy consumption in public, office and industrial buildings by adopting energy conservation measures in the Township's building and construction codes. 0 Encourage volunteer interest and involvement in recycling and composting in conjunction with environmental laws. Land Use The Future Land Use element of this Plan identifies those areas of the Township that are to be set aside for open space and recreation. The majority of that land (about 3, 160 acres) or 78 percent of all land devoted to open space and recreation will be preserved in its natural state. Although the future land use map designates most land in the Township as single family residential, much of this property, particularly in Areas F, G, and Hare to be low density in nature. Consequently, these areas will be more accurately left as undeveloped. Qualitative Description The system of open space and recreation land within the Township will be designated to integrate formal active and passive recreation with open space preservation and conservation. Existing parks within the Township will continue to exist and new facilities will be constructed too, containing amenities such as ball diamonds, playground equipment and picnicking facilities. Much of the existing railroad and utility right-of-way will be used as trails. In addition, interpretive signage and limited picnic facilities will be allowed along the Saginaw River. Implementation Policies The interior portions of sections in the northern part of the Township will remain relatively undeveloped, giving the portion of the Township its rural character. -137- �Financing for Natural Resources, Energy Conservation Acquisition of larger parcels for greenbelt and open space preservation should utilize the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund as a primary funding source. Other statewide environmental organizations should also be contacted to determine the potential for obtaining their financial or professional assistance. Private developers required to provide open space within their developments will incur the costs of preserving these areas (i.e., opportunity costs that have been lost by not utilizing the land for its maximum development potential). The Township should set aside a certain portion of its annual budget to make energy conservation improvements to Township facilities as needed. Township officials, in conjunction with other Townships, should submit an application to the MONA, under the Quality of Life Bond or Solid Waste Alternative Program to obtain funds to construct an areawide recycling facility. -138- • • • • • �•• •• •I I I I I I I I I _, I I I I Shoreline Land Uses �I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Shoreline Land Uses Because the Saginaw Bay and Saginaw River are such important resources that strongly influence the Township's natural and economic environments, a special section identifying the proposed land uses along the shoreline is presented here. While these uses are presented in various sections of the future development section of this Plan, they are described here to offer a more succinct "picture" of the various activities being proposed for the most important component of the Township 's land use. There are approximately 11 miles of shoreline in the Township, not including the Kawkawlin River shoreline. About 5-3/4 miles are along the Saginaw Bay and another 5.1 miles are Saginaw River shoreline. This extensive amount of waterfront offers substantial opportunity for diverse development. Much of the Saginaw Bay waterfront is already developed and the future land use plan calls for the maintenance and upgrading of those uses over time. Over 11,000 feet of the shoreline north of Euclid Avenue (M-247) is relatively high density single-family residential development. There are few vacant buildable parcels remaining in this area, and they will likely be developed in a similar fashion . While the Tobico Marsh is an important part of this area, the majority of the marsh is not directly on the shoreline. Tobico Marsh will continue to be improved with interpretive trails/boardwalks. Southeast of these residential subdivisions is the Tobico Lagoon. This natural area, which is part of the State Park and through which water from the Bay enters the marsh, will be retained in its natural state, with periodic dredging as needed to sustain the required flow of water. About 5,200 feet of Bay City State Park shoreline south of the Tobico Lagoon will also remain in public use, with swimming, boating and camping facilities. Another 3,800 feet of shoreline between the State Park and the Kawkawlin River will essentially remain intact as single-family residential (Lagoon Beach Subdivision). The only substantial change is the potential conversion of the Old Waterworks building and property on State Park Road to a condominium or planned residential/commercial development. This site encompasses approximately 12 acres. the occupants of this condominium development will have access to Saginaw Bay. The 3,500 feet of shoreline between the Old Waterworks property and the Kawkawlin River will remain in single-family development (Lagoon Beach Subdivision). Additional single-family development (Bayside Park/Donohue Beach Subdivisions) will continue to exist for another 1,900 feet southeast of the mouth of -139- �the Kawkawlin River. Immediately adjacent to the Bayside Park/Donohue Beach Subdivisions is the Wenona Beach Trailer Park. This site covers approximately 40 acres and contains one of the best beaches on the Saginaw Bay. The future land use plan calls for conversion of this area from a mobile home park to a luxury condominium development. I I • • Southeast of the Wenona Beach site is another concentration of single-family residential parcels, for a distance of about 4,500 feet to the mouth of the Saginaw River (Aplin Beach and Shady Shores). A state designated environmentally sensitive area and development adjacent to the shoreline should be limited and correspond to appropriate legislative standards. At the present time the two subdivisions in this area (Aplin Beach and Shady Shores) exist as relatively low density single-family development. Any future development in these two subdivisions should be closely monitored to ensure that environmental standards are adhered to. A new major road will be constructed in this area to link to Patterson Road and the extended Wheeler Road to save planned residential development proposed for the northern portion of the Dow property. At the mouth of the Saginaw River, the single-family development within the Sunset Shores subdivision will continue to expand, as demand for waterfront properties becomes more acute. The Sunset Shores Yacht Club will continue to exist to provide private slips for yachts and motorcraft. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources boat launch immediately adjacent to the Bay City Yacht Club will also continue to serve the boating public. This facility could expand by adding another launching ramp and expanding parking facilities, if needed. South of the Department of Natural Resources boat launch, for a distance of approximately 1,200 feet, is property designated for planned unit development. A new collector road will be constructed in this general area, linking an extended Wheeler Road with Patterson Road. This new road, including the extension of the Wheeler Road, will run approximately 2.2 miles, essentially forming a loop that will increase access to the shoreline. The shoreline along this 1,200 foot of riverfront would be purchased as a public easement and a boardwalk would be constructed here, providing a linkage between the Department of Natural Resources boat ramp south of Bay City Yacht Club and the Old Coast Guard Lighthouse located on Dow property about 2,300 feet south of the Department of Natural Resources boat launch. At the southern edge of the planned unit development, running south of and parallel to, the eastern extension of Wheeler Road, is the Consumers Power utility easement. This easement runs to the Saginaw -140- "" "• • • • �• •I I •I I I] I I I I I I I I I I I River shoreline and will be utilized as a pedestrian/bicycle pathway between the Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay. The old lighthouse is approximately 1,000 feet south of the Consumers Power easement. The area around the lighthouse, and including the lighthouse, could be purchased for public access. The lighthouse itself would be used as an historical tourist attraction, with parking and interpretive signage and picnicking facilities. The existing public boat launch could be expanded in this area, with separate parking facilities. Automobile access would be provided through an extended Wheeler Road. However, the predominance of wetlands on this site, and the need for the Dow Chemical Company to protect its operations from public access, provide major obstacles to opening up the lighthouse to the public. About 1,500 feet of shoreline south of the old lighthouse park site would remain in open space. This area is currently owned by Dow and would remain zoned 1-2 General Industrial. South of this Dow property, for a distance of about another 1,500 feet, the shoreline would remain undeveloped. Much of this area is wetland. However, this property may be purchased and used for expansion at some time in the future by Bay Harbor Marina. The Bay Harbor Marina, which encompasses about 20 acres and contains 425 slips, will continue to exist and possibly expand northward as described above, adding another 10 acres or so to its operations. The balance of the Saginaw River shoreline forming the Township's eastern boundary encompasses about 12,000 feet of river frontage, including a mooring area for larger tankers. This area currently houses storage tanks for various fuels and chemicals, as well as several older warehouse buildings. The future land use plan calls for mixed uses along this portion of the shoreline. These would consist of service and retail commercial establishments that would be developed around a nautical/waterfront theme and include restaurants, specialty stores (T-shirts, brass items, craft stores, etc.) and amusement operations. A public boardwalk would be constructed along the shoreline that would allow for easy visitor viewing of shipping (loading and unloading) and pleasure boating activities. The waterfront commercial development would occur in a linear fashion along the waterfront from an area generally bounded by the Bay Harbor Marina on the north to the D&M railroad on the south. Off-street parking, landscaping, walkways, and pedestrian lighting would be integrated into this development. Access roads off of Wilder road would also be constructed, separating truck traffic from automobiles. -141- �The existing storage tanks in this area would be retained or renovated with necessary precautions taken to minimize or prevent hazards to the adjacent commercial activities. Warehousing and limited industrial activities would also be allowed here, with renovated and/or new warehouse/manufacturing buildings, landscaping and access roads. The existing warehouse on Dow Chemical property in Section 14 adjacent to the river could possibly be revamped and expanded as a central facility for a Foreign Trade Zone operation. = The above description outlines the proposed uses for the Township's shoreline. The intent of these designations is to provide maximum public access while protecting the natural environment and continuing and enhancing the use of the shoreline for storage and maritime shipping. The prescribed changes will occur in phases over the 20 year planning period. -142- • �• • •II I ~ ~ ~ I I I I -I J Recommended Site Specific Land Use Changes �• •I I SPECIFIED LAND USE CHANGES The proposed future land uses designated for Bangor Township in this Plan are, for the most part similar to existing land uses, and have been described in Part II. There are, however, a number of areas that will incur changes in land use designations and those will likely be reflected in the Township's revised zoning ordinance. Map 11 is a composite of all of those proposed changes. ,. 'f I ll I J I I I I I I -143- �• , , __ ~ ~ ~ 7/ ~ ~ - ~ --, l- I LF" •N" \ .... t i ~ l . RESIDENTIAL (V) TO RECREATION COMMERCII\L 17 . 2 . RESIDENTIAL (V) TO CONVENIENCE CENTER 18 . MIXED RESIDENTIAL/COMMERCIAL TO COMMERCIAL 3. COMMERCIAL/Rl!!SIDENTIAL TO MIIED RESIDENTIAL/COMMER CIIU. 19 . RESIDENTIAL (V) TO MULTIPLE-FAMILY 4 . PUBLIC UTILITY TO PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT 20. RESIDENTIAL (V) TO COMMERCIAL 5 . RESIDENTIAL TO HIIED RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL 21. INDUSTRIAL TO COMMERCIAL 6 . COMMERCIAL ' 22. OFFICE TO MIXED COMMERCIAL/OFFICE RESIDENTIAL TO CONVENIENCE COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL TO COMMERCIAL .,..,_ 1 . VACANT TO INDUSTRIAL 23 . COHHERCIA.L (V) TO INDUSTRIAL/COMMERCIAL 8. RESIDENTIAL TO MIXED RESIDENTIAL/ INDUSTRIAL 24. MULTIPLE-FAMILY 9 . INDUSTRIAL (V) TO PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT 2S . RESIDENTIAL (V) TO MULTIPLE-FAMILY (V) TO INDUSTRIAL/COMMERCIAL 10 . MIXED COKHERCJAL/INDUSTRIAL TO COMMERCIAL 26 , SINGLE-FAMILY/MULTIPLE-FAMILY TO OFFICE 11 . VACANT TO INDUSTRIAL 27 . INDUSTRIAL TO MIXED RESIDENTIAL/ COMHERCIAL/INOUSTRIAl 12 , INDUSTRIAL TO COMMERCIAL 28 . MOBILE ROHE PARJC TO PLAHlfED UNIT DEVELOPMENT ll. INDUSTRIAL TO R!'.SID!:NTIAL 29 . RESIDENTIAL TO MIXED COMMERCIAL/RESIDENTIAL U . OFFICE/COMMERCIAL/RESIDENTIAL TO COMMERCIAL JO. COMMERCIAL/RESIDENTIAL TO COMMERCIAL 15 . R.ESIDENTIAL TO COMMERCIAL 3 1. RESIDENTIAL TO COMMERCIAL 16 . RESIDENTIAL TO MULTIPLJ!:-FA.MILY ~Gli\,""' 8-1,- - - --' ~ «n'•MTCffT ~ I MAP 11 RECOMMENDED LAND USE CHANGES ___ ..., @ Gove Associates Inc. �I I I I I Development Priorities ( ( I I I �•I I I I I I I I I I I I DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES Now that the future proposed Land Use Plan has been described, the implementation of the Plan is facilitated by the establishment of a schedule for phasing the development program over the life of the Plan. Such a schedule should be based on the most immediate needs and demands of the Township, a realistic assessment of the capacity of each phase of the program to be implemented (usually cost is the major factor) and the overall impact of the program on the quality of life in the Township. The phasing program for the Bangor Township Land Use Plan is established according to 'development increments'. The programs are scheduled to be completed in five year increments over the 20 year life of this Plan. That is, Phase I improvement areas are scheduled for development within the first five years, Phase II areas are to be improved during years 6 through 10, Phase Ill areas during the 11th through 15th year and Phase IV from years 16 through 20. These development areas and projects are identified in the following table. These priorities are intended as general guidelines for the Township in establishing scheduling of projects and undertaking detailed analysis and evaluation of those projects. The Township's Capital Improvement Plan and Program should follow this sequence of phasing for area development. The Planning and Zoning Commission should undertake more specific projects that define the recommendations in this Plan in greater detail and in accordance with this schedule. In .effect, this schedule is an important component of the implementation efforts associated with this Plan and should be referred to as a guide for further detailed planning and programming. I I I I - -145- �TABLE 14 SCHEDULED PLANNING DEVELOPMENT Development Component 1. Single-family subdivision and multi-family development (Areas A & F) Infrastructure/Public Improvement Water system extensions, sanitary sewer extensions, storm sewer improvements as needed, as well as roads 2. Commercial development along Wilder Road, Huron Road Improved curb/gutter and curb cuts 3. Construct new Township Improved curb/gutter and curb cuts Hall/Fire Station 4. Industrial Park Construction 5. Purchase former D&M right-of-way as linear greenbelt 6. Development of a boat launch on the Saginaw River Phase Roads, curb, gutter, water distribution system, sanitary and storm sewers (i.e., retention pond if necessary), underground utilities, street lighting, site preparation Initiate negotiations for purchase of limited right-of-way width; construct/ improve base with appropriate material Purchase of property and construction of boat launch and parking area by q 1 ~ ~ 1 ·1 ~ MONA ] 7. Use of Consumers Power easement as linear bikepath Negotiation with Consumers Power I 8. Commercial development/ Sidewalks, landscaping redevelopment along Euclid Avenue/Wilder Road I 1 I -146- �•I I I • -I I I -I I I I I I TABLE 14 - CONTINUED Development Component Infrastructure/Public Improvement Phase 9. Single-Family /Multi-Family Development Continued sewer /water system expansion as necessary II 10. Re-use of Dow Chemical property for Planned Unit Development Negotiations with property owners for re-designation of properties II 11 . Commercial development along Wilder Road, Huron Road Sidewalks, landscaping, pedestrian street lighting II 12. Development of Patterson Road as industrial/ residential Improvement/widening of Patterson Road, curb and gutter II 13. Bikepath linear greenbelt Construction of appropriate trail bed improvement near Consumers Power right-of-way II 14. Purchase and improve portion of Old Waterworks property Landscaping, parking, picnic facilities, playground equipment, restrooms, private development 111 15. Single family /Multi family development Extension of water /sewer lines as needed 111 16. Development/improvement of shipping facilities along the Saginaw River Designation as foreign trade zone, 111 construction of associated offices/ warehouse, road improvements, landscaping I I -147- �TABLE 14 - CONTINUED Development Component Infrastructure/Public Improvement 17. Develop collector road system along east side of Township Extension and improvement of Wilder Road eastward near river shoreline, construction of 'loop' road adjacent to river and connect with Wheeler Road at Patterson, improve water and sewer Ill 18. Improve Two Mile Road Extension and widening of Two Mile Road as a through-road to Beaver Road 111 19. Development of Township sports/recreation complex Construction, in conjunction with organized non-profit sports organization baseball diamonds, soccer fields, outdoor ice skating rink, tennis courts Ill 20. Residential development (Single- & Multi-family) Extension of water /sewer lines as required; construction of water, sewer, storm sewer facilities, utilities, local roads and sidewalks to serve planned unit development east of Patterson Road. Ill 21. Public linear greenbelt Construction of interpretive boardwalk; along Saginaw River, landscaping improvements, lighthouse wetland interpretive area; purchase and improvement recreation oriented parking; lighthouse attraction development, including purchase of property around lighthouse as open space/preservation area SOURCE: Gove Associates Inc. -148- Phase 111 �•II I Implementation I I �I I I I TNING PARTICFANTS QSECONlARV ,_ ... ..."' ...>- ...:z:a: ...< -~ ...Is :z ... > ...- -... < a: ... ...:z-a: :z :z ... -B :a: ...... -:z- ... ...:z~ ... :z- :z :a: :z :z -... < - -"' ~_,_, B< -:a: - ... 0 ::c -... :z :::, 0 :z ...-< ...>- "'a: -...~ -:z:~ :z... ...< :z 0 :z TABLE 15 0 (II (II IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE u :z 0 < 0 ACTION NATURAL RESCXJRCES/ENERGY CONSERVATION Emphasize shoreline linkages to interior areas Institute a Floodplain Management Resources Management program Ordinance Maintain wetland areas; wetlands interpretive construct along with a Natural boardwalks through Provide for retention of natural vegetation; and establish screening reauirements for industrial development Encourage water oriented activities/recreation in and around waterways Encourage and manage public and private Provide flexible landscaping land use controls Monitor existing and proposed development river and bay for waste discharge into Provide for open spaces - Following the recreation/transportation recorrmendations in this Plan, meet with Consuners Power Co. and owners of abandoned D&M Railroad right-of-way to describe the program · and begin negotiations for acquiring easements within the railroad right-of-way Contact Saginaw River shoreline property owners and negotiate for property acquisition Submit Grant application to MDNR for easement acquisitions and improvements and shoreline oropertv acQuisition and imorovements Research existing Floodplain and Natural Resource Management Ordinances as basis for Townshio ordinance Draft management ordinances for adoption by the Township Board Adopt a Township pol icy encouraging maintenance of natural wetlands along the shoreline Identify desired shoreline wetland areas for constructing boardwalks Contact existing sliorel ine wetland property owners to discuss public access via boardwalk Discuss easement purchase or lease agreements If property owners willing to sell - or lease, design boardwalk system Submit to MDNR for acQuisition/construction grants Develop and adopt natural vegetation and screening requirements for for inclusion in Township subdivision control and zoning ordinances Fol lowing this Plan curchase designated waterfront property for public access Design and develop a signage program directing v1s1tors to the shoreline Promote corrmercial/residential/public access along the shoreline in conjunction with this Plan; contact developers Revise zoning ordinance to promote and accoomodate increased public access to the shoreline Adopt a pol icy of greater Township involvement in initiating private shoreline improvements in accordance with this Plan Develop and adopt landscaping policies in conjunction with the county Road C011111ission and other public/semi-public utilities Incorporate landscaping standards in subdivision control ordinances and Planned Unit Development regulations Study various performance standards and slowly incorporate into the Township's Zoning, Subdivision and P.U.D. Ordinances over time Purchase necessary equipment and participate in required training over time to acininister performance standards. llork with the Bay Metro Sewer District to define impact of future industrial, corrmercial and residential development upon the capacity of the treatment olant Identify potential problems of treatment plant operations associated with existing development and work with llastewater District to remediate problems Research and adopt policies and programs, if necessary, to more efficiently dispose of wastewater Incorporate large lot standards within the Township Zoning Ordinance in accordance with this Plan Encourage new residential developments to retain open spaces and natural areas through subdivision controls and Planned Unit Development regulations 0 u w :a: ::c :::, :z :z < 0. w :a: 0 w > w 0 0. 0 w > w - - ...- ...~ al POLICY 0 0. -_, _, ... 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Bz 8"' ...~ ... - _, - ... z < :z 0 ... ... ..."'- ...... ... :z - -... :z:a: :z :z<a: :z :z :a < ::;: :a: _, _, ...:z > ............ ...5>a: :a: a: _, >...- :z:a:...... :z< :z Cl 0 w w a: a: (II :z :z 0. :z > w C ... < 1• • • • �•I I I I 0 SECONlAR'( >- -... a,: 0 I :z 0 :z 0 ...-< ...>- -... -!5 ... ...< :z 0 TABLE 15 - Continued 1/1 1/1 ::E IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE u ... < ... ... >...- :a:w < < ... :..: ... ... >w -... -...i:!l -... 8 "'< < ...< -... -z -... ...:a:w ...< -z -- "'......~ < :a: -......z :a: > ...<...... ...>- -<-' ...B < ...< z w ... 5 - < :a: "' a :a: ... - RESOJRCES/ENERGY CONSERVA Tl ON controls - Contirued for environmentally Promote sol id waste recycling in accordance Bay County Sol id Waste Management Plan Encourage with the energy conservation - Encourage volunteer recycling llork. with the DNR to identify areas that are environmentally sensitive and develop specific development controls within the Township Zoning Ordinance Review County Sol id Waste Management Plan Identify elements of the sol id waste plan that the Township should incorporate Contact appropriate vendors to initiate interest in recycling program Identify details of recycling program Encourage Township subsidy or $25/per household per year ( in accordance with State enabling legislation) to institute curbside recycling Promote recycling/resource recovery education programs within Township Undertake an energy audit for all Township buildings Make necessary irrprovement!> 6S identified by the audit Establish pol icy encourssing all new construction/renovation to be energy efficient Incorporate energy efficient requirements in Township Buildings, zoning and subdivision codes Advertise for/contact individuals and organizations that may have an interest in recycling Hold organization meeting to establish program goals and structure; legally incorporate volunteer recycling organization Submit application for Grant funding a,: 0 :,:: u ::, :z w :z :a: w u w u :z < :z Q :z 0 -' 0. >-z - ...- ...z~ ...~ ...~ ~ ~ :c 1/1 :c 1/1 :z :z -' w > w Q ::, -' u 0 -' ::E Q a,: z < u z 1/1 < 0. 1/1 :z < :c u "':a:w 1/1 1/1 0. 0 -' w > w Q ...- u u < 0 >- "' >- -' :z -...-... ...a ::, u :c u Cl B - ...8 :c 8 u ::z: "' Li w w ::z: 1/1 z a,: ... Q -' (/) < w "' w w z 0 ~ ... "'... • • A D A A • D •D :z ... w :,:: Cl B :,:: "' I- - X 1/1 :c :,:: Cl B B a,: "' :c :c Cl ... I- :z w w w > w -' w :z ... X 1/1 A a,: Cl 0 I1 A A D A D A D A D A D A 1/1 w :z w ::, > w w 1/1 1/1 w Cl 1/1 1/1 -151- :c ::, :z 0. 0 -' w w Q 0 -' w Q 0 -' 1/1 :z 0 ::, a,: a:, Q :z Cl :z 0. :z :z 0 u 3 :z ..... Cl w Cl (/) a,: -' :z 0 a:, 0. :c u :z ::, w 1/1 :z Q (/) 1/1 w 1/1 :z u (/) :z a,: Cl :z - - - "' - - a "' -' "' < :z "':zw Q :z w w u -' a:, 1/1 ...< X < -' < u w 0. 1/1 >- :a: :z :z N < :z u < Cl Cl ::, ..... :,:: :c :a: I- ~ u :z u X i Q • • •• • •• • • • • • • 0 A D :z u :z A D Cl 3 > ::E Q "'w w Ill Ill - !5 -ti i~ ..."' !5 w :z ... w 0 1/1 ...>...... w :: ... :z w - 0 ... 0. - 0. a,: u :: 0. · a::i NATURAL a,: 0 1/1 :z :z 0 0. a,: Provide specific development sensitive areas 0 0. ::, I < a,: 0 0. a,: < 0 Q ACTION a,: -... :a: :z w 0 z -' w -' :a: :z > w 0. w 0 < Q > w Cl :z POLICY t I RNllNGSCXR;E .PFIMARY :c I I I i TMNG (YEAR) PARTICIPANTS :z < c.:, u :c u :a: :a: -- 0 1/1 ::, a:, I- -' -' z ~ (/) < Q ... .... 0 C :E �I I I I I I f I i TUNG PARTICIPANTS RNllNGSOlR::E ltPHMARY (YEAR) QSECONlARY' -...•"' 0 ... ::c -...<~ :z ~ TABLE 15 - Continued 0 1/l 1/l IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE ::i: ~ (.I t:I 0 ACTION RECREATION Purchase acreage along the Saginaw River and Bay for public access Purchase/lease railroad right-of-way for hiking/biking trails Create incentives facilities and utilize Consuners Power for the private sector to develop recreation Adhere to policies identified in the Township's 1990 Recreation Update TRANSPORTATION l!ll>rove and maintain the condition of all streets Ensure new residential Study the feasibility Plan streets meet design standards of, and design, designated truck routes Ensure senior housing development and activity centers are served by Metro and Senior Citizen Bus systems Plan for, and develop, separate bike paths and bike lanes Connect the shoreline with conmercial biking/hiking paths and residential development using Identify appropriate sites according to this Land Use Plan and apply to the MDNR for grant funds within the time schedule identified in the Plan Set aside a soecial fund account for public access property acquisition Contact existing railroad R.0.11. owners and identify purchase price easement for 15 ft. easement Apply for grant from MDNR for acquisition (in phases, if necessary) under Nat. Resources Trust Fund, Lawcon, or Rails-to-Trails Program Contact Consuners Power to obtain permission to use their right-of-way for public trail system Request assistance from Consuners Power to fund i!ll>rovements Establish subdivision control ordinance allowing for higher density development or other incentives in exchange for construction and dedication of recreation facilities by the developer Keep abreast of new state coom.mity dey-l!topment legislation and apply such planning and zoning legislation (growth control techniques) to develocment in the Township Establish meetings between the Planning Coomission and Recreation Coomission to coordinate and i Ill> l emen t recreation i lll>rovements Undertake a COl11)rehens i ve study of the condition of all major and local streets within the Township and work with the County Road Coomission to identify and schedule maintenance, repairs and i!ll>rovements Program expansion of the Township's road system in conjunction with this Plan Work closely with the County Road Conrnission to ensure design standards will meet local needs Incorporate general street design standards within a Township subdivision control ordinance Using this Plan as a guide designate a subconmi ttee of the Planning Conrnission to identify potential truck routes and the feasibility of designating those routes Work with the County Road Coornission to iIll> l ement truck route designation of identified streets Limit new senior/handicapped housing and activity centers to properties easi Ly accessible to existing bus routes Establish a subcoorni ttee of the Planning Coomission to identify existing streets for widening to acconmodate a bike lane. These routes would be part of a comprehensive, coordinated Township biking/hiking system Utilize, in conjunction with this Plan, designated railroad and utility rights-of-way for bike paths Apply for MDOT and MDNR grant funds for construction and i!ll>rovements for bike paths and lanes Same as above 0 ..... w :E c.. ....w 0 (.I w :z < c.. :E c.. 0 c.. • > :z w ::c :z - - ...- ... 1/l w ....0w z ... 1/l 1/l ""w li :E ~ u 0 w w 0 1/l 1/l w 1/l 1/l ...- ... > ...u i: -"'... z~ :z ::c u < 0 Ill 0 :z c.. • 0 "" ~ ..... ::c 0 < .... • _, Cw :z :z :E :z < u w .... :z 8 u u w > ::c "' ....~ ....~ u~ 0~ ....0 ""w::i: 0w ::I u u w :z0 ~ ::c 1/l 1/l ::I • • • • • • • • • • • Q w t:I ...- ... - -... -... a "' "' (.I ... w ::c "" .... w ::c t:I B B ::c "" t:I > w Ill w w ::I :z w > w )( "' ....C "' w :z 1/l t:I :z w w w 0 0 0 A A A D 0 .6. 0 • A D • A A 0 A 0 A A A A A A A D 0 :z w w u :E :z :z :z :E (.I w c.. 0 1/l 1/l w w w 1/l 1/l C ...J < u w "' 3 ::I :E w w 0 :z t:I 0 ID w :z 1/l c.. ::c (.I w ::I :E 0 :z 0 :z :E 0 1/l 1/l :z 1/l :z 0 (.I ....... 1/l :z t:I :z 0 :E :z u - - - ........ 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TIMING PARTICIPANTS sou:ce A.NllNG .PRMARY (YEAR) QSECONlARY C, ...• °'... ...- ...zw a. :..: -' w 0 :c z :::, -... 0 z -... ... - "" -"" 0 z TABLE 15 - Continued 0 (II V) - IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE :I: ~ u C, 0 SCHOOLS AND SERVICES PUBLIC FACILITIES Develop five year Capital Improvements Program Review policies development for infrastructure and standards Ensure senior citizen housing is available Maximize use of School District's related to new residents and programs Establish after school day care program using school Require Planning Conmission illl)rovement Projects Establish Establish annual Conmittee facilities review of major Public Works Capital survey of Township residents to study establishment Work with officials and organizations quality in the Saginaw Bay of a library to encourage 0 -' w a. a. >- :c :c 0 improved water Identify all cap i tal improvement programs and submit list to a l l Town· ship Dept. Heads for review· request Dept. Heads to add to or change List and submit to Township Planning Comnission and Board for 5 year Capital Improvements Program adoption Meet with County Road Conmission, Sewer Authority , Water Districts and Utilities to identify appropriate standards for infrastructure placement, adopt those standards for new development within Twp. Utilize existing Senior Housing Market Study to attract senior housing developers into the Township Work with the Bay County Senior Citizen Center to identify housing needs and creferred senior housing locations Coordinate efforts among the Plng. Coomi ss i on, Recreation Conmission, and School District to ensure the recreation goals and policies identified in this Plan and the Twp. Recreation Plan are achieved Provide for greater "after hour" and weekend public use of School District recreation facilities and programs Contact School Board to discuss potential Distribute questionnaire to School District families to establish extent of need If adequate demand exists, organize volunteer (or paid staff) program Send memorandun to County Road Conmi ss ion, Water Districts, Sewer Authority, and other public entities operating within the Township requ1 ring them to submit descriptions to the Planning Conmission of all public improvement projects occurring within the Township at least 30 days prior to construction Develop short survey questionnaire to distribute to Township households with tax statement each year. Use results to assist in forrwlating annual capital illl)rovements and operating budgets Send separate questionnaire to businesses located within the Township to determine needs and concerns of local businesspeople Include inquiry as to potential demand for a conm.mi ty library in the Township in the above-mentioned questionnaire Contact the Bay County Library District to determine feasibility of establishing a separate library building within Bangor Township Apply for State or Federal Grant for construction Meet with the Bay County Growth Alliance and East Michigan Regional Planning and Development Conmission to identify steps that may be taken to initiate local efforts at improving water quality Form, in conjunction with surrounding conm.inities, a Blue Ribbon Task Force to address water quality problems Adopt and i Ill) l emen t local policies in coordination with surround i ng townships, cities, Bay Co. and Saginaw Co. to illl)rove water quality 0 z w :IC a. 0 -' w > w -z -z ...-z ...zz~ ....~ ...~ ~ ~ • • • • • • • • Vl V) 0 :::, :I: u to all eligible facilities w :IC a. a. -' >- ....:::, ""u0 :c ....z ...< < a, ACTION z 0 a. > w ""<0 POLICY -zz < 0 ""a.0 I ....u w u z ...zw Vl w 0 -' w > w -' < u 0 -' :I: z ~ u u < a. a. 0 z ~ Vl V) :IC (II ....z ""a.w Vl < :c u w "" :IC 0 -' w > w 0 z - - -... "'... ... "" - -... 0 :: ~ < 0 0 u >- en 0 >- z :::, u ..J X u en w ~ :c u C, z u w "' :c > w :c :c w w z V) C, -' :::, w :IC V) V) w V) Vl 0 -' w > w 0 ...- C, Vl u w -' -...< )C < w a. >- z ~ 0 u :::s < ,c ...z 0 a, "" -' ,c < C, 0 z a. .......... ...- --z a -' >- :::, ....""z :IC N u ...... ""0z :IC w z u :::, :IC :IC 0 > w 0 (II z ~ -' i5 ,c - ...- -.... 0 z Vl Vl z :IC 0 :c ,c ....<w .... (II (II Vl < C, z < C, < C, :c u :c u :c u :IC :IC :IC z ----- :::, a, ...."" "".... z -a -C, (II z 0 ....u ...z (II ,c "" - -... w z (II :::, a, C, z 0 ,c 0 0 ~ V) 8u.. :E -' z • • • DDA A A A A A 0 0 0 • • DD D D D A A A A A 0 0 0 • DD D D ob A i I A A A A A A A •• • • • • • • • D • D A D D A • • • • • • A !O A 0 D A A A A A A -153- • • 0 10 0 I- -' D • n w :IC w :IC a. V) A • ......z z w < C, )C 0 A 0 z < z ""0 :c .... :::, ...z ....z ""z :::, :IC A A A A u 0 -' a, u 0 D Vl u ,c A D D D z "" "" uw -' "" < z w ""z w )C X 0 w z :c :c < w :c V) :c C, -"".... - -... .... w C, 0 C, >- ......w z....~ w -...> ...z ...a 8..."" 8 ...""w 8..."" ...""zw zw > ... ...~ ..."" - ww - en en z: --.... ...a 8 "' -' >- ,c "" 0 u z < z ,c ...z ,c 0 0 C �RNllNG somcE .PAIIAR'( 0SBXNWff TIMING PARTICIPANTS • •· I I I I I I I ~ -.... >- ...~ :z: -...g i!l z -... ... CII CII 0 ~ - "'"' -...3 0 TABLE 15 - Continued ::E: u C, -zz z 0 "'<0 ....< m ACTION RESIDENTIAL Contact private developers, study possibility of public/private partnership for low/moderate income senior housing Give priority processing Conduct market analysis of senior family housing for distribution to developers Contact potential developers to discuss investment in senior housing Establish this pol icy within Township Acininistrative Depts. especially zoning and building departments Work with Michigan D.S.S. to promote the housing opportunity program within the Township Contact local lending institutions, real tors and other interested parties to discuss ootential of creatinc:i nonprofit corooration Contact and work with USC to finance new affordable housing units Establish cormunity Development Corporation Under P.A. /' Establish paint-up/fix-up Cafll)8ign Provide for semi-annual Township trash collection Encourage volunteer maintenance service, using donated dollars or Townshio financed suool ies to housing projects Promote home ownership Establish nonprofit Housing Development Create COIIIIMlity Development Encourage Home Maintenance Corporation Corporation ~ :z: u w :::, C ::a: Q. w 0 w > w Q. 0 ....0w Q. Q. ::c ::c Cl) CII ...~ ...~ 3 u > w >- 0 :::, ::E: ~ ~ u 0 C, u w u z ~ C w :a: Q. ....0w > w 0 ....< u ....0 - - - ii: ... ... "' ... "' - -...l!i < .... .... ... 8 "' ... i3 "" "' "' CII w z < Q. en z < :z: u w ::a: D D D CII w Q. 0 w > w 0 en ::E: u 0 ~ < u 0 >- :: ~ >- u ..I Cl a w :::, w z 0 w w ::c Cl :z: C, :z: :z: Cl :z: )C z CII CII C, A A A • • D D • • • A A A A A A A A A A A D z w > w )C w A A A D w "'.... C :z: A • C w :z: w :c u u w :z: 0 w :JI z A A A A A C CII w "' w •• • • w w u )C C w I DDA Search Conrnittee Develop coomercial to contact private commercial market study - I t Establish program to control commercial investment developers the type, location and timing of new Establish conrnittee structure to ensure appropriate filling of vacant retail and office spaces and Euclid Avenue and Wilder Road corridor i""rovements Involve DDA and Euclid Avenue Merchants i""rovements and special events Association in public Organize subconrnittee to address conmercial attraction and retention programs Develop and adopt short- -1.:d long-range commercial attraction programs Utilize DDA and other local revenue to fund a coomerci al market study to identify the best mix of conmercial businesses along Euclid Avenue and Wilder Road Contract with a coomercial market analyst to conduct the study Develop, in coordination with this Plan, a zoning ordinance that will promote commercial development in a controlled growth sequence (commercial "in-fill 11) Using Mkt. Study as guide, contact potential businesses best suited to Bangor Township for expansion in Townshio Develop promotion Ca""8ign to market Bangor Township for retail/service commercial relocation and expansion Organize special events conrnittee from these two organizations and provide funding for promotion/special events program events coordinator Hire part-time promotions/special Establish conrnittee to work with Township to identify and promote public inrirovements alonc:i Euclid Avenue and Wilder Road INDUSTRIAL Form a local Development of 1986 Finance Authority Create incentives to attract new industries existing industries (LDFA) under P.A. 281 and retain and expand Encourage industries to give hiring preferences i""rove training programs Research potential for revising to local residents and the area's free trade zone designation Identify ootential members and reauest Particioation on LDFA Form LDFA under P.A. 281 and identify LDFA District boundaries Develop and adopt LDFA Tax Increment Finance Plan and Program Conduct an industrial base targeting study to identify the types of industries that would be best suited for Bangor Township Hire a part-time coordinator to work closely with the Bay County CGA to attract industry into the Township Establish a program whereby industries will voluntarily agree to give hiring preferences to local residents linkages for job enhancement Establish industrial/educational (institute a cooperative venture pro~ram with Great Lakes com. Col.) Contact the Dept. of Com. to identify the requirements for instituting a free trade zone and the current free trade zones in the area If the potential exists for establishing a free trade zone, pursue the appropriate steps for designation and identify a site along the Saginaw River as a Port of Entry • • • • D D • • • C A A A • • • • • • • • • • 6 A A A A 0 0 • • • • • • • A A A A • • 0 A 0 -154- CII u en CII :z: w C CII Cl CII u Q. en C :z: u :z: u :z: u CII • •• 0 0 • • •• • • ••• ••• •• A I 0 C, 1• A • u >- u CII •• A A A A >- Q. w • 0 0 A A • • C 0 • • A D D • • • • • • • • C, 0 COICERCIAL Establish m w :E CII 0 C, C :E CII :z: M C, >- ... a a "'... "' ... a ..."' ..."' z zw > ... ...~ ..."" - ....ww :z: u (/) Q z :::, w > ,-. tr: CII w Cl) Cl) ~ u ...... ......z :: zw z ~ CII D D D D • • >- C Q. :E ...- ....wz ....z "" ~ & .... ~ !.... ... ;:: ... ... 8 z i w~ ~ ~ .., ... ...m "' ... "'.... z "' ... ! z u z z z ...w !~ "'< ....< -a -zz !.... z z -...... enenz ..,>w~ ..,....... ... - .... enen~ ...z~ z ...z 5 -z .... zw en "" w i ...... ! .., ... i!!i z z z "' ... .... ii z ~ z ~ ~ ~ - w i z""...... - - -u ........ i 0C a :E ... i :iii: z z ~ ... ...z C ... ...z -...zz ...z .... -z -z ...-z z...z~ Q. - < ~ z IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE POLICY >- i 00 • • •• 0 �IMPLEMENTATION •I I I I I I I I The following Implementation Schedule relates recommended programs to participants, project phasing and funding sources. The programs are in conformance with the policies identified in the various sections of Part II of this Plan, while the action associated with each program is a more specific performance or exercise intended to carry out that program. The participants that are rnsponsible for undertaking each action are identified. In those instances where more than one participant is involved, coordination is necessary. The time or phasing of each action is stipulated in years. Funding sources are identified for each action as primary or secondary. Primary sources are those that should supply the majority of the financing for a particular action. Secondary funds are intended to supplement the primary revenue sources. Special assessments refer to either a tax assessment levied against specified properties by the Township for a particular public improvement or by the Downtown Development Authority or the Local Development Finance Authority sponsored activities. Contributions refer to personal or group voluntary contributions as well as fees and dues, etc., levied against merchants or groups. The list of funding sources is by no means exhaustive and should be added to and updated as new sources are found and existing financial programs change. This chart is to be used as a general guide and its utility lies in its ability to unify and coordinate the various recommendations included in this Plan. I I I I I I I I -149- �Appendix A Planning Areas I �0::: 00 !:: ,c( 0 a:: Zo :::E DODII • DR. z z KIESEL ROAD MOS �WHEELER "• • • • • •I •I I - C PLUMMI j \1 ci 0 :x:: a:: <( Cl. ~ ~ (/) J• 0 ::J (.) ::, w JI WILDER ROAD CITY OF BAY CITY ~ u I I I I I -I ROAD ><( m LL. 0 ~ z z . ;:i iJ F T. u �KIESEL ROAD z w 0 z I •I • •~ :J NORTH . ! 0::: 0 I- z 0 :::E 1 Cl a::: < :::c LLJ _J (.!) z LLJ �•I I I I I I I I I I I I . ~ C 0::: 0::: ~ z (/) (!) ~ 0::: 0 c( :::c: z z 0 ~ (!) zw ~ C c( MIDLAND ROAD 0 0::: ~ WHITE FlSCHER ROAD MONITOR TWP. �• • • • • • • • • I I I I I I I I ·BAY CITY STATE PARK ~ a:: < a. BOY ZIMMER ~ C < 0 a::: a::: 0 C, z < CD = �! LAURIA •=-•~- =-=~-~~p .1"1rr ~ ROAD LAURIAROAD \ CRAMER ~ , - 1 -- J BOY - SCOUT r fr;o~ ~ 7§ DUND;~ R ~ RO -- Jt t~ j C •i J ~r •C~( ~.'.'t:l - KE JI_~'\~ ' ' 0 .,: 0 er is:z '"" ,F ,i 0 ."'" er le ~ '~- ~ WHEEL£R ROAD ~ "' WHEELER ~ PLUMMER 0 1d: ~ " "' gj ."' RICHMARl<lf LN . ~ l n ;,; "' ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ HUSREN : ] [ "' 3 "' II~ r~ le ~ ·~ "'0 ZANDER RO . --= ' =----=fL _ SHERRY CT.\ \ KUERBITZ OR. = . - Jl '& ."' ~r~ ~ ·-·-··--·-e ,, f ,\ WILDER ROAD CITY OF BAY ctTY Ytfl])i CITY OF BAY CHY CI T 1 vt BAY CITY C i- u >- ~ is /: l3 KIESEL fcb ROAD cRESTWOob ffi rtill n1· l1FUir°11- - - _1. - -- RD. SAGINAW RIVER CI TY <Jr bA'r CITY �• I.•• •• IF=========~~;~;==~;:~===========! BEAVER ROAD BAY CITY s·rATE PARK ~ t_n ~ . a:: JJi_ll_ I I ~;~~~ COTT DR. ··•-••llll!L•A!l!IU~R~IA•! lllil!R!!IO!IIAll!!D•--------~l===========L=A=U:::R::IA===:=R70A~D:=-!:::=:~=======, D~~~ CRAMER 11 .... • •I __JL_ BOY SCOUT z BOY Cl a:0 .J ~ 0 0 l 3: a:: w :r V) 1 SCOUT 0 ::J (.) :::, w ~ HARTLEY I I I I a:: Cl a:: Cl z<( ~ ~ 0 a:: [Il <( a. I~ <( ROAD I V) WHEELER ROAD II �I I I I i t- I I I I I I ~ 0 z< _Q ~ a: < ~ <w ~ :! I I I BEAVER ROAD BAY CITY STATE PARK COTT DR. I I ~•----ill!ILA~Ul!!IR!\IIA!llllllill!R!l!O!ll!IAl!!ID_________ll::======;=::::'7===;~?-l:::::~====1=;:;;=~?i-~= 0 a: CRAMER SCOUT �• C • ~ • .• • • • •I I Appendix B Bangor Township Traffic Counts �BANGOR TOWNSHIP TRAFFIC COUNTS Location Year State Park North of Wheeler 7,568 1989 State Park North of Wilder Old Kawkawlin West of State Park 8,679 6,642 Old Kawkawlin West of Two-Mile 4,048 1989 1989 1989 Bangor North of Wilder 3,051 1989 Wheeler East of State Park Wheeler West of State Park 5,607 3,050 1989 1989 Wilder West of State 22,325 1989 M-247 Euclid North of Beaver Two-Mile North of North Union State Park North of Boy Scout State Park North of Laurie 1,675 7,560 11,582 3,251 1989 1989 1988 1988 Old Kawkawlin East of M-13 Bangor North of Wheeler 6,782 4,143 2,781 1988 1988 1988 Beaver East of Euclid Wheeler East of Bangor 4,334 2,061 Wheeler East of M-13 Wilder East of Patterson M-13 Euclid North of Wilder 2,263 2,962 1988 1988 1988 1988 20,907 1988 M-13 Euclid South of Midland 28,250 M-13 Euclid South of Thomas M-13 Euclid South of Wilder 23,1-05 26,323 1988 1988 1988 M-13 Huron Northwest of M-247 11,470 North Union West of M-13 (Euclid) 7,788 1988 1988 9,090 10,588 1988 1988 1988 North Union East of Two-Mile Boy Scout East of M-247 Wilder East of Two-Mile 8,289 4,717 2,858 19,564 1987 1987 Wilder West of Bangor 20,942 1987 M-247 Euclid North of M-13 M-247 Euclid North of Wheeler M-25 Jenny West of Euclid I I I I Vehicles Per Day Two-Mile North of Midland 1987 �~ ~ BANGOR TOWNSHIP TRAFFIC COUNTS Location Vehicles Per Day Year 19,262 1987 Two-Mile South of Kiesel Two-Mile South of North Union 6,584 1987 4,558 1987 Two-Mile South of Wilder 7,615 1987 State Park South of Wheeler 6,115 1984 Wilder East of Euclid (M-13) 20,521 1984 Wilder West of Euclid (M-13) 15,985 1984 Bangor South of Wilder 1,478 1983 Beaver West of M-24 7 2,407 1983 Wheeler West of Old Kawkawlin 2,496 1983 Wilder at State 24,645 1983 Wilder East of Bangor 15,588 1983 Euclid South of Jenny 26,840 1983 M-13 Euclid South of North Union Two-Mile South of Midland 26,116 1983 441 1983 Wheeler East of Two-Mile 1,507 1982 Two-Mile North of Wheeler 1,762 1982 Wheeler West of Euclid M-247 Euclid South of Boy Scout 1,929 1981 7,200 1980 Wilder West of Patterson II II II I II � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wyckoff Planning and Zoning Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Planning & Zoning Center (Lansing, Mich.) (Organization) Wyckoff, Mark A. Description An account of the resource Municipal master plans and zoning ordinances from across the state of Michigan, spanning from the 1960s to the early 2020s. The bulk of the collection was compiled by urban planner Mark Wyckoff over the course of his career as the founder and principal planner of the Planning and Zoning Center in Lansing, Michigan. Some additions have been made to the collection by municipalities since it was transferred to Grand Valley State University. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Michigan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960/2023 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/870">Planning and Zoning Center Collection (RHC-240)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/">No Copyright - United States</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Comprehensive plan publications Master plan reports Zoning--Michigan Zoning--Maps Maps Land use--planning Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-240 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Bangor-Charter-Twp_Comprehensive-Plan_1991 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bangor Charter Township Planning Commission, Bangor Charter Township, Bay County, Michigan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06 Title A name given to the resource Charter Township of Bangor Comprehensive Plan 1990-2010 Description An account of the resource Charter Township of Bangor Comprehensive Plan developed by Gove Associated Inc. in partnership with the Charter Township of Bangor Planning Commission adopted in June 1991. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Gove Associates Inc. (consultant) Subject The topic of the resource Comprehensive plan publications Charter Township of Bangor (Bay County, Mich.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/870">Planning and Zoning Center Collection (RHC-240)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/175b26bb9e66e031e67ef92d87f259af.pdf ddb5544262464a645b9226393a3803c0 PDF Text Text Solon Township Bingham Township 01 06 05 04 12 07 08 09 13 18 17 16 24 19 20 21 25 30 29 28 36 31 32 33 West Grand Traverse Bay 27 Grand Traverse County -- CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF ELMWOOD Zoning Districts Agricultural - Rural (A-R) Residential 1 (R-1) Residential 2 (R-2) Residential 3 (R-3) -- Manufactured Home Park (MHP) Rural Resort (RR) Municipal Center (MC) Neighborhood Commercial (NC) -- General Commercial (GC) Light Industrial (LI) Shoreline Commercial (SC) Traverse City Conditional Rezoning Official Zoning Map September 1, 2017 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wyckoff Planning and Zoning Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Planning & Zoning Center (Lansing, Mich.) (Organization) Wyckoff, Mark A. Description An account of the resource Municipal master plans and zoning ordinances from across the state of Michigan, spanning from the 1960s to the early 2020s. The bulk of the collection was compiled by urban planner Mark Wyckoff over the course of his career as the founder and principal planner of the Planning and Zoning Center in Lansing, Michigan. Some additions have been made to the collection by municipalities since it was transferred to Grand Valley State University. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Michigan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960/2023 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/870">Planning and Zoning Center Collection (RHC-240)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/">No Copyright - United States</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Comprehensive plan publications Master plan reports Zoning--Michigan Zoning--Maps Maps Land use--planning Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-240 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Elmwood-Twp_Zoning-Map_2017 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-09-01 Title A name given to the resource Charter Township of Elmwood Official Zoning Map Description An account of the resource The Charter Township of Elmwood Official Zoning Map was created on September 1, 2017. Subject The topic of the resource Zoning--Michigan Zoning--Maps Elmwood Township (Mich.) Leelanau County (Mich.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/870">Planning and Zoning Center Collection (RHC-240)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/217a89dce23702efac7b73fa7eb3ec1e.pdf e9cf60aa9f1f778fcc5bde1cd382a448 PDF Text Text •· I L. L L L. L L L L L Lr L L ste an �I CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF FORT GRATIOT MASTER PLAN I I • JUNE, 1990 Charter Township of Fort Gratiot Planning Commission �TABLE OF CONTENTS Page REGIONAL ANALYSIS 1 INTRODUCTION 1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 1 REGIONAL INFLUENCES 2 Relationship to Port Huron Urban Area Southeast Michigan Council of Governments St. Clair County Planning Commission Port Huron Urban Area Transportation Study Committee Other Regional Influences LOCAL PLANNING INFLUENCES 2 7 8 9 10 10 PHYSICAL FEATURES 12 INTRODUCTION 12 EXISTING LAND USE 12 Residential Commercial Office Industrial Public and Semi-Public Open Space Utilities Roads Vacant 15 15 16 16 16 16 16 17 17 LAND DEVELOPMENT CONCERNS 17 Road Frontage Development Commercial Strips Mixed Land Use 17 18 18 WETLANDS 19 WOODLANDS 20 SOILS 21 Lando-Avoca Association Wainola-Deford Association Eastport-Wainola-Tobico Association Bach Association Alluvial Land-Rough Broken Land Association PRIME AGRICULTURAL LAND 21 22 22 22 22 23 �,. Table of Contents - Continued POPULATION ANALYSIS i ' 24 INTRODUCTION 24 POPULATION GROWTH TRENDS 24 AGE CHARACTERISTICS 29 HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS 33 POPULATION PROJECTIONS 35 I·• I I • ECONOMIC ANALYSIS 38 INTRODUCTION 38 COMMERCIAL AREA CONCEPTS 38 Shopping Centers Commercial Strips 38 40 MARKET ANALYSIS 40 TRADE AREA 41 Primary Trade Area Secondary Trade Area 41 42 INDUSTRIAL ANALYSIS 44 INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS 45 RESIDENT LABOR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS 45 FUTURE EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS 49 INDUSTRIAL PLANNING CONCEPTS 50 CONCLUSIONS 52 �/ Table of Contents - Continued GOALS AND OBJECTIVES I I 53 INTRODUCTION 53 POLICY BASIS 54 POLICY PURPOSE 54 THE MASTER LAND USE PLAN AS POLICY 54 DETERMINING POLICY 55 I_. ; . I ' ' i ' General Residential (Low Density) Residential (Medium Density) Commercial Industrial Recreation/Open Space Community Facilities Transportation 55 56 57 57 58 59 60 60 LAND USE PLAN ! ' - ' . 62 INTRODUCTION 62 RESIDENTIAL AREAS 62 COMMERCIAL 66 INDUSTRIAL 68 LANDFILL 68 LOW DENSITY BUFFER AREA 69 PUBLIC 69 OPEN SPACE/RECREATION 69 ROADS 69 ~ - ---- ~ - -- �Table of Contents - Continued COMMUNITY FACILITIES PLAN , .. 'f t 'I •. I., ' I • I , ' , ' .. . INTRODUCTION 71 PROTECTIVE SERVICES 71 Fire Fighting Facilities Police Protection 73 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS 73 CIVIC CENTER 73 UTILITIES 74 Sanitary Sewer Facilities Public Water Distribution System Storm Drainage 74 75 75 SCHOOLS 75 RECREATION PLAN 76 EXISTING RECREATION FACILITIES AND PROGRAMS 76 RECREATION NEEDS Neighborhood Unit Concept Recreational Standards Neighborhood Facilities Community Parks Other Recreation Needs _; 71 73 LIBRARY Township Facilities and Programs School Sites I• 71 76 77 77 77 81 81 84 85 �Table of Contents (Continued) THOROUGHFARE PLAN 86 INTRODUCTION 86 THOROUGHFARE CLASSIFICATION 86 EXISTING THOROUGHFARE SYSTEM 90 , I. ' , ( -:'"''"" ,' . ' ; ' i. l '. l .J State Routes County Roads Right-of-Way Standards Traffic Volumes THOROUGHFARE PLAN North Street Bypass Black River Bridge Keewahdin Road Major Thoroughfares Secondary Thoroughfares Collector Roads Local Roads CONCLUSION .- j I . 90 90 90 91 91 92 92 92 93 93 93 93 94 �LIST OF TABLES Table 1 2 Port Huron Urban Area Population Growth Trends, 1960-1986 4 Port Huron Urban Area Household Growth Trends, 1970-1986 5 Fort Gratiot Township Existing Land Use - 1988 13 4 Comparative Population Growth Trends 26 5 Share of County Population 28 6 Current Population Estimates 28 7 Median Age Trends 29 8 Age Composition and Population Change 30 9 Age Distribution by Life Cycle Category 32 10 Household Growth Trends 34 11 Household Size 35 12 Population Projection Summary 36 13 Shopping Centers Classified by Type 39 14 Industry of Employment Fort Gratiot Township & St. Clair County - 1980 46 Occupational Characteristics Fort Gratiot Township & St. Clair County - 1980 47 16 1980 Employment by Place of Work 48 17 Projected Year 2000 Employment by Place of Work 49 18 Land Use Plan Acreage Allocations 70 19 Location Standards for Fire Stations 72 20 Capacity Population Estimates 79 21 Neighborhood Recreation Needs 82 22 Summary of Street Classification System 88 3 15 �LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 2 Port Huron Urban Area Population Growth Trends 4 Port Huron Urban Area Household Growth Trends 6 3 Comparative Growth Trends 27 4 Age Composition and Popula~ion Change 31 5 Age Distribu~ion by Life Cycle Ca~egory 32 6 Growth Trends and Projections Fort Gratio~ Township 36 i. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Illustration 1 Fort Gratiot Township Regional Location 2 Existing Land Use Map 14 3 Secondary Trade Area 43 4 Cluster Housing Solutions 65 5 The Neighborhood Unit Development Concept 78 6 Neighborhood Planning Areas 80 7 Lake Huron Park Conceptual Plan 83 8 Cross Section Standards 89 9 Master Plan 95 3 �REGIONAL ANALYSIS INTRODUCTION The growth and development of a community is strongly influenced by its position within the larger region within which it is located. This position is a factor that, realistically, cannot be changed, but which must be recognized and accommodated. Local policies and decisions impacting land use, therefore, shou l d take these regional influences into account to be relevant and effective. Many factors influence the growth and development of a given community. Some relate to local decisions and can be controlled by the local community; others result from actions or developments outside the community and are, therefore, subject to somewhat less local control. ( , i . I • r , I The purpose of this opening chapter of the Fort Gratiot Township Master Plan is to identify a framework of those factors that influence growth in St. Clair County and Southeast Michigan as a whole. This framework will help determine the growth potential of the Township based on its position within the County and the region. It will further provide a basis for future planning . decisions and serve as a background for understanding the dynamics of community growth. This chapter will also consider the plans and policies of other governmental agencies that potentially may impact future land development patterns in the Township. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The historical development of the Port Huron urban area, including Fort Gratiot Township, helps establish a basis for understanding growth patterns and trends as they have impacted the Township over time. i" The original settlement of the Port Huron area occurred in the latter portion of the 17th Century. This settlement was related to the location of the area along the St. Clair River at the southern end of Lake Huron. The location had an obvious strategic value for military, as well as commercial, purposes. Direct access to the river and lake was a major asset to the area's first major commercial activities: fur trading and lumbering. The emergence of the railroad as an important form of transportation in the mid-18O0's also served as a catalyst to growth in the area as Port Huron was located on a major rail corridor linking St. Clair County with other developing population centers, including Chicago. -1- �Fort Gratiot Township became a recognized governmental unit in 1866. For most of the Township's history, it has played an ancillary role to Port Huron as the County's dominant city. Development in the Township for many years was limited to the establishment of homes along the Lake Huron shoreline and farming in the interior portions of the community. A limited amount of non-farm residential growth also occurred along the section line roads that served the Township. During the second half of this century, the pace of growth accelerated in the Township. As was the case earlier, much of this development was concentrated along two of the Townshp's most scenic areas: the Lake Huron and Black River shorelines. The lake also attracted tourists to the area, many of whom eventually developed summer cottages in the Township. REGIONAL INFLUENCES Relationship to Port Huron Urban Area I.! Fort Gratiot Township is part of a larger urban area which, for the purposes of this analysis, includes · the City of Port Huron, Port Huron Township, the City of Marysville, Kimball Township, and Clyde Township (see Illustration 1). The population and household growth characteristics of the Township, therefore, need to be considered in relationship to trends that are occurring within this larger g~ographic setting. During the 26-year period of time between 1960 and 1986, the Port Huron urban area increased hy a total of 7,734 persons, for a growth rate of 12.6 percent. Over this same period of time, Fort Gratiot Township experienced a population increase of approximately 2,700 persons, or nearly 50 percent. Only Marysville and Clyde Township added more people during this same period. I \ . : Current population estimates indicate that 12 percent of the urban area's poopulation resides in Fort Gratiot Township. This figure is second only to Port Huron's total of 49 percent and slightly higher than Port Huron Township, Marysville, or Kimball Township's share of the total urban area population base (see Table 1 and Figure 1). Although population increases have traditionally been used as the popular method of assessing community growth trends, this particular measure of growth has become less important in recent years. Decline in population levels do not necessarily imply a loss of growth altogether. The decline in household size is the principal factor accounting for declining population levels. Because of this trend, the rate of new household formation is gaining acceptance over absolute population increases as a more accurate measure of community growth. For marketing purposes, the individual household is considered the basic spending unit that is critical to any assessment of a community's economic growth potential. It is, therefore, important to consider this demographic variable as it relates to Fort Gratiot Township and the Port Huron urban area as a whole. -2- �r.., SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN REGIONAL LOCATION r' f ' L WASHTENAW ! • ' , ' J BURTCHNO VILLE SCAL( I , i I , I I I CLYDE PORT HURON I URBAN AREA I I ,I PORT HURON -3- 1 �TABLE 1 PORT HURON URBAN AREA POPULATION GROWTH TRENDS 1960-1986 Change 1960-1986 Change 8,290 2,702 48.4 33,981 33,770 -2,314 - 6.4 7,635 7,886 7,580 461 6.5 4,065 5,610 7,345 7,590 3,525 86.7 Kimball Twp. 6,266 6,152 7,180 6,870 604 9.6 Clyde Twp. 1,886 2,980 4,632 4,870 2,984 158.2 61,236 65,246 69,520 68,970 7,734 12.6 1960 1970 1980 5,588 7,075 8,496 Port Huron City 36,084 35,794 Port Huron Twp. 7,047 Marysville Fort Gratiot Twp. 1986(1) l .; Percent r-: i '. ! ' J Urban Area Total (1) Estimate Source: u.s. Bureau of the Census FIGURE 1 PORT HURON URBAN AREA POPULATION GROWTH TRENDS CLYDE TWP (3 .1 ,:;) FT GRATIOT (9 .2,:;) L. " MARYSVILLE (6 .7,:;) . HURON TWP (11 .6%) PORT HURON (59 .2,:;) -4- �Between 1970 and 1985, the Port Huron urban area experienced an increase of 13,081 new households, for a growth rate exceeding 35 percent, The greatest number of new households during this period was formed in the City of Port Huron, followed by Marysville and Fort Gratiot Township. More than 900 new households were created in the Township over this 15-year period, representing an increase of slightly less than 50 percent. This exceeds the household growth rate for the urban area as a whole. Only Marysville and Clyde Township experienced more rapid household growth rates during this period. Overall, Fort Gratiot ranks second in the total number of urban area households at 11.8 percent (see Table 2 and Figure 2). TABLE 2 PORT HURON URBAN AREA HOUSEHOLD GROWTH TRENDS 1970-1986 Change 1970-1986 Percent Change 1970(1) 1980( 1) 1985(2) 2,060 2,820 2,991 931 45.2 Port Huron City 11,632 12,782 13,024 1,392 12.0 Port Huron Twp. 2,151 2,591 2,666 515 23.9 Marysville 1,677 2,580 2,899 1,222 72.9 Kimball Twp. 1,671 2,209 2,256 585 35.0 777 1,376 1,451 674 86.7 19,968 24,358 25,287 5,319 26.6 Fort Gratiot Twp. Clyde Twp. Urban Area Total Sources: (1) U.S. Bureau of the Census; (2) Southeast Michigan Council of Governments; -5- �FIGURE 2 HOUSEHOLD GROWTH TRENDS 14 ,-----------------------------7 13 12 I ' 11 . 10 9 V) ....... 0 Ill 8 ..J 'O 0 C :I: 0 7 4J Ill Vl ::, ::> 0 6 0~ :I: .._, . 5 :: 4 2 P. HURON TWP PO.RT HURON ~ 1970 MARYSVILLE ~ 1980 ~ 1985 Based on the preceding analysis of these trends, two conclusions appear to be evident: 1) While the City of Port Huron retains a dominant position relative to overall population and household total, growth to an increasing degree is migrating out into the surrounding suburban communities that comprise this dynamic urban area; and 2) Fort Gratiot Township is fully participating in this growth. One important consideration of this planning process involves determining the role that the Township will continue to play in the future growth of this larger urban area. A necessary step towards addressing this concern involves considering other regional planning influences that may also impact the Township in the future. -6- ., ' - - - - -- �Southeast Michigan Council of Governments Over the past decade, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) has emerged as the primary regional planning organization for the seven-county Southeast Hichigan region. SEMCOG's influence originally stemmed from its role as the Federally mandated regional review agency for this region. This role provided SEMCOG with an opportunity to review and comment on all State and Federal grants offered to local communities. This review was intended to provide an opportunity to input a regional perspective to grant programs, thereby ensuring a coordination among programs and avoiding a duplication of effort. While this program was discontinued at the Federal level, the process has been continued through the authority of the Governor's office. SEMCOG's role in the regional planning process has expanded over the years beyond their original function of monitoring local participation in Federal grant programs. Today, SEMCOG is involved in other important regional planning activities including: transportation planning, demographic and employment forecasting, water quality planning, and economic development, among others. To the extent that they are applicable, these activities should be considered relative to their potential impact on the development of the Master Plan for Fort Gratiot Township. Two aspects of SEMCOG's role that will he considered here involve the 1990 Land Use Policy Plan and the Small Area Forecast process. SEMCOG's 1990 Plan divides Southeast Michigan into numerous different land use categories. That portion of the Plan covering Fort Gratiot Township divides the Township into several designated areas. The northwestern portion of the community is shown as suitable for agricultural production. The area located along the Lake Huron shoreline and much of the southeast corner of the Township is classified as either existing or proposed urbanized areas. Several fragile resource areas are also noted in the Township, one of which is located along the Black River. No major activity centers are identified by the Plan in Fort Gratiot Township. This policy plan has been subsequently modified through the adoption of a regional sewer service area map. SEMCOG's growth management philosophy generally favors the utilization of existing sewer lines and unused treatment capacity, and discourages the extension of utilities into unserved areas. The Small Area Forecast process involves the development of a series of population, household and employment projections for the more than 200 individual communties located in the region. These forecasts are particularly useful for a wide range of planning applications and will be referenced in subsequent sections of the Master Plan. -7- �St. Clair County Planning Commission The St. Clair County Planning Commission plays a central, coordinating planning role on a county-wide basis. The County also provides planning assistance to local units of government. Two county-wide planning activities that will be considered here include the County's Comprehensive Development Plan and the Solid Waste Management Plan. I • \" .: I~ I L . r ·, ' I I ' I St. Clair County Comprehensive Development Plan - This plan, which was prepared in the mid-1970's, is somewhat dated and, as such, may not accurately reflect current development policies or trends. Nevertheless, the plan should be considered for the purpose of determining how the Township related to the rest of the County in terms of anticipated development trends. The plan anticipated low density residential development occurring in the eastern one-third of the Township extending from the Lake Huron shoreline west into the interior portions of the Township. Medium density residential development is noted in the southeast corner of the community near the Port Huron City limits. Commercial development is shown at several major intersections located along 24th Avenue, including the following: Krafft, Keewahdin and Carrigan. Future commercial uses were also noted near the intersection of Keewahdin and Pine Grove and Krafft and State Roads. Several recreation and public/semi-public locations are identified in the plan. That portion of the Township lying along the Black River is designated for recreation uses. The Township Hall and cemetery site are shown as public land areas. 1 ·· l' I, .... An extensive area in the northern portion of the Township is designated for transportation/communication/utility purposes. This area encompasses the Detroit Water Board property Some future industrial development was also anticipated for this area. Another interesting feature of this plan was the planned extension of a State arterial highway north through the Township. Such an extension would obviously have important land use impact for the land located in the path of this corridor and for the Township as a whole. Solid Waste Management Plan - The intent of this plan is to consider how to meet the County's future solid waste disposal needs. The plan also identifies existing and planned disposal sites which potentially could have a significant impact on future land use planning activities in the area. -8- �Several existing and closed landfill sites are identified by the Plan in Fort Gratiot Township. These include one active Type II landfill, one active Type III landfill, one inactive combination Type II and III site, and an old Township dump site. All of these sites are located in the east-central portion of the Township. ,--, I • I Only one of these locations is carried forward and contained in the final solid waste plan. This Type II disposal site is known as the Eastern Michigan Development Company landfill and has a maximum site size of 107 acres. This plan is currently in the process of being updated by the County. This update process should be monitored to determine any potential impact that the plan may have on land use planning activities in the Township. Port Huron Urban Area Transportation Study Committee The Port Huron Urban Area Transportation Study Committee (PHUATS) was established in 1982 to assist in the coordination of transportation planning and improvement efforts within the 11-community urban area. r- i r .. l I ' .. ! "The urban transportation planning process includes the development of a planning work program, transportation plan, and improvement program, as well as providing a forum for cooperative decisionmaking. The basic purpose of this transportation planning process is to develop, monitor and refine long and short-range transportation and improvement plans with due consideration to their probable social, economic and environmental impacts, as well as the safety and mobility needs of the urbanized area population." PHUATS' major areas of concern are described more fully below. PHUATS is responsible for the development, maintenance and updating of a long-range transportation plan for the urban area. The current transportation plan, which anticipated transportation needs and improvements to 1995, was adopted in 1976 and is currently being updated to the year 2005. The PHUATS plan provides the basis for the programming of transportation improvements. Each year a three-year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is develoed, which includes highway construction projects for all urban area communities. More than $250,000 is available on an annual basis for road improvements within the urban area. PHUATS is also responsible for reviewing all other Federally-funded transportation projects in the study area to determine conformance with the adopted Plan. PHUATS also provides assistance to local units of government on various transportation-related improvements. These include obtaining project funding, expediting projects through the implementation process, and providing transportation data and analysis, among others. -9- �Fort Gratiot Township is included within the PHUATS urban area and has a representative on the committee. The current adopted PHUATS transportation plan and the eventual updated plan will have an impact on land use planning activities within the Township and, therefore, needs to be considered as part of this planning process. Other Regional Influences Fort Gratiot Township has an extensive shoreline along Lake Huron. The Township's authority to regulate the use of land does not extend beyond the edge of this shoreline, however. Construction activities within the water are shared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The latter agency also has the authority to regulate development activity in designated wetland areas. LOCAL PLANNING INFLUENCES In addition to the other regional planning influences identified earlier, Fort Gratiot Township is also influenced, to a limited extent, by planning and development activities occurring in neighboring communities. While it may not always be in the best interest to mirror the examples established by surrounding communities, cooperative planning activities should be encouraged whenever practical and feasible • . r, l . I ,.__ I • Four communities share a common boundary with Fort Gratiot Township. These include Burtchville Township to the north, Clyde Township to the west, and Port Huron City and Township to the south. Both Burtchville and Clyde Townships are largely agricultural and rural residential communities. The impact of planning, zoning and development activities in these two communities appears to be limited to well-defined areas. In Burtchville Township, this area is located along Lake Shore Drive and the shoreline of Lake Huron where much of the Township's development appears to be concentrated. The Clyde Township Master Plan anticipates the most intense development pattern along the Fort Gratiot Township boundary occurring in the area proximate to the Black River. The remainder of this common boundary is designated for agricultural purposes by the plan. The influence of development activities in Port Huron Township to the south is limited by the Black River which forms the common boundary between these two neighboring communities. The Port Huron Township Master Plan indicates that the area along the river's banks is best suited for public or semi-public uses. Much of the rest of the land in this general area is designated for residential development of varying densities. -10- �_, ! . Perhaps the strongest influence from surrounding communities will come from the City of Port Huron to the south. These two communities share an uneven boundary along Gratiot Avenue, Krafft Road, the Black River Canal, and portions of Pine Grove Avenue. Much of this common boundary has been zoned for residential purposes. The major exceptions to this pattern occur near the intersections of Pine Grove and Krafft and Pine Grove and Holland. Both of these areas are zoned for commercial purposes. l '. I·~ I I • ., f ! , 1..; -11- �PHYSICAL FEATURES INTRODUCTION The manner in which the land in a community is being used is one of the basic determinants of the general character of the community and its development potential. Land use patterns on the periphery of a community also influence planning acti v ities because of their potential impact on the community. The use or misuse of a community's unique physical features can also have significant and long-term consequences for the development of an area. It is, therefore, important to consider these physical characteristics as part of any comprehensive planning process and the extent to which these features offer either opportunities or constraints for future land development activities. i \ . I . ! . ' ' J The following narrative provides a detailed explanation of Ft. Gratiot Township's physical land use features. The main component of this study is an examination of existing land use characteristics on a category-by-category basis, and the extent to which these features have changed over time. This study will also examine other aspects of the physical environment that may influence future development patterns. These include an identification of State-designated wetlands, significant woodland areas, soil types, prime agricultural lands and parcels enrolled in the State farmland and open space preservation program. EXISTING LAND USE ' l , Existing land use data for Fort Gratiot Township was derived from 1985 aerial photography available through the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. The accuracy of this data was verified through on-site field inspection on a Township-wide basis. Information from both sources was subsequently transferred to a Township base map using the different land use categories reflected in Table 3. These categories were selected to portray the existing land use pattern at a significant level of detail and to facilitate comparison with previous land use surveys conducted for the Township. Fort Gratiot Township has a total land area of 10,240 acres (16.0 square miles). Approximately one-third of this total land area is currently developed. The results of this survey for each individual categort are summarized in Table 3, described in the following narrative, and portrayed graphically in Illustration 2. -12- �TABLE 3 FORT GRATIOT TOWNSHIP EXISTING LAND USE - 1988 Land Use Category r • I', ' . Residential Single Family Multiple Family Mobile Home Area (Acres) 1,620.6 1,561.0 49.8 9.8 Office : ·-· .. , 'j ,... ~: l Commercial Convenience General Comparison '- ~. 15.8 15.2 0.5 0.1 0.5 99.9 16.9 53.7 29.3 Percent of Total Area 49.0 47.2 1.5 0.3 17.7 0.2 3.0 1.0 0.2 0.5 0.3 0.5 1.6 0.9 Industrial 102.7 3.1 1.0 Public 140.7 4.3 1.7 28.4 0.9 0.3 Open Space 338.6 10.2 3.3 Utilities 445.3 13.4 4.3 Roads 447.5 13.5 4.4 Water 63.4 1.9 0.6 Semi-public I Percent of Developed Area ' ~ ' . Vacant 67.7 6,935.3 . ·- Total Area Source: 10,240.0 99.9 99.9 1985 SEMCOG aerial photography and 1988 field checks. -13- �1llllf J 0 SINGLE FAMILY MULTIPLE FAMILY W MOBILE G) OFFICE @D CONVENIENCE COMMERCIAL - COMPARISON COMMERCIAL - GENERAL 8 INDUSTRIAL - UTILITIES HOME PARK COMMERCIAL ~ PUBLIC ® SEMI - PUBLIC @ RECREATION / OPEN 1988 EXISTING en , -2 ., _,... __JLr-,==',\=..f''\" . P•,1 H•r1111 SPACE LAND FORT GRATIOT ST. CLAIR COUNTY , MICHIGAN USE TOWNSHIP FORT GRATIOT TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION F"ttl Seol• ,ooo 2000 Co111111uNiTy 8o'M - • lOOO 4000 PlANNiNG °' J.ROG ERs.u11u & MANAGEMENT , P. C. uTicA., Micki~AN -14- 2 _ii �i Residential Residential land uses, including single-family homes, multiplefamily dwellings, and mobile home parks, collectively occupy slightly more than 1,600 acres of land. This represents approximately one-half of the Township's developed land area and 15.8 percent of its total land area. Single-family homes comprise the single largest residential sub-category, accounting for 96 percent of all residential development in Fort Gratiot Township. \. - IC \ ! i \,. While residential development can be found in nearly all portions of the Township, this land use feature is clearly concentrated in the southern and eastern portions of the community, particularly along the Lake Huron shoreline and along both sides of North River Road. Single-family residential development is found in platted subdivisions and along the forntages of the major arterial road system. Most of the former is located south of Krafft Road and east of 24th Avenue. Frontage residential development is located throughout the Township. Multiple-family units occupy nearly 50 acres of land, or 1.5 percent of the Township's developed land area. These units are located in several small complexes which are largely concentrated in an area between Keewahdin Road and Krafft Road, immediately west of Lake Huron. The community's newest multiple-family complex is located near the intersection of 24th Avenue and Keewahdin Roads. Another larger complex is located between North River Road and the Black River. f • I • Mobile home parks represent a relatively small portion of the Township's developed or total land area (less than one percent of either). One mobile home park is located on the south side of Keewahdin Road, west of Fairway Drive. The second is located approximately one mile due south, with access from Krafft Road. This particular development appears to be a platted subdivision with mobile homes located on individual lots of record. Commercial Fort Gratiot Township has a commercial base of nearly 100 acres, which accounts for three (3) percent of the Township's developed land area and one (1) percent of the total land area. Slightly more than one-half of this land area, or some 53.7 acres, is classified as general commercial development. Convenience and comparison commercial uses occupy 16.9 and 29.3 acres of land respectively. With some minor exceptions, the Township's commercial development is concentrated along the 24th Avenue corridor leading north from the City of Port Huron. This corridor extends from the Township's southern boundary near the Black River Canal to Carrigan Road on the north. The most intensely developed portion of this corridor occurs from Krafft Road south. Outside of this corridor some commercial development can be found at isolated areas elsewhere in the community. In many instances, these commercial uses intrude into established residential neighborhoods. -15- �I Office ., r • Office development accounts for a very small percentage of either the Township's developed or total land area. Approximately 18 acres of land are being used for this purpose in Fort Gratiot Township. Most of this office development is concentrated along the previously identified commercial corridor. A consolidated, planned office park is currently under development along 24th Avenue, south of Keewahdin Road. Industrial .. ' ...., l l. 1.: Industrial uses occupy slightly more than 100 acres of land, which account for three (3) percent of the Township's developed land area, or one (1) percent of the total land area. Nearly all of this acreage is concentrated in seciton 16 in the east central portion of the Township. An active landfill accounts for most of this acreage. Some more traditional industrial establishments can be found along 24th Avenue .east of the landfill and at several other locations throughout the Township. Excluding the landfill, which was classified as industrial because of the intensity of the land being used, Fort Gratiot Township lacks an identifiable industrial base. Public and Semi-Public Collectively, public and semi-public uses comprise approximately five (5) percent of the Township's developed land area, with the . former occcupying the greater amount of land area. These public uses consist of four school sites and the Township cemetery, all of which occupy larger parcels of land. Semi-public uses consist primarily of churches. Open Space ,·, I . l .. Land being used for open space and recreation purposes accounts for 338.6 acres of land, or ten (10) percent of the Township's developed land area. This category is dominated by several golf courses, two Township parks, and one horse-riding facility. Most of these uses are concentrated in the southern one-third of the community. Utilities Land being used for utility purposes occupies 445 acre of land in Fort Gratiot Township. The single largest of these uses consists of the Detroit Metropolitan Water and Sewage facility, which alone covers 436 acre of land in Section 5 along the Township's northern boundary. The Township's remaining utility land uses consist of several smaller facilities which include a water tower, electrical sub-station, and a sewage treatment lagoon. These uses are located primarily in the central portions of the Township. -16- �, Roads A direct relationship exists between the amount of land used for road purposes and a communityrs degree of urbanization. For example, more populated or densely settled communities typically have a greater proportion of their total land area reserved for road right-of-way purposes than sparsely populated communities. Within Fort Gratiot Township, roads account for 13.4 percent of the community's developed land area (447.3 acres). These roads include the major or section line road system and local subdivision streets. Vacant Vacant, undeveloped land represents the single largest individual land use category. Nearly 7,000 acres of land remains undeveloped within the Township. This represents approximately two-thirds of the Township's total land area. Aside from both the Township's shoreline areas which are nearly solidly developed, vacant, undeveloped land is evident throughout the community. LAND DEVELOPMENT CONCERNS I-, I- '. I t . i . , - \ A principal function of the existing land use survey is to offer some insight regarding the extent to which land development patterns and practices influence, either positively or negatively, future pevelopment potential. An identification of these problems will help provide a basis for the Township to consider solutions to these issues at subsequent phases of the planning process. Specific problem areas are described below. Road Frontage Development One of the major land use concerns noted in the 1965 Plan was the tendency for residential development to occur along the frontages of the Township's major or section line road system. This practice remains a problem today and creates numerous planning problems. One such problem is the multiple points of vehicular access that this land use pattern creates. The proliferation of individual driveways along highly travelled roads creates a potential for traffic-related problems, especially as vehicles enter and leave individual sites. Related to this issue is the development of single-family homes on long, narrow lots. One consequence of land subdivision practices in Michigan has been the creation of long, narrow lots which may meet the frontage requirements of the Zoning Ordinance, ( --17- �i r~ I,, l . ! ' I. - but which have excessive depths that result in substantial quantities of vacant, unusable land. Typical development activities on these lots normally occupy the front 200 feet in depth, with the remaining depth left undeveloped. Acceptable land subdivision practices normally allow for a maximum depth-to-width ratio of l-to-4. In many instances throughout the community, there exist situations where existing singlefamily lots exceed this standard by excessive margins. Another consequence of this development practice is that they frequently result in the isolation of a significant amount of interior acreage. The assembly and eventual development of this remaining acreage is often difficult to accomplish. This problem is evident in southern or more developed portions of the Township, particularly south of Krafft Road. Commercial Strips f '. A universal problem faced by many urban communities is the placement of commercial activities in a linear and unplanned fashion along major highway corridors. One such corridor is emerging in Fort Gratiot Township along 24th Avenue. The most extensive developed portion of this corridor is located in the extreme southeast corner of the Township where Pine Grove Avenue leaves Port Huron and enters Fort Gratiot. This area shares most of the features that typically characterize this form of development, including multiple driveways, excessive signage, and a lack of landscaping, among others. As the Township continues to grow, careful attention should be directed towards controlling the form of future commercial development to effectively avoid the extension of this linear commercial district and its attendant problems. Mixed Land Use Another land use concern observed during the field survey of the Township is the use of land for commercial or industrial uses in what are otherwise residential areas. In numerous instances along the section line road system, single-family uses share land with a commercial or industrial use. This pattern, while not widespread, does offer a potential for creating land use conflicts with adjoining, less intense residential neighbors. A related compatibility problem involves the use of residential parcels for a variety of outdoor storage purposes. This type of storage frequently detracts from the overall character and quality of a residential neighborhood. As part of subsequent planning activities, increased attention needs to be directed to the transition of different land uses, with particular emphasis on the treatment of the edges or boundaries of different uses. Correspondingly, another area of concern involves providing for more effective buffers between potentially incompatible land use activities. -18- �I WETLANDS Wetlands serve a number of important environmental functions that need to be considered during a community-wide planning process. Among other functions, wetlands affect water quality by trapping and storing the nutrients from upland runoff in plant tissue and serving as a settling basin for slit generated from upland erosion. This natural filtering function, however, can be seriously damaged by poor land use practices. Since every wetland has a unique tolerance for filtering runoff from the uplands surrounding it, development in these adjacent areas can create more nutrient and sediment inflow than the wetland is able to absorb. Moreover, development in and around the fringe of the wetland itself can destroy its ecological health and, thus, its filtering ability. Sediments and nutrients from upland development can overload and damage the natural system, turning the wetland into a settling basin of polluted and unpleasant smelling water. ! , f l ' . r , i j I ' l l While wetlands operate as natural nutrient filters, they can easily be overloaded and, thus, destroyed. Through increased storm water runoff and nutrients from fertilizers and urban development, this entire process is accelerated as much as one hundred times as fast as the natural process. Consequently, a wetland that may have served as an important nutrient filtering area for 1,000 years may only function that way for ten years once it has been overloaded. Even more serious is the removal of wetlands. The removal of these natural features by dredging or filling will have an immediate impact on the water quality of streams and lakes below them in the watershed system. Preserved wetlands improve water quality, moderate floods, and stabilize water supplies, thereby providing for overall environmental health and stability. Development in and around wetlands are regulated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources pursuant to the provisions of the Goemaere-Anderson Wetlands Protection Act. This legislation generally regulates the development of wetlands over five (5) acres in size, or which are contiguous to the Great Lakes or to a river, stream, pond or inland lake. Permits are required by this legislation for the following activities: 1) Depositing or placing fill material in a wetland; 2) dredging or removing soil from a wetland; 3) constructing, operating, or maintaining any use or development in a wetland; and 4) draining surface water from a wetland. State law does provide procedures whereby these activities may be permitted in a wetland, depending on whether or not certain criteria are met. -19- �Some designated wetlands appear to be located in Fort Gratiot Township. The identification of these wetlands is based on aerial photography interpretation. Actual on-site inspection of these areas by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is necessary to precisely determine the characteristics and extent of these wetlands. WOODLANDS l_., Large wooded areas also serve significant environmental functions that need to be recognized and acknowledged. A wooded area can be of great value to a watershed area. The canopy of trees aid in breaking the force of precipitation, thereby decreasing erosion. Erosion is further inhibited by the fibrous root system of the understory plants, as well as the layer of leaf or needle litter. Woodlands can also reduce the volume of stormwater runoff. Clearcut lands can produce excessive runoff unless trees are replaced by other vegetation with comparable water retaining capacity. With no soil and vegetation to moderate runoff from precipitation, flooding may result, in addition to a loss of precipitation ordinarily retained and recharged into groundwater reserves by the woodland. Woodlands improve air quality and afford protection from wind and erosion. Leaves and branches moderate the strength of winds and, when moisted with dew or rainwater, reduce suspended particles in the air, which are later washed off with rainwater. Plants also serve to moderate the effect of chemical pollutants in the air by absorbing some ozone, carbon dioxide, and sulfar dioxide. r' \. J [ . ' I • I l ' ·• A dense stand of trees can significantly cut noise from adjacent factories or highways by six to eight decibels per 100 feet of forest. Moreover, the moderating effects of forests on temperature and wind can significantly cut the sound-carrying capacity of the atmosphere. The resilience of woodlands creates a microclimate around the tree stand itself. Woodland qualities which moderate and buffer temperature, precipiation, runoff, wind and noise are features of this microclimate effect. The benefits of this microclimate effect to surrounding urban and suburban areas can be significant. An urban area devoid of vegetation is the exact opposite of the forest microclimate. It increases the range of temperature fluctuations much like the climatic extremes of a desert. -20- �The sun's energy striking streets and buildings is changed into heat, further increasing the temperature on a hot day; at night, the buildings lose heat and offer no protective cover from night chill or winter winds. Thus, if woodlands are interspersed among built-up areas, the effects of their microclimates can be felt in adjacent urban areas, moderating fluctuations in temperatures by keeping the surrounding air cooler in the summer and daytime and warmer in the winter and evening. The significance of woodlands is given added weight by the less quantifiable benefits that they provide to the public. Not only are woodlands important buffers, they also add aesthetic values and provide attractive sites for recreational activities such as hiking, camping, and other passive recreational pursuits. r • ! I . Continued stability of good real estate values is a secondary benefit offered by woodlands. Since people choose to live in and around woodlands, providing for woodland protection in the planning of development projects will maintain favorable real estate values. Fort Gratiot Township is fortunate inasmuch as extensive portions _of the community are occupied by large, woodland areas. These are located throughout the community. The most extensive wooded areas are located in the southern and eastern portions of the Township. While the variety and quality of existing trees · obviously vary from location to location, the extensiveness of this woodland coverage offers ample opportunities to incorporate existing vegetation into future development activities. ,__ SOILS Soil characteristics are an important determinant of land use potential. Not only do soils influence the suitability of land for agricultural purposes, they also help determine whether or not a parcel is suitable for more intense forms of urban development including housing, roads, and utilities. The suitability of different soil classifications for the installation of on-site sewage dispoal systems is particularly important for areas that are not served by municipal disposal systems. Fort Gratiot is composed of five main generalized soil associations which are described below. Lando-Avoca Association The most prominent soils in this association are somewhat poorly drained and have high water tables which require drainage prior to development. These soils occur in areas that are largely cleared and cultivated. They are further characterized by low natural fertility and may be droughty in mid-summer. These soils are mainly concentrated in the northwest portion of the Township. -21- �I Wainola-Deford Association The soils that constitute the major portions of this association are somewhat poorly drained. Some minor soil categories in this larger group, however, have better drainage characteristics. Some areas within this association have been cleared and cultivated, while others are either urbanized or are idle. The major soils in this group have low fertility and low available water capacity. Further, they have a high seasonal water table and require drainage. These soils are confined to the southwestern portion of the Township, south of Keewahdin and west of Pine Grove Roads. Eastport-Wainola-Tobico Association , ' . This association occurs on glacial-like beaches along the shoreline of Lake Huron in a landscape characterized by a pattern of ridges and troughs. The prominent soils in this association range from well-drained to poorly-drained soils. Also included in this association are Alluvial land and the sandy lake beaches of Lake Huron. These areas are generally poorly drained and occur on the floodplains. Most of the area occupied by these soils were either cleared or cut over. In many cases, the soils have been developed for summer cottages or more fully urbanized. These soils occur in Fort Gratiot Township along the Lake Huron shoreline, extending west to a depth of approximately one mile. Bach Association r , Soils in this association occur in glacial drainageways and on lake plains. The landscape is nearly level, but has broad, slightly depressed areas. For the most part, these soils have poor drainage chracteristics. They are also characterized by a high water table and are subject to periodic flooding. A relatively small portion of the Township is covered by soils in this associ~tion. This area is located parallel to the Lake Huron shoreline, adjacent to the previously described association. Alluvial Land-Rough Broken Land Association This association occurs on the floodplains and steep bluffs of the major rivers and streams throughout St. Clair County. More particularly in Fort Gratiot Township, these soils occur along the Black River, the Township's southern boundary. The general landscape is broad to narrow, generally deeply incised valleys. The Alluvial land component of this association is the active floodplains of the rivers and streams that is either level to gently sloping. Rough broken land is strongly sloping to very steep and consists of bluffs or excarpments that border the outer edges of the floodplains and the higher uplands. Most areas of this association are pastured, forested, or idle and covered with brush. Alluvial land has a seasonal high water table and is subject to the following. Rough broken land is subject to severe erosion and is too steep and rough for most uses. -22- �I PRIME AGRICULTURAL LAND Soil data is the principal source of information used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service (SCS) to determine those areas of the Country that have the greatest potential for long-term agricultural production. St. Clair County includes a considerable amount of land that has been designated by the SCS to be either prime or unique farmland. Much of this land is confined to the western portions of t he County. A relatively small proportion of the County's prime agricultural land is located in Fort Gratiot Township. These areas are confined primarily to the northwest and central portions of the Township. The long-term use of this land for agricultural purposes will be influenced by factors other than just soil characteristics. These factors include land speculation activity, increasing land values, taxation and assessment practices, and general economic trends. The desirability of preserving land for long-term agricultural purposes and to accommodate the demand for a range of urbanized uses are situations that will be addressed during the planning process. ; ·. .. -23- �I POPULATION ANALYSIS INTRODUCTION The population of a community, its composition and characteristics, is a basic ingredient in planning for the future. Historical and current population trends can be used in various ways. They illustrate problem areas of development and provide an indication of probable future needs. Proper planning of future land use, roads, and community facilities must take the existing distribution of population and future projections into consideration. The population study is linked to the general health, safety, and welfare of the area residents through the following four objectives: 1. To guide the distribution of populations and prevent overconcentration. 2. To ensure orderly development by closing in unplanned gaps left between residential areas. 3. To provide the necessary air, light and open space. 4. To dimension the need for community facilities, utilities, and other development features required to serve the growing community. This analysis will consider the characteristics of the Township's population, how the population has changed over time, and the extent to which these characteristics may influence future planning related decisions. Included in this analysis is a discussion of population growth trends, age and household characteristics, and anticipated future population levels. POPULATION GROWTH TRENDS I . Fort Gratiot Township has experienced significant population growth over the course of the past 50 years. In 1930, for example, the Township had a population of approximately 1,000 persons. By 1980, this population grew to a level approaching 8,500 persons, for an increase of 743.7 percent. During this 50-year period, the Township has experienced consistently strong population growth, averaging nearly 1,500 new people each decade. The Township's greatest period of population growth occurred between 1950 and 1960, when the Township's population increased by 2,091 persons. -24- �Fort Gratiot is one of the leading growth communities in the Port Huron metropolitan area and for the County as a whole. Between 1930 and 1980, the Township outpaced the City of Port Huron, Port Huron Township, and Kimball Township relative to total population gain and percent of population increase. The Township's growth rate for this period of time was also higher than that reported for St. Clair County as a whole (see Table 4 and Figure 3). Fort Gratiot Township's share of St. Clair County's population has risen consistently since 1930 when 1.5 percent of the County's population resided in the Township. By 1980, this share had risen to 6.1 percent, placing it second to the City of Port Huron among other nearby communities (see Table 5). . .' I ) • . While a complete census of population is not scheduled to occur again until 1990, it is possible to gain some insight into population changes that have occurred for the Township and surrounding communities since the 1980 census was conducted. Population forecasts for 1985 were prepared for all Southeast Michigan communities by SEMCOG. Population estimates are also prepared by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. These forecast and estimate results are summarized in Table 6. The SEMCOG forecast totals suggest that Fort Gratiot Township increased by approximately 500 people between 1980 and 1985. This increase is second only to Port Huron, which showed an increase of 2,734 persons. This anticipated gain for the City is interesting to note in light of the population declines experienced by the City since 1960. The Census estimates suggest a five (5) percent growth rate for the County, with modest increase shown for Fort Gratiot Township and the City of Port Huron. Slight declines are noted for both Kimball and Port Huron Townships. Neither estimate included in Table 6 can be considered conclusive. The SEMCOG figure suggests that population growth is continuing to occur in the Township abeit at a lesser rate than occurred during the previous decade. The census estimate, on the other hand, suggests a stable population base. The 1990 Census will provide a more conclusive answer to the question of population growth trends over the past decade. Port Huron has traditionally been, and to a large extent remains, the dominant community in St. Clair County. As is the case with other urban centers, however, there has been a trend away from the central City into the adjoining suburban communities. The population growth trends evident in the preceding tables indicate that the communities surrounding the City of Port Huron are fully participating in the overall growth of the larger urban area, while the City's population remains static. Fort Gratiot Township has emerged as, perhaps, the leading growth community in this urban area. -25- �TABLE 4 COMPARATIVE POPULATION GROWTH TRENDS . ·' ' Ft. Gratiot Twp. City of Port Huron Port Huron Twp. Kimball Twp. St. Clair County 1930 Population 1,007 31,361 2,709 1,723 67,563 1940 Population '30-'40 Change Percent Change 1,620 613 60.4 32,759 1,398 4.0 3,440 731 27.0 3,107 1,384 80.0 76,222 8,659 12.8 1950 Population '40-'50 Change Percent Change 3,497 1,877 116.0 35,72B 2,~66 9.1 5,875 2,435 70.0 4,950 1,843 59.0 91,599 15,377 20.0 5,588 2,091 60.0 36,084 359 ''-· 1960 Population '50-'60 Change Percent Change LO 7,047 1,172 20.0 6,266 1,316 26.0 107,201 15,602 17.0 . 1970 Population '60-'70 Change Percent Change 7,075 1,487 26.6 35,794 290 0.8 - 7,635 588 8.3 - 6,152 114 1.8 120,175 12,974 12.1 1980 Population '70-'80 Change Percent Change 8,496 1,421 20.1 33,981 -1,813 - 5.1 7,886 251 3.3 7,180 1,028 16.7 138,802 18,627 15.5 1930-1980 Change Percent Change 7,489 743.7 2,620 8.4 5,177 191.1 5,457 316.7 71,239 105.4 ... ~.2 ; -, i L. .! l. w iI j- ... ' '' , . '-- - i ' Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census -26- �The Township's extensive Lake Huron shoreline and the location of the Township along one of the urban area's major transportation corridors help account for this growth. The extent to which the Township will remain a leading growth corridor will be considered as part of the discussion on population projections. FIGURE 3 COMPARATIVE GROWTH TRENDS I ! .,, 40 . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - , ,1 l . 35 I L • 30 I . l· z,....., 25 Q~ I- C j ~ ::, ::J 20 - CL O 0 J; CL t:, 15 10 5 PORT HURON m 1930 ~ 1940 ~ 1950 P.HURON TWP ~ -27- 19so ISS:l 1970 KIMBALL TWP rz211980 �~ .! TABLE 5 ; SHARE OF COUNTY POPULATION ., t ! t t ' .:' "9 f; i-i r, I \ ' ., Year Fort Gratiot Twp. City of Port Huron Port Huron Twp. Kimball Twp. 1930 1.5 46.4 4.0 2.6 1940 2.1 43.0 4.5 4.1 1950 3.8 39.0 6.4 5.4 1960 5.2 33.7 6.6 5.9 1970 5.9 29.8 6.4 5.1 1980 6.1 24.5 5.7 5.2 I I I • .:.: .. ;! TABLE 6 . ., .. CURRENT POPULATION ESTIMATES Ft. Gratiot Twp. City of Port Huron Port Huron Twp. Kimball Twp. St. Clair Countr 1980 Population 8,496 33,981 7,886 7,180 138,802 1985 Population(l) '80-'85 Change Percent Change 9,015 519 6.1 36,715 2,734 8.1 7,935 49 0.6 7,105 75 1.0 - 145,932 7,130 5.1 1988 Population(2) '80-'86 Change Percent Change 8,520 34,590 609 1.8 7,800 86 1.1 7,040 - 140 - 1.9 145,800 6,998 5.4 ,., I ,! . ..., l 24 0.2 - (l) Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, Small Area Forecasts, 6/84. (2) u.s. Bureau of the Census Estimate -28- �I • 1 AGE CHARACTERISTICS An important demographic factor influencing planning is the age composition of a community and the extent to which this composition has changed over time. This is particularly useful for anticipating future Township service demands and land use requirements. I • \ I I,. The 1980 Census revealed some significant changes that occurred in the age of the nation's population. These changes have similarly had an impact on the population of both St. Clair County and Fort Gratiot Township. Among the most significan t changes revealed by the Census was the continued aging of the nation's population. This trend is reflected in median age figures in Table 7. Median age for the nation as a whole rose to a level of 30 years in 1980. Consistent with the larger trend, median age levels for Fort Gratiot Township, St. Clair County and the State of Michigan also rose during this period. For the Township, median age rose from 25.8 in 1970 to 29.2 years in 1980. This figure is similar to the county-wide number, both of which are higher than similar figures for Michigan, but less than the United States as a whole. Projected median age statistics available from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments suggest that the Township's median age rose slightly to 29.6 years by 1985. TABLE 7 r' ! I MEDIAN AGE TRENDS ,_i ' 1970 (1) 1980 ( 1) 1985 (2) Fort Gratiot Township 25.8 29.2 29.6 St. Clair County 26.8 29.0 30.6 Michigan 26.3 28.8 United States 28.3 30.0 ·-1- · I l.,_ r, i !' ' : i ~ ~ (1) u.s. Bureau of the Census; ( 2 ) Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. , · ' -29- �I Between 1970 and 1980, Fort Gratiot Township experienced a population increase of 1,421 persons. By reviewing the various age categories that comprise the Township's total population, it is possible to determine how individual age groups changed during this ten-year period and which groups made the largest contribution to the Township's overall population increase. Ten of the twelve age categories shown in Table 8 and Figure 4 reported an increase between 1970 and 1980. The single largest population gain occurred in the 25-34 age category, which expanded by 456 persons between 1970 and 1980. Large increases are also noted for the 35-44 age group (+259) and the 15-19 group (+303). Only two groups lost population between 1970 and 1980. Children under the age of ten declined by 269 persons during this period. ' ,, . 'l L .! ' i_ While nearly every age group contributed to the Township's overall population increase during the 1970's, the overall increase was clearly the result of individuals between the ages of 25 and 54. This age group increased by 879 persons between 1970 and 1980, for an increase of 62 percent. TABLE 8 AGE COHPOSITION AND POPULATION CHANGE 1980 1970 [" . '~ r ~ Number Under 5 years 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-59 60-64 65-74 75+ 663 901 829 638 433 956 874 801 310 233 318 119 9.4 12.7 11.7 9.0 6.1 13.5 12.4 11.3 4.4 3.3 4.5 1.7 589 706 851 941 597 1,412 1,133 943 383 316 401 224 6.9 8.3 10.0 11.1 7.0 16.6 13.3 11.1 4.5 3.7 4.7 2.6 - 74 -195 22 303 164 456 259 142 73 83 83 105 7,075 100.0 8,496 99.8 1,421 Total Source: % U.S. Census Bureau -30- Number % Age Groue Change �' . 1 ·· ' I ~ FIGURE 4 AGE COMPOSITION AND POPULATION CHANGE 1.5 r-----------------------------, 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.1 \ \.. . 0 .9 0 .8 ( . 0 .7 L 0 .6 0 .5 0 .4 0 .3 0 .2 0 .1 Under 5 10-14 5-9 20-24 1 5-19 ~ 1970 I I L. 35-44 25-34 55-59 45-54 60-64 65-74 Over 75 ~ 1980 It is possible to obtain another perspective on the changes that are occurring to the age structure of the Township's population by combining individual age groups into larger categories that more closely resemble identifiable stages of a normal life cycle: pre-school, school, adolescent/family formation, middle-age and senior citizens. Table 9 and Figure 5 display the share of Fort Gratiot's and St. Clair County's population that is included in each category. This table and figure further show how the share of each of these categories have changed since 1970. The pre-school category is a good short-range indicator of future school enrollment trends and the impact that these trends may have on the use of existing or planned school facilities. Between 1970 and 1980, Fort Gratiot Township experienced a decline in this age group's share of the Township's total population from 9.4 percent to 6.9 percent. Projected age data to 1985 suggests a slight increase for this category to 7.2 percent. The data for St. Clair County shows a continued decline for this age group between 1970 and 1980. -31- �TABLE 9 AGE DISTRIBUTION BY LIFE CYCLE CATEGORY 1970 Age Category : -; l i .. lI - . I Pre-School (0-4) Fort Gratiot Twp. 1980 St. Clair County Fort Gratiot Twp. 1985 St. Clair County Fort Gratiot Twp. St. Clair County 7.5 9.4 9.3 6.9 7.7 7.2 School (5-19) 33.5 31.8 29.4 27.9 27.6 26.0 Family Formation (20-44) 32.0 28.6 37.0 34.8 37.5 36.6 Middle Age (45-64) 19.0 20.4 19.3 19.0 19.9 19.8 6.2 9.9 10.7 7.8 o.o Senior Citizens (65+) 7.4 ' \ FIGURE 5 AGE DISTRIBUTION BY LIFE-CYCLE CATEGORY 40 ! - 35 z 30 0 g :::, a. 0 a. 25 I.. 0 , - 20 I- zw u ex: w a. 15 10 5 0 Middle Age School ~ 1970 ~ 1980 ~ 1985 -32-- - - - - - �The school-age category also provides some evidence of the demand for school and recreation facilities. This category's share of the Township's total population is declining. In 1970, for example, approximately one-third of all Township residents were between the ages of 5 and 19. By 1980, this group declined to a 29.4 share. Projections for 1985 indicate a continued decline to 27.6 percent. A similar trend is evident for St. Clair County as a whole. .-·, ,,..... l. I L.. ' . \' . f ' ' The family formation and middle-age categories comprise more than one-half of the Township's total population and are increasing their share of the Township's overall population. Collectively, these two categories represent the foundation of the community. These categories represent the community's largest share of property owners and taxpayers. They are also consumers of goods and services, thereby serving as a catalyst for economic growth. Between 1970 and 1985, these categories' share of the Township's population increased from 51 percent to 57.4 percent. Similar increases are also noted for St. Clair County. Nationwide, senior citizens are becoming a more important segment of the overall population base. As the number of seniors continues to grow, greater demands will be generated for passive recreation opportunities, convenient transportation, as well as specialized housing and health care services. The national trend noted above is similarly reflected in Fort Gratiot Township's population, although to a somewhat lesser extent. In 1970, senior citizens comprised 6.2 percent of the Township's population. By 1985, this figure rose to 7.R percent. A greater share of the County's population is 65 years old or older, than is the case for the Township. HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS Household characteristics in general, and the rate of new household formations in particular, have become increasingly important as indicators of demographic change and economic growth. The growth of new households, in fact, may be a better determinant of economic growth within a community than absolute increases in the population itself. Among the more significant trends revealed by the 1980 census was the rate of new household formations. Michigan offers a good example of this trend. In spite of a low population growth rate of 4.3 percent between 1970 and 1980, Michigan experienced the formation of 500,000 new households during this period, for an increase of 20 percent. Accompanying this change in household formations was an equally noticeable decline in ~he size of the average household. At the national level, household size declined to a record low of 2.75 persons per household. -33- �I ' ,_ l _, 'I i. r • l Three factors are largely held responsible for these trends: 1) increased numbers of people living alone, either before marriage or after divorce; 2) smaller families, with women having fewer children; and 3) more elderly women outliving their husbands.Cl) The aging of the "baby boom" generation has also had an impact on the rate of new household formations. Many members of the baby boom generation reached the age when they began forming their own households during the 1970s, contributing significantly to the number of new households. Both Fort Gratiot Township and St. Clair County shared in the rapid rate of household formation that characterized the ten-year period between 1970 and 1980. During this period, approximately 760 new housholds were formed in the Township, for an increase of 36.9 percent. This is slightly higher than the rate of household formation of 29.9 percent which occurred on a County-wide basis. Approximately seven (7) percent of all new households formed in the County between 1970 and 1980 were established in Fort Gratiot Township. Projections by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments indicate that the household growth trends have continued between 1980 and 1985, abeit at a lower rate than occurred during the preceding decade. For example, the SEMCOG projections suggest a household growth rate of 6.1 percent for the Township between 1980 and 1985, and a slightly lower County growth rate of 4.6 percent for this same five-year period (see Table 10). TABLE 10 HOUSEHOLD GROWTH TRENDS Fort Gratiot Township St. Clair County 1970 Households 1980 Households '70-'80 Change Percent Change 2,060 2,820 760 36.9 36,416 47,308 10,892 29.9 1985 Households '80-'85 Change Percent Change 2,991 171 6.1 49,497 2,189 4.6 (1) Russell, Cherly. "Inside the Shrinking Household," American Demographics. Volume 3, No. 9; Ithaca, New York; American Demographics, October, 1981; pp. 28-33. -34- �i l -- Consistent with National and State trends, the size of the average household in Fort Gratiot Township declined over the 15-year period between 1970 and 1985. For example, in 1970, the Township reported an average household size of 3.43 persons. By 1980, this figure had declined to 3.01. Projections for 1985 suggest that household size has remained at a constant level of 3.01. In spite of these declines, the average household size for Fort Gratiot remains slightly higher than similar figures for either the County or the State (see Table 11). TABLE 11 HOUSEHOLD SIZE . : i . I ,, Fort Gratiot Township St. Clair County Michigan 1970 1980 1985 3.43 3.27 3.27 3.01 2.93 2.84 3.01 2.95 POPULATION PROJECTIONS Projections of future population growth provide the bridge between the present and the future in the comprehensive planning process. These projections help dimension future land use requirements as well as the demand for various municipal services. Projections of future population growth need to consider the growth of the larger geographic region within which the community is located. For the Township, this involves considering future population growth within the community as it relates to growth for St. Clair County and Southeast Michigan as a whole. The growth of these larger geographic areas will influence population growth in Fort Gratiot Township. Fort Gratiot Township experienced consistently steady growth over the past five and one-half decades. Growth patterns and trends for the County as a whole indicate that Fort Gratiot is located along one of the County's primary growth corridors and will likely continue to expand in the future. The principal challenge for planning purposes is to determine the extent to which the Township's population will likely increase in the succeeding years. Three common methods of projecting future population levels were considered: the Constant Proportion Method, the Growth Rate Method, and the Arithmetic Method. Each method uses past population growth trends as a way to guage future growth. A summary of the results of these methods is shown in Table 12 and Figure 6. Projections from SEMCOG are also included for comparison purposes. -35- �1 - ( TABLE 12 POPULATION PROJECTION SUMMARY Constant Proportion Growth Rate Arithmetic SEMCOG 8,496 8,496 8,496 8,496 1990 Projection 1980-1990 Change Percent Change 9,067 571 6.7 10,195 1,699 20.0 9,917 1,421 16.7 9,457 961 11.3 2000 Projection 1990-2000 Change Percent Change 9,515 448 4.9 13,084 2,889 28.3 11,404 1,487 15.0 10,324 867 9.2 2010 Projection 2000-2010 Change Percent Change 10,315 800 8.4 20,645 7,561 57.8 13,495 2,091 18.3 1980 Actual I ' L. I I. FIGURE 6 FORT GRATIOT TOWNSHIP r-------------------------_, GROWTH TRENDS ANO PROJECTIONS 1s 15 15000 14 i II 1J (. 12 11 ...... II 10 8 .c 7 ► 0 :J t \ ' \. . 9500 g ~ a: C < ..0 w 8496 7075 6 5588 5 4 3497 J 2 1 0 -~~~~~..QCQl~....DQQQQl:ISI...JlgQQf;;llQll,_J:11:i:11:~-t.Qii~LJjj~~~~__J 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 POPULATION -36- �1 Considering the range of possibilities offered above, the Township will likely have a population of 9,500 persons in 1990; 12,000 by the turn-of-the century; and 15,000 by the year 2010. These projections assume a gradual but continued increase in Fort Gratiot's share of the County's population from 6.1 percent in 1980 to 6.4 percent in 1990; 7.7 percent in 2000; and 8.9 percent in 2010. It is further assumed that the size of the average Township household will continue to decline to 2.78 persons per household in 1990 and to 2.50 for the years 2000 and 2010. Applying these figures to the anticipated population levels noted above yields a total of 3,400 households in 1990, 4,800 in 2000, and 6,000 in 2010. If the Township aggressively pursues commercial and industrial development, it is possible that Fort Gratiot's share of the County's projected population could increase from 6.4 percent in 1990 to 10 percent in the year 2000, and 15 percent by the year 2010. This would result in a Township population of 16,000 persons in the year 2000, and 25,000 persons by the year 2010. Related to housing development, this would result in 250 to 300 new dwelling units being constructed each year over the next two decades, or 5,900 households by the year 2000, and 9,600 households by the year 2010. These population projections assume that the Township will continue to play an important role in the future growth of the Port Huron urban area. The extent to which these projections may be realized, however, depends on a number of factors which include the following: • The amount of high quality residential land that remains available for residential development. Continued development of shoreline areas, including both lake and riverfront properties, may influence the influx of household into the Township. • The image of Fort Gratiot Township as a place to live. • The expansion of employment opportunities in the Port Huron urban area. • The types and varieties of housing permitted or encouraged within the Township. . i '. Barring some unforeseen circumstances, continued growth is anticipated for the Township. The challenge for the Master Plan is, therefore, to establish policies which provide a foundation that allows the Township to fashion this future growth into a balanced and functional pattern that effectively addresses the needs of Township residents into the next century. -37- �ECONOMIC ANALYSIS INTRODUCTION Commercial and industrial needs vary substantially between communities. The growth and development of a community's economic base is influenced by a number of factors, including its regional location. Other factors influencing commercial and industrial development patterns include transportation systems, the availability of land, and the characteristics of a community's population. The purpose of this study is to analyze the economic characteristics of Fort Gratiot Township and to identify its economic base. This study seeks to dimension the Township's commercial and industrial needs for the future, with benchmarks at the years 1990 and 2000. COMMERCIAL AREA CONCEPTS There are many forms of commercial development which serve different retail needs and which have varying land use requirements. These include traditional central business districts, planned shopping centers, and linear or frontage commercial development. Considering the varying land use requirements that characterize these different types of commercial uses, it is worth making a distinction between the two most predominant forms of commercial development in Fort Gratiot Township: the planned shopping center and linear or frontage commercial development. Shopping Centers ' . ' A planned shopping center is defined as a group of architecturally unified commercial establishments built on a site which is planned, developed, owned and managed as an operating unit related in its location, size and type of shops to the trade area that the unit services. 1 Such centers have many advantages over strip commercial districts which include the following: - Functional and attractive grouping of buildings including unified architecture and strategic groupings of tenants to maximize merchandising and marketing. Controlled access and exit points, frequently from several major traffic routes. 1 McKeever, J. Ross; Griffin, Nathaniel, M.; and Spink, Frank H., Jr.; Shopping Center Development Handbook, Community Builders _ Handbook Series, (Washington D.C.: Urban Land Institute, 1977) p.1. -38- �- Controlled interior circulation. - Convenient and ample parking. Economical and effective service areas including a separation of service entrances and functions from customer areas. Overflow areas for future expansion. Opportunities to provide adequate buffering from contiguous residential areas. There are basically two types of commercial centers according to functional classsification: convenience and comparison. Convenience centers usually deal with goods and services that represent daily consumer needs such as food, drugs, barber/beauty shops, dry cleaners, etc •• Comparison centers, on the other hand, generally provide a wider range of merchandise that people generally "shop around" for before making a purchase. Examples of "comparison shopping" establishments include apparel, furniture or applia~ce stores, among others. Comparison centers vary in size depending on the principal tenant and the particular trade area to be served. The characteristics of some common convenience and comparison commercial centers, including the trade area, supporting population, site size, gross floor area and principal tenant, are shown in Table 13. The information presented in this table is a synthesis of material from several sources of shopping center data. TABLE 1.3 SHOPPING CENTERS CLASSIFIED BY TYPE Trade Area ( 1) Supporting Population (2) Site Size (Acres) Gross Floor Area (sq.ft.) O:>nvenlence 2~.3 Neighborhoods 5,000 - 10,000 .3 - 12 20,000 - 100,000 Minor Chmparlson Sma I I Commun Ity 20,000 - 60,000 12 20 100,000 - 200,000 Jr.Dept. Store Intermediate 0:>mparlson Large Community 60,000 -100,000 20 - 40 200,000 - 400,000 I ntermed I ate Dept.Store M!IJor Region 250,000 - up 50 - up 400,000 and up 1 Major Dept. Store or 2 or 3 Intermed Iate Dept. Stores Type of Center I .. I : ... _., ~ 0:>mpar I son Prlnclpal Tenant Supermarket ~ (1) Trade Area - The area served by a shopping center Is largely dependent upon the drawing power of the various stores Included In the center. Furthermore, this drawing power can be roughly translated lnTo maximum travel time and distance that customers wlll drive to a specific center. This permits the approximate physical delineation of the trade area for each type of center. (2) Supporting Population - The minimum population of a trade area from which the center can be expected to draw customers. -39-- ---- - .,. --- -- -- ~ �Commercial Strips r~-· Unplanned shopping areas, such as commercial activity along major thorough-fares, are positioned as a result of a multitude of complex and frequently diametrically opposed historical forces. Future parking, building area, and other needs are frequently neglected because unplanned areas evolve to service the day-to-day needs of consumers. Several features are characteristic of the typical strip commercial district, including the following: - Dangerous disruption of traffic flow as a result of uncontrolled turning and parking movements. Frequently inadequate parking facilities. No coordination of complementary commercial functions and activities. Haphazard arrangement of buildings. Potential blighting influences, particularly on adjacent residential neighborhoods. Inability to make several purchases at one central location. Poor coordination of service-related functions. MARKET ANALYSIS The market analysis for Fort Gratiot Township mathematically defines the commercial needs for the Township. It derives a statistically reliable commercial planning base from an examination of trade area statistics. Such an analysis, _however, is not capable of forecasting actual retail sales. Rather, the market analysis can only predict future market performance on an "all things being equal" basis. . ·, .' - The market analysis is capable of describing the potential spending available to a given shopping location on the basis of trade area demand. The willingness of consumers to actually purchase goods or services at a given location becomes a question of consumer motivation. Often, consumers are motivated to travel greater distances to a newer, planned shopping center than to an older, deteriorating commercial area or dispersed commercial establishments located closer to home. Equally important to consumer motivation are matters of access, traffic, parking availability and aesthetics. The statistical market analysis provides only a numerical answer to the question on what the Township's potential is in terms of future retail sales. The actual sales that the community can expect to realize are highly contingent upon the willingness of consumers to patronize commercial establishments in the Township in light of alternative shopping centers available to them in nearby and surrounding communities. In the final analysis, the Township's ability to fully capture its economic potential becomes a question of whether ancillary programs involving items such as access, parking, circulation and beautification will be encouraged by the coffifilunity in conjunction with commercial development proposals. -40- �TRADE AREA Marketing literature is replete with "principles" of commercial trade area delineation. These techniques range from Reilly's Law of Retail Gravitation to surveys of consumer shopping habits. Practically speaking, the term "trade area" should be considered in the context of its inherently vague nature. A trade area is delineated for a given commercial area with the implication being that the commercial area can be expected to attract, at a minimum, a large share of its prospective customers from the outermost geographical limits of the trade area. Other commercial areas can also be expected to draw portions of their business from the same trade area, with the amount left to the subject commercial areas being termed that area's market penetration of the trade area. Of necessity, the trade area concept must be visualized as a dynamic phenomenon due to changing population distributions, additional competition, changing shopping habits, highway improvements and other factors. Reilly's Law of Retail Gravitation is usually applied to communities, shopping centers, or even large metropolitan areas where there is some distance between the competing facilities. Simply stated, Reilly's Law suggests that the drawing power of a commercial center competing with Fort Gratiot Township for the consumers' dollar will be stronger if the competing center's support population is larger than Fort Gratiot Township, and will increase as the distance in miles between the Township and the competing center decreases. I I ; {.; i ' Two separate trade areas have been defined for the purpose of determining the anticipated retail trade potential for Fort Gratiot Township: a primary trade area, and a secondary trade area. The primary trade area encompasses only that area within the existing Township limits and assumes that the market for retail goods and services offered by existing or new businesses is confined largely to existing Township residents. The secondary trade area encompasses a wider geographic area and assumes that Fort Gratiot Township's businesses have the potential to attract customers from outside of the existing Township limits. For both trade areas, estimates of future commercial needs are based on the projected number of households residing in the trade area communities, their disposal income levels and assumptions regarding how their income is spent on different categories of goods and services. Primary Trade Area l'. Based on the assumptions and methodology described above, the estimated retail needs for the Township are noted below : Year Projected Commercial Acreage Needs 63.5 acres 89.6 acres 112.0 acres 1990 2000 2010 -41- �The land use survey of the Township revealed that approximately 100 acres of land were being used for commercial purposed in 1987. This exceeds the projected commercial demand anticipated by the year 2000. The difference between the current quantity of _ commercially used land and the projected demand, based on the requirements of future Township households, suggests that those commercial establishments located along 24th Avenue are serving a trade area that goes well beyond the boundaries of the Township to include other portions of St. Clair County. Secondary Trade Area i .! The extent of the secondary trade area was defined in the market analysis conducted by General Growth Development Companies in conjunction with the development of their regional mall at the intersection of 24th Avenue and Keewahdin Road. This trade area includes portions of St. Clair, Lapeer, Sanilac and Huron Counties. l L In determining the size of this trade area, consideration was given to the proximity of major shopping centers in the Detroit urbanized area, shopping alternatives in adjacent counties, and the draw of Sarnia retail alternatives. In addition, consideration was given to existing market capture and draw by Port Huron retail merchants, as well as the availability and mix of existing stores in the market. The trade area defined by this study extends south to the City of St. Clair, west into Lapeer County, and north into the thumb of Michigan. Counties which are included are St. Clair (80% of the County, excluding the southern-most portion), Sanilac (100%), Lapeer (15% on the eastern edge), and Huron (25% on the east side). See Illustration 3. ; f Other relevant observations made by this market study include the following: I - Growth in GAF sales, $64.1 million in 1977 to $103.1 million in 1982, and general merchandise sales were even slower compared to State -- indication of lack of retail variety in Port Huron. i • In 1982, Port Huron merchants captured only 67% of potential GAF expenditures by trade area residents -- this was a drop in capture of 11% since 1972. - GAF sales potential for the trade area is expected to grow to more than $213 million by 1990 -- greater capture of these sales is expected with the addition of new retail facilities. .....' Port Huron has no regional shopping center, one of the few markets its size in the U.S. without such -- Sarnia has two centers: 255,600-square foot Sarnia Eaton Center, and 347,000-square foot Lambton Mall. -42- �SECONDARY TRADE AREA I i. /; i t I. 1l ·: I I I ~ I i • ( . --,~AW I I ! I CANA.DA ( ' i * Regional Commercial Center -43- 3 �- Despite steady population and income growth, retail sales in the trade area have not increased as rapidly as elsewhere in the State -- a reflection of "outshopping" by trade area residents. Sales potentials are expected to increase through growth and development -- projected growth indicates by 1989, the trade area would have GAF sales potential of $213.1 million. - t I. I • I It is anticipated a new regional center will increase sales capture in Port Huron by 13% over 1982 -- it is also expected 11% of potential GAF sales in Sarnia will come to the new mall. Applying the same projection methodology to secondary trade areas that was applied to the primary trade area, yields an anticipated commercial need of approximately 1,000 acres. The former projection assumes that commercial development potential in the Township is limited exclusively to the demand generated by Township residents. The latter is based on the assumption that the households in the secondary trade area will do all of their shopping in Fort Gratiot Township. Obviously, both assumptions reflect extremes that are neither practical nor realistic. The quantity of commercial needed to support both the primary and secondary trade areas will likely fall somewhere in between. Realistically, Fort Gratiot Township businesses are forced to compete with establishments in other communities. The Township's ability to capture a portion of the disposable income from the secondary trade area is · obviously improved by its position with the M-25 growth corridor and by the development of a regional mall in the Township. \ . '., It . The scale of commercial development in the Township should be commensurate with the community's position in the region and market demands for retail goods and services. The development of the mall at 24th Avenue and Keewahdin Road will nearly double the amount of commercial acreage recorded during the 1987 land use survey. Some ancillary or support commercial development may be expected in the vicinity of the mall site. The quantity of future commercial development will depend upon how much of the secondary trade area that this commercial center and surrounding sites will be able to capture. INDUSTRIAL ANALYSIS The second factor that needs to be considered when evaluating the Township's economic base involves industrial development and employment characteristics. This analysis includes a consideration of existing industrial establishments located in the Township, the employment and occupational characteristics of the Township labor force, and a consideration of future employment projections. This analysis concludes with an examination of land use development issues frequently associated with industrial land uses. -44- �INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS As noted in the preceding analysis of existing land use patterns, Fort Gratiot Township has a small industrial base. Only 100 acres of industrially used land was identified by the survey. A large percentage of this land is occupied by an existing landfill. While this landfill may be considered to be an industrial use in terms of land use intensity, it does not share the employment characteristics normally associated with industrial uses. Aside from this previously identified use, the remaining industrial development consists of small facilities located througho u t the Township. No consolidated industrial development is evident anywhere in Fort Gratiot Township. RESIDENT LABOR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS The 1980 Census of Population reported that Fort Gratiot Township had a resident civilian labor force of 4,139 persons. Of this total, 93.7 percent, or some 3,869 residents, reported that they were employed. Data from the Michigan Employment Security Commission (July, 1988) indicates that the Township's resident labor force has increased to 4,525 workers and that the unemployment rate has declined to 4.5 percent from the 6.5 percent reported by the Census Bureau in 1980. This compares favorably to the 9.5 percent unemployment rate for St. Clair County as a whole. The characteristics of the Township's resident labor force are more clearly revealed through an examination of occupation and industry of employment statistics. Fort Gratiot Township and St. Clair County share similar characteristics relative to the percent of the respective labor forces that are employed in various industry categories, with two exceptions. A noticeably smaller percentage of the Township's resident labor force is employed in manufacturing (23 percent) than is noted for St. Clair County as a whole (32 percent). The second exception involves the professional services industry. Approximately one-quarter of the Township's labor force is employed in this category, compared to 18 percent for the County. See Table 14. l ' The Township and County also share similar occupational characteristics, with two deviations noted. The first deviation involves the percent of workers employed in managerial or professional occupations. More than one-quarter of the Township's resident labor force is employed in these occupations, compared to 17.8 percent for St. Clair County. The County, on the other hand, has a greater share of its labor force employed as operators, fabricators, precision production or related occupations (40.9 percent) than is true for the Township (32.6 percent). See Table 15. -45- �TABLE 14 l~USTRY OF EMPLOYMENT FCRT !JtATIOT TOWNSHIP AND ST. CLAIR CX>UNTY 1980 Fort Gratiot Township Number Agriculture, Forest:Y• Fishing and Mining ' - Percent St. Clalr County Number Percent 38 1.0 1,103 2. 1 Construction 201 5.2 2,887 5.6 Manufacturing tt>ndurable goods Durable goods 885 Transportation 192 5.0 7,446 2.4 Communications/Public Utl I ltles 258 6.7 4,607 8.9 Wholesale Trade 133 3.4 1,421 2.1 Reta l I Trade 693 17.9 8,500 16.4 Finance Insurance and Real Estate 157 4. 1 2,210 4.3 Business and Repair Services 94 2.4 1,554 3.0 Personal, Entertainment, and Recreation Services 133 3.4 1. 728 3.3 22.9 269 616 16,345 1.0 31.6 4,594 11,751 15.9 8.9 22. 7 Professional and Related Services Health services Educational services Other professional services 935 Public Administration 150 3.9 1,881 3.6 3,869 100.0 51,779 100.0 Totals Source: 24.1 276 460 199 U.S. Bureau of the Census -46- 9,543 7. 1 11. 9 5. 1 18.4 3,492 44,338 1. 713 6.7 8.4 3.3 �TABLE 15 CX:ClPATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS FCRT GRATIOT TOWNSHIP AND ST. CLAIR COUNTY 1980 r Fort Gratiot Townshle Number Percent Managerial and Professional 1,018 Executive, administrative, managerial Professional specialty {. .. ~· Technical, Sales, Admln. Support Technicians Sales Admln. Support Inc. clerical Service Protective Service occupations Other service occupations r 13,286 25.7 7,127 11.3 7.5 10.0 1,162 4,578 7,546 1.9 11.9 15.6 2.3 8.8 14.6 13.8 940 702 6,196 0.4 1.4 9.5 15 53 368 17.8 4,052 5,185 15.8 29.4 436 Fanning, Forestry, Fishing 10.5 74 461 603 Private household occupations 9,237 26.3 405 613 1,138 St. Clair Count:z: Percent Number 1.8 1.4 12.0 13 0.3 940 1.8 Precision Production, Craft, Repair 539 13.9 8,718 16.3 Operators, Fabricators, Laborers Machine operators, assemblers, etc. Transportation/material rrovlng Handlers, cleaners, etc. 725 .1 Totals Source: 3,869 U.S. 8.lreau of the Census -47- 12,471 18. 7 343 206 176 99.9 24.1 7,125 3,154 2,192 8.9 5.3 4.5 51,779 13.8 6. 1 4.2 100. �This data suggests that Fort Gratiot may be among the County's more affluent communities. This conclusion also appears to be supported by estimated per capita income statistics for the County. Fort Gratiot reports the fourth highest per capita income level in the County behind the City of St. Clair, St. Clair Township and the City of Marysville. It is interesting to note that the County's highest income levels are largely concentrated in waterfront communities. This obviously reflects the desirability of shoreline living and the higher property values associated with shoreline residential development. Data available through the Bureau of the Census indicates that a total of 818 persons were employed at locations in Fort Gratiot Township in 1980. The distribution of these workers into various employment categories is included in Table 16. Similar figures for the larger Port Huron urban area are also included for comparison purposes. L - TABLE 16 1980 EMPLOYMENT BY PLACE OF WORK Fort Gratiot Townshi,E % Number Urban Area % Port Huron Urban Area 1 Number % Manufacturing Wholesale Retail Other 2 43 15 407 353 5.3 1.8 49.7 43.2 0.2 0.1 1.6 1.4 8,251 526 4,404 12,184 32.9 2.1 17.5 48.5 Total 818 100.0 3.3 25,115 100.0 1 The Port Huron Urban Area, as defined by the Port Huron Urban Area Transportation Study Committee, consists of the following communities: Fort Gratiot Township, Burt Township, China Township, Clyde Township, East China Township, Kimball Township, Marysville, Port Huron, Port Huron Township, St. Clair and St. Clair Township. 2 This category includes the following employment categories: agriculture, forestry, finance, real estate, mining, construction, transportation, communication, utilities, sanitary services, education, government and public administration, among others. -48- �This table reveals some important observations on the characteristics of the Township's employment base. The first item worth noting is the absence of a manufacturing employment base. Employment in Southesast Michigan is dominated by manufacturing industries. This dominance is reflected in the Port Huron urban area's employment pattern which indicates that approximately one-third of all workers employed in the area work in manufacturing-related establishments. In Fort Gratiot Township, only five (5) percent of the community's employment base are employed in the manufacturing sector. Fort Gratiot, on the other hand has a much greater percentage of retail employment than is true for the urban area as a whole (49.7 percent to 17.5 percent). Overall, only three (3) percent of the urban area's labor force are employed at locations in Fort Gratiot Township. '' l ., FUTURE EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS I ., Projections of future employment levels for Fort Gratiot Township and other nearby communities are available from the Port Huron Urban Area Transportation Study Committee. These projections were developed to assist in determining future regional transporation planning needs. These projections are reflected in Table 17. TABLE 17 PROJECTED YEAR 2005 EMPLOYMENT BY PLACE OF WORK .., I M!llnufacturln9 Number ~ Reta I I Number _L Wholesale Number _L other Number _L Total Number ...L • Fort Gratiot Township Burt Townsh Ip 66 0 0.5 0 0.1 0.2 0.2 11.8 9.5 63.5 5.3 2.2 575 15 6 8 41 181 658 3,877 68 8.9 0.2 o. 1 o. 1 0.6 2.8 10.2 60. 1 10.3 1.2 ~ ...hl. 32 3. 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 48 4.7 123 12.0 418 40.8 262 25.6 93 9.1 47 4.6 6,456 100. 1 1,025 100.1 China Township 80 Clyde Township East China Township Kimbal I Township ~rysvll le Fbrt Huron Fbrt Huron Township St. Clair Township St. Clair 30 _.lli,~ Total 12, 129 100.0 27 1,435 1,154 7,698 638 261 663 -49- 619 93 675 17 819 1, 185 1,772 8,966 1,193 360 3.7 0.6 4.1 o. 1 5.0 1.2 10.8 1,292 108 108 88 3.7 0.3 0.3 0.2 2.4 8. 1 3.6 59.2 7.8 2.2 ~ 856 2,849 3,038 20,954 2,756 783 1,893 ~ 16,431 100.2 35,.368 100.0 .....ill. 54.6 1.3 2.2 �While these projections anticipate an increase of employment opportunities in the Township from 818 in 1980 to 1,292 in the year 2005, they do not suggest any change in the Township's role as a regional employment center. According to these projections, Fort Gratiot Township will provide only 3.7 percent of the urban area's employment opportunities, which is nearly identical to its 1980 percentage. '• i ' INDUSTRIAL PLANNING CONCEPTS i • ( l • ' . L • I . Promoting industrial development to supplement residential and commercial land uses is a normal concern of those communities interested in achieving a balanced tax base. The physical relationship of these uses is critical, however, as the intermingling of industrial development with less intensive uses can result in land use conflicts. Such conflicts should be avoided whenever possible. Non-nuisance industries can be located adjacent to residential areas provided that measures are taken to mitigate any negative secondary effects that may be associated with the uses. An attractive physical setting, including landscaping and buffering where necessary and a separation of industrial and residential traffic, are measures that can be used to avoid potential compatibility problems. Nuisance types of industries (those producing noise, smoke and dust) should have greater insulation from residential neighborhoods. This can often be accomplished by a transitional band of non-nuisance industries. Industrial areas should also be protected from encroachment of other non-industrial types of land uses, such as residences and commercial establishments. Encroachments of these uses into industrial districts seriously jeopardize the overall viability of the industrial area. Industrial areas should be afforded the same type of exclusive zoning that is normally available in residential and commercial districts. In addition to the important goal of achieving exclusive industrial districts, specific design concepts have been established for the physical development of planned industrial areas. Several important industrial planning concepts are outlined as follows: • Buffering or insulation between industrial and non-industrial uses. This can be achieved by a number of different techniques, including the following: - Greenbelts and/or obscuring walls developed on required yards. - Major thoroughfares or railroad rights-of-way, possibly with non-residential uses backing up to them. - Transitional zones of less intensive uses (parks, offices, and off-street parking areas). • To keep congestion to a minimum, industrial districts should be adjacent to major surface arteries or to special routes providing convenient access to the area-wide highway network. -50- �• In addition to industrial buildings, industrial districts should also provide adequate space for employee parking, truck loading storage, warehousing, · future expansion needs and landscaping. • Individual site features in an industrial district should be arranged in the most efficient manner possible. In a large industrial district, a sound design approach is to have alternative streets for trucks and cars. The former would be fronted by parking facilities and the latter by loading docks. I '. > i i.__; ,..., . I • I I l - i [. .. I A variety of site characteristics affect the suitability of a particular parcel for industrial development. Most manufacturers will look at the following site characteristics in determiing whether or not a specific parcel is suitable for industrial purposes: Size and Shape. The usual preference is for a site of regular shape and otherwise suitable from such standpoints as building layout, access to transportation, parking, and future expansion. Topography. Most industries require a level site with just enough slope to provide good drainage. In some cases, a sloping site may be preferred for specialized plants, such as those with shipping and receiving on two levels. Utilities. The utilities with which manufacturers are chiefly concerned include electric power, water, natural gas and sewerage. The principal difference in utility cost between sites is found in the cost of extending the lines to the plant site. . 'I ' ' . I I Flooding. The possibility of flooding is always a major site consideration. Some firms are willing to incur the risk of occasional flooding in order to gain other site advantages. The customary policy, however, is to insist on a flood-free site. Drainage and Soil Conditions. It is important to avoid a site that is a natural low spot. Test borings by soil engineers should be made, as adequate drainage will have a significant bearing on foundation conditions and site development costs. Location Within the Community. One major factor of location is accessibility for employees, customers and movement of goods and raw materials. The immediate surroundings in relation to other land uses are also important if the industry is to avoid possible community relation problems. Transportation Facilities. These are highly dependent on how the individual firm plans to ship its goods. Adequate sites must be available that provide good access to main highways and/or retail transportation facilities with the ability to extend rail sidings where needed. -51- �r·- ' ' j • I ' i L. I ., II ',. { i ' ' I l .. I'., I ., l r . Taxes and Insurance. Long-range stability of property tax rates is usually as important as the current level. Fire insurance rates are considered in surveying both the community and the site. Zoning and Other Legal Aspects. Zoning is a site factor that has often been overlooked in the past. Profiting from the experiences of others, most firms now regard proper zoning as highly essential. A careful check of zoning regulations is desirable for two principal reasons: to avoid litigation and to protect the new plant against incompatible industrial neighbors or other land uses. In addition to zoning, other local regulations such as building codes, laws relating to waste disposal, smoke and fumes, and restrictions on highway use are desirable. CONCLUSIONS Traditionally, Fort Gratiot Township has served as a bedroom community for the Port Huron area, with commercial and industrial employment concentrated elsewhere in the urban area. While this role is, to a large extent, still applicable today, there are trends evident that suggest that Fort Gratiot's relationship to the remainder of the urban area and the County as a whole is changing. This change is most apparent relative to commercial growth occurring within the 24th Avenue corridor. The planned development of a regional shopping mall in the Township will have a dramatic impact on both employment and land use patterns. The Township, therefore, has a unique opportunity to fashion future commercial development into a pattern that is both functional, efficient, and aesthetically pleasing. I l .. , i. -52- �GOALS AND OBJECTIVES INTRODUCTION In the broadest sense, the Master Land Use Plan is policy, a set of goals and objectives designed to serve as a guide to consistent and rational public and private decisions in the use and development of land. Goals and objectives formulated by the community are viewed as the cornerstone of the planning process. They form the framework for public and private decision-making. l , L.Z I • \ - I ! iI In the broadest terms, sample choices of direction for Fort Gratiot Township include: 1. "Laissez-faire" approach or to permit development to take its own course with no guiding direction. 2. The linear city or corridor development orients all uses along major transportation routes. 3. The nuclear arrangement where the entire community evolves around a multi-purpose center or number of centers. 4. The multi-nuclei arrangement where intensive uses may be placed at various community locations to foster that type of use concentration. 5. The neighborhood concept which orients residential units around a school. 6. A combination of the above concepts which meets the community's needs. ' • It is often the defining of objectives that makes goals choice more clear. The articulation of objectives is the more perceivable level of detail description of the substantive goal statement. Objectives are clarifications of the goal, a second level of detail description. A third level of policy planning detail which might be called "lines of action", necessary to carry out the plan, is not within the scope of this program. I -.·• While policy formulation in practice is not as tidy and logical as it is in theory, it is important to note that policy decisions tend to move in sequence from the general to the specific. -53- �; ; POLICY BASIS ,M-• Only through careful analysis of existing conditions and the forces which have brought them about, can we understand their interrelationship, identify their underlying purpose, anticipate future problems and devise solutions. I·., Accordingly, Fort Gratiot Township identifies its objectives by relating them to current problems and issues and to tangible alternative solutions; at the same time, Fort Gratiot must attempt to anticipate future problems and recommend the objectives needed to prevent their development or reduce their severity. No statement of policy, however carefully and analytically developed, will be equally relevant at all times. Movements of people, industry and commercial activity relieve one set of problems and leave others in their wake. When the automobile replaced the horse, the streets became cleaner but the air dirtier. Increases in population and income affect recreation demand and create weekend traffic congestion in and through all nearby areas. Changes in household composition require different needs to be addressed by the Township. POLICY PURPOSE , l ' Administrative and legislative action by the Township Board, quasi-judicial by the Zoning Board of Appeals, and administrative action by the Planning Commission are sometimes criticized as being capricious and arbitrary. The very nature of planning decisions makes them particularly prone to such indictments. Clear-cut statements of policy can go far to minimize arbitrariness in planning actions: 1) They can guide and substantiate honest, intelligent decisions; 2) They can serve the elected officials and commissioners as an anchor of objectivity; 3) They can be a useful tool to the citizen who finds it necessary to remind an errant agency that it is veering from the stated course; and 4) They can inform the public about the thinking of the Township with regard to land development. THE MASTER LAND USE PLAN AS POLICY As an expression of desirable physical development, the Master Land Use Plan is an affirmation of goals. The purposes of the Master Land Use Plan are: ! . 1. To improve the physical environment of the community as a setting for human activities -- to make it more functional, beautiful, decent, healthful, interesting, and efficient. 2. To promote the public interest, the interest of Fort Gratiot at large, rather than the interests of individuals or special groups within the community. -54- �' I . ' . !' . i 3. To facilitate the democratic determination and implementation of community policies and physical development. The Plan is primarily a policy instrument. The plan constitutes a declaration of long-range policy and provides the basis for a program to accomplish its goals. By placing the responsibility for determining policies with the Planning Commission and providing an opportunity for citizen participation, the Plan facilitates the democratic process. 4. To affect political and technical coordination in community development. 5. To inject long-range considerations into the determination of short-range actions. 6. To bring professional and technical knowledge to bear on the making of administrative and legislative decisions concerning the physical development of the community. I. DETERMINING POLICY I . i ' The Master Plan is more than just a series of maps. It is foremost a series of policy statements. Policy statements, of course, do have limitations. They cannot cover every situation. Certain areas are so complex that it will be impossible to know what sort of policy decision can be made until all the facts are assembled. Also, there should be a relatively high degree of agreement and consensus before a policy statement can be adopted. Obviously, this concurrence will not always exist. None of this negates, however, the desirability of formulating and adopting policy statements in as many areas of planning concern as possible. I • t ' . General 1. Enhance and strengthen important gateway entry points into the Township's core development area with landscaping and signage that helps establish an identity and sense of place. 2. Have gateway areas function as development "bookends" for the Township's core develoment area. 3. Encourage only development which can be well assimilated by the community while preserving the Township's character, natural features, and overall quality of life. 4. Encourage commercial and industrial development to obtain a greater tax base and employment center. 5. Keep basically incompatible land uses separate. 6. Work to keep the natural and man-made environment in balance. -55- �r 7. Provide, as most appropriate, the transition of uses from the most intensive to the least intensive. 8. Require developers to preserve natural features including trees as an integral part of development. 9. Strengthen zoning regulations to better achieve the Township's goals. 10. Enhance the overall environment and appearance of the Township by always giving consideration to quality of life standards in the development process. 11. Employ new and innovative planning tools to enhance aesthetics in the land development process. 12. Promote a land use pattern that considers and takes advantage of natural features. J I ! _· Residential (Low Density) 1. Preserve and enhance the Township's predominantly low density single-family residential development pattern. 2. Maintain the low density character of the Township as it currently exists. 3. Provide housing opportunities at both ends of the housing affordability range without compromising the existing residential character of the Township. 4. Encourage the provision of quality and affordable housing. 5. Discourage strip frontage residential development along major roads that result in the isolation of interior acreage. 6. Preserve transitional residential districts from untimely intrusions and blighting influences. 7. Prohibit intensive residential development in areas with poor soil absorption capabilities. 8. Require suitable and adequate buffers be established between residential, commercial, and industrial areas to maintain property values and physical attractiveness. 9. Protect single-family residential areas from through-traffic and non-related uses. II , I. !t. 1 ,.. \ . t l' .,: I " I • -56- �' . I : Residential (Medium Density) 1. Provide multiple-family housing opportunities to meet anticipated future housing demands. 2. Recognize the relationship of demographic characteristics to various housing types and ownership methods. 3. Increase opportunities for medium-high density housing in the Township. 4. Locate future medium-high density housing development in those areas where it will not detract from existing residential development patterns and where adequate infrastructure exists to support these uses. 5. Discourage the development of high density residential development. 6. Encourage the development of medium-high density residential development that offers opportunities for home ownership. 7. Remain open to housing opportunities at higher densities and price ranges which do not detract from the existing low density character of the Township. 8. Strengthen medium density development design standards as ·they relate to site layout and building design. 9. Provide a wider range of multiple family zoning districts. '. ' ' ! : I f"' L.1 ,I ·Il .-, Commercial 1. Encourage the development of a regional commercial center in the Township at the intersection of 24th Avenue and Keewahdin Road, and provide opportunities for second wave growth that may accompany the location of a regional mall in the Township. 2. Encourage the development of complimentary regional-oriented uses proximate to the proposed mall site. 3. Establish well-defined limits to the spread of convenience and general commercial uses along 24th Avenue. 4. Consolidate future commercial development. 5. Provide opportunities for convenience commercial uses that are related to existing and planned residential neighborhoods. 6. Develop more stringent site design and architectural regulations for new commercial development. I \. -57- �Commercial (Continued) ' i 7. Control the access of commercial uses along major transportation routes to provide for safe and efficient traffic flow. 8. Relate commercial facilities to transportation, parking, and public services. 9. Prohibit spot commercial development, except where part of an overall development plan. 10. Encourage commercial facilities only where there is sufficient support population, or where there is adequate draw from the region. 11. Encourage the use of landscaping, setbacks, and related controls to provide . aesthetically pleasing and safe shopping facilities. L, I • Industrial 1. Maximize the Township's industrial development potential and concentrate industrial uses in those areas of the Township where these uses would not create a compatibility problem for less intense land uses. 2. Strive to provide some balance to the Township's tax base by encouraging the development of a limited industrial base without compromising the quality or desirability of the community's residential living environment. 3. Locate industry in areas that have the necessary infrastructure that is necessary to support these uses (water, sewer, highway access, etc.). 4. Encourage the development of light industrial and office/ research uses that are compatible with the Township's existing land use pattern. 5. Discourage the development of heavy industrial uses and favor uses that do not result in nuisances or negative environmental impacts. 6. Assure that all industries shall not intrude on other uses either physically, visually, or through other negative external effects. 7. Buffer industrial uses from less intensive land uses through the use of appropriate setback standards, landscaping, and by locating industrial uses adjacent to other intensive land uses. -58- �. \ Industrial (Continued) 8. Promote the location of industrial uses in approved industrial parks. 9. Provide for the development of appropriate industrial zoning categories and controls. Recreation/Open Space r·· 1. Provide public open space that offers direct access to Lake Huron. 2. Cooperate with adjoining communities on the delivery of public open space opportunities. 3. Avoid duplicating the development of public and commercial recreation opportunities that are available in nearby communities. 4. Recognize and incorporate the Township's existing natural features into the development of future recreation sites. 5. Encourage the development of a linear, passive recreation facility along the Black River. 6. Enhance existing public recreation sites by expanding the range of passive and active recreational opportunities that are available at each site. 7. Incorporate neighborhood level parks as desirable facilities into future residential development. 8. Encourage the development of non-motorized, pedestrian linkages between existing and planned open space sites. 9. Relate recreation programs and facilities to changing demographic characteristics of the Township. 1 ( - ; f'. I \~- - I I 10. Utilize appropriate planning and zoning tools that encourage developers to incorporate more open space in new residential developments to be owned and maintained by private homeowner associations. 11. Set aside sufficient land area to meet the leisure time recreation needs of existing and potential users. 12. Encourage the joint development and use of park/school facilities by the Township and school district. - -59- �Recreation/Open Space (Continued) 13. Improve access to Lake Huron through an improved Black River canal. 14. Encourage the development of a marina facility along the Black River near the canal. Community Facilities 1. Encourage the development of a new Township Civic Center consolidating and centralizing basic community services at a convenient location. 2. Design the Civic Center site so that it becomes a community focal point contributing to the overall identity of the Township. 3. Encourage the development of a branch library site in the Township • 4. Plan development in a manner that best utilizes the Township's utility system. 5. Encourage large lots and on-site disposal systems where sewer extensions are not foreseeable within the planning period. 6. Recognize that drainage can be a problem and that a variety of solutions are available for correcting drainage problems (retention, pumping, gravity design, and drain deepening). 7. Stage any sewer or water installations to provide efficient growth and revenues to pay for the system. 8. Extend future sewer and water service in an orderly manner, leaving no gaps or spaces in coverage. 9. Install sewer and water facilities only where planning and zoning will not be compromised by their use. :" .. ~. I ( . I • Transportation 1. Encourage the development of an alternative to Lakeshore Road/M-25 as a major north-south through-traffic corridor serving the Lake Huron shoreline communities north of Fort Gratiot Township. 2. Encourage the upgrading of 24th Avenue to a boulevard crosssection with a landscaped median and controlled access, and the upgrading of Keewahdin as a State trunkline. -60- �Transportation (Continued) r ' f. r 3. Plan for a network of roads by type and function that will provide a complete road system including major, secondary, collector and local roads. 4. Obtain necessary right-of-way dedications and reservations. 5. Cooperate with the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Port Huron Urban Area Transportation Study to ensure that a proper relationship exists between planned road improvements and the Township's desired future land use pattern. 6. Increase pedestrian safety by providing opportunities for pedestrian circulation along exsting and planned road systems. 7. Limit points of ingress/egress on major roads. 8. Provide a transportation system that furnishes the maximum in convenient, safe, and economic movement of people and goods. 9. Provide a transportation system that recognizes the need for both auto and truck traffic and eliminates as many points of conflict between the two as possible. ~ 10. Improve the road system to better serve residences and businesses. 11. Recognize the relationship between land use patterns and the availability and adequacy of the transportation system. 12. Encourage the continued use of Fairway Drive as a local collector road serving residential development between Krafft Road and Keewahdin Road. -61- �LAND USE PLAN INTRODUCTION The use of land is both a resource and a commercial commodity which derives its function from economic and social forces operating nationally, regionally and within the Township. Individual land uses and the arrangement of these uses influence the way we live and the degree of satisfaction with our physical surroundings. Community planning offers the opportunity to provide some rational sense of order to our man-made environment and, therefore, enhancing the overall quality of the human experience. The Land Use Plan for Fort Gratiot Township describes, in a generalized manner, the most appropriate areas for various categories of land uses including residential, commercial, industrial and public, among others. The physical arrangement of these uses reflects the physical, social, economic, regional . characteristics and projections presented previously. This data is correlated with the Township's stated goals and objectives for the future to derive the distribution and relationship among various uses reflected in the Master Plan Illustration. Fort Gratiot is located along one of St. Clair County's leading growth corridors. This setting is currently having a major impact on development activities within the Township and will likely continue to influence development for years to come. It is in recognition of this potential that the Plan was prepared. The urbanization of a community carries with it certain requirements that need to be addressed as part of the long-range planning process. Implicit in this recognition is the fact that urban uses are neither self-sufficient nor self-sustaining. They depend on the provision of facilities and services by the State, County and Township. Urban development is conditioned by the interdependency of urban residents and their activities. The Master Plan attempts to deal with this interdependency in a logical and rational manner and in a way that is consistent with accepted planning practices and principles. RESIDENTIAL AREAS Among Fort Gratiot's most attractive development features is the availability of several high quality residential neighborhoods. The Township's extensive Lake Huron and Black River shorelines have contributed to the development of attractive homesites. Few remaining sites with access to either amenity exist today. In order for the Township to continue to be attractive for future homeowners, new residential neighborhoods are needed. -62- �Maintaining and enhancing the Township's predominantly low density single-family character is a central policy of the Master Plan. To accomplish this, several existing land use practices need to be overcome. These include strip frontage development and the subsequent isolation of interior acreage which is frequently difficult to develop. 1···, I I. ;:... L•..• I • i'. . I ,_ Over 6,000 acres of land, or nearly 60 percent of the Township, are reserved for future residential purposes. Within the area designated for residential development, specific residential density categories are identified. The purpose of planning areas with varying residential densities is two-fold: first, such delineation of future desired density gives the Township a locational guideline to avoid haphazard development; and second, future density patterns within defined neighborhoods provide the basis for determining the various community facility needs of the area's residents. The characteristics of each of the Township's designated residential areas are described below. Agricultural/Rural Residential - The agricultural/rural residential category is confined to the sparsely developed northwest section of the Township. Approximately 2,635 acres are specified for this purpose on the Master Plan Illustration. This category anticipates the development of single-family homes on lots exceeding one (1) acre in total area. · The location of this portion of the Township, outside of existing or proposed utility service areas, suggests that a greater density would not be appropriate, nor would it be consisent with the policy of concentrating development in those areas where there is a reasonable expectation that needed services will be available to serve these uses. This portion of the Township provides opportunities for those residents who desire a semi-rural lifestyle. Larger lot sizes of one acre or more provide residents with a more spacious home site, plus the opportunity to pursue other rural pastimes on a scale that would be appropriate in more urbanized settings. This may include small-scale hobby farms and similar activities. Single-Family - Infill - The single-family infill category encompasses the predominantly developed shoreline portions of the Township. The residential development pattern in these areas is largely established. Remaining vacant land consists largely of infill sites. The development of these sites should observe the established density of nearby parcels. Much of the remaining vacant land within this area may be characterized by physical constraints (i.e., odd shapes, lack of frontage, etc.) that may limit their development potential. -63- �\ : In those instances, some flexibility may be needed to accommodate future development proposals. Cluster development, planned open space subdivisions and site condominiums served by private roads may be appropriate in this area. Examples of these techniques are showin in Illustration 4. Each of these examples may represent appropriate responses to leftover parcels that may not lend themselves to conventional platting. 1 ' f - Single-Family - Conventional - This residential planning designation encompasses interior portions of the Township where the future development pattern remains in more formative stage. These areas lend themselves to more conventional single-family subdivision development. It is expected that densities within this residential category will vary from somewhere between two (2) and four (4) units per gross acre. Lot sizes will be highly dependent on the availability of public utilities, specifically water and sewer lines. Public roads are needed within this area to ensure continuity of access and public safety. Planned Unit or Cluster Housing Development - The Black River and Lake Huron shoreline areas of Fort Gratiot Township have traditionally been among the Township's most important assets in attracting high quality residential development to the community. For the most part, these areas are nearly completely developed, with only small infill parcels remaining for future development purposes. The Township's ability to remain attraciive for continued upscale residential home sites, similar to that which has occurred along the shoreline areas, will depend to a large extent on providing similar opportunities in the interior portions of the Township. l .. The presence of interesting and unique natural features, including bodies of water, wetlands, woodlands and topographic changes, are frequently used alone or in some combination as amenities around which attractive residential neighborhoods are developed. The inventory portion of the Master Plan process revealed that extensive portions of the Township are occupied by both wetlands and woodlands. The full potential of these areas should be maximized for future residential development. This potential may be most fully realized through the encouragement of planned units in these unique and sensitive areas. These planned cluster housing or zero lot line development concepts encourage flexibility in overall neighborhood design and provide for a mixture of density and residential development types based on an overall comprehensive plan for the designated area. While these concepts may prove to be applicable to numerous sites within the residentially planned areas, it appears to be uniquely suited to that portion of Section 9 bounded by Lakeshore Road on the east, Parker Road on the west, Brace Road on the north, and Carrigan Road on the south. Much of the 530 acres of land encompassed by this area is covered by trees. Designated wetland areas also appear to impact portions of this acreage. Both factors suggest that a more flexible and innovative ·development concept may be appropriate. -64- �! I I '~---·-· I 1 r-·- · I r-·I I I I __ _J 1 r-·- · (__ j '~- --,~-\ /J--- -1 - · ISOLATED NO IIOAD STUBS · I' . 'I· •I I I -----.\ . II . L.....--··7: \ L I ·- 1'-~ .\ .' I . -t-·-r-··. ,- · · ·~-I. • : I. I i I ' I _1._L_1_j_ r-1 r-·- · \..... ADJACENT 8UBDIVIIION PIIOVIDII IIOAD 8TUB I . I . l .: PROBLEM PARCELS with CLUSTER HOUSING SOLUTIONS -65- .... ,-.50• 4 �.- ; I ' \ Mobile Home Parks - Approximately 40 acres of land have been included in this category, which suggests a density of approximately seven (7) units per acre or less. The area designated for this category is consistent with the location of the existing mobile home park west of 24th Avenue and south of Keewahdin. Multiple-Family - This remaining residential category is intended to signify areas suitable for multiple-family housing types. This category has an average anticipated density of ten (10) units per acre. A variety of different low-rise, multiple --family dwelling types can be accommodated within this category, such as multiplexes, townhouses and apartments. I '-· , -i i . i • \. r. rI \.. ..... ..... I \ Approximately 200 acres of land within the Township have been reserved for multiple-family purposes. This represents a three-fold increase over the current quantity of multiple-family development and reflects a previously stated policy of increasing opportunities for this form of development. Consistent with previous policy statements, suitable locations for this form of development were identified which shared one or more of the following characteristics: convenient access to major roads, availability of utilities, and proximity to uses of similar intensity. In large part, medium high density areas are shown flanking either side of the 24th Avenue commercial corridor. The placement of multiple-family units adjacent to commercial uses provides the ability to effectively transition to adjoining single-family neighborhoods. COMMERCIAL Three distinct categories of commercial uses are specified on the Master Plan Illustration. These include: convenience, regional and highway. Each category is intended to serve the different market needs of both local and regional consumers. Collectively, these three categories encompass nearly 500 acres of land. The Master Plan indicates an increase in the quantity of commercial land needed by the year 2000 over levels revealed by the 1987 current land use survey results. This increase is consistent with the Township's emerging role as a regional commercial center for St. Clair County and communities to the north. A description of each of the three categories of commercial reflected on the Master Plan Illustration are described as follows. -66- �Convenience - This category includes retail and service uses that are intended to primarily meet the daily needs of adjacent residential neighborhoods. Approximately 70 acres of land have reserved for convenience commercial purposes on the Master Plan Illustration. For the most part, these convenience commercial areas are clustered along the periphery of the regional commercial corridor proximate to existing or planned residential neighborhoods. One of the designated convenience commercial deserves careful attention to its relationship to surrounding residential development. This area is located on the east side of 24th Avenue from Keewahdin Road north to Carrigan Road. This area is characterized by a mixed land use pattern that includes miscellaneous commercial uses of a general commercial nature, single-family homes and vacant lots. The parcelization pattern in this area is highly fragmented, with the 24th Avenue frontage divided into lots that rarely have more than 120 feet of frontage. Many lots share a common depth of 280 feet, the rear lot lines of which abut a neighborhood of single-family homes. / . I• I . I I. . ,· ! i ·-' - A range of different land uses may be appropriate for this area. These include convenience commercial, office, multiple-family or institutional. In considering the suitability of specific uses for this area, attention should be directed toward the impact of a given use on the adjoining residential neighborhood. Whenever possible, the consolidation of parcels should be encouraged to achieve more flexibility in the design of individual sites. Decisions on appropriate land uses for this area should be determined on a case-by-case basis. Regional - Comparison commercial establishments generally provide for a more diverse range of merchandise than may be available at convenience locations. For the most part, these uses will likely occur in the form of planned centers that are developed as a cluster of common wall establishments served by consolidated driveways and parking, as well as unified architecture and landscaping features. Over 300 acres of land have been identified as being suitable for comparison commercial purposes. This acreage is anchored by the Birchwood Mall site and the K-Mart shopping center, which are located at opposite ends of a one-mile long intense commercial corridor along 24th Avenue between Krafft and Keewahdin Roads. Careful attention should be directed towards achieving an appropriate transition between the regional commercial acreage and abutting low intensity residential uses. Transitional uses such as offices, multiple family and some forms of convenience commercial uses may be appropriate for areas with transitional characteristics. This quantity of regional commercial acreage should be sufficient to provide for both the first and second wave demand for ancillary or spin-off regional commercial demand that may be generated by _the mall. If it is determined that the demand for commercial uses exceeds the amount of land reserved for this purpose, the Township should then consider the appropriateness of designating additional acreage for this purpose. -67- �I.· ! .... i . l.. I • 1 i Highway - The highway category consists primarily of freestanding, independent businesses that are dependent on convenient highway access. Many of the uses that are included in this category are oriented towards meeting the needs of automobiles and include uses such as dealerships, service stations and related activities. Approximately 65 acres of land at two locations along the 24th Avenue corridor have been allocated for linear commercial purposes. The first area is located at the south end of the corridor, proximate to the Port Huron City limits. This is the oldest portion of the Township's commercial district and is characterized by many of the problems commonly associated with strip commercial development. Over time, as redevelopment activities occur in this area, improvements should be encouraged that result in a more functional and visually cohesive land use pattern. Careful attention should be directed towards updating existing development standards relating to setbacks, signs, landscaping, building appearance and vehicular circulation. Consolidating driveways, reducing the height and number of signs, and providing greenbelts between the road pavement and parking lots represent examples of specific improvements that could go a long way in improving the appearance and function of this area. The Township's second planned commercial site is located on the west side of 24th Avenue, north of Keewahdin. The highway commercial designation in this location reflects the somewhat more intense future development pattern on adjoining land. The planned development of the adjacent site for light industrial purposes, the highway exposure offered by proximity to 24th Avenue, and the lack of single-family residential development on nearby sites reinforce the appropriateness of this designation. INDUSTRIAL ,! r-l The allocation of 260 acres of land for industrial purposes reflects the policy of encouraging the development of a balanced economic base for the Township. The location of this site, proximate to both 24th Avenue and Keewahdin Road, and the availability of utlities may make this site suitable for industrial purposes. An appropriate development pattern for this area would emphasize the development of a planned industrial park which includes uses that are highly compatible with one another and whose external effects are limited. Typically, these sites would be planned, developed and managed as an integrated facility, with emphasis given to circulation, parking, utilities, aesthetics and performance standards. LANDFILL The 90-acre landfill area shown on the Master Plan largely corresponds to the existing landfill. No expansion of this site is encouraged by the Plan. Improvements should be encouraged to improve the compatibility of this site to adjoining residential property and to the Keewahdin Road frontage. -68- �. ,, LOW DENSITY BUFFER AREA To effectively mitigate any deleterious impacts associated with either the existing landfill or the planned industrial area, a low density buffer area has been established around the periphery of this area. The density of any future residential development in this area should be limited to large parcels to minimize the number of homes located proximate to either use. I . PUBLIC ,,,. . ...,: f .,.. f '' L Approximately 580 acres of .land have been reserved for public uses on the Master Plan. The largest of these areas reserved for public uses corresponds to the Detroit Water and Sewage Department site, located in the northern portion of the Township along Brace Road. This site alone occupies 436 acres of land, or three-quarters (3/4) the Plan's future allocation of public uses. The remaining public uses identified on the Master Plan Illustration consist of public school sites and Township-owned property. OPEN SPACE/RECREATION r . Several existing and proposed recreation sites are identified on the Master Plan. These include two golf courses and several park sites. The desirability of somehow using the Black River floodplain for open space purposes is also reflected on the Master Plan Illustration. Specific ideas for the potential development of the Township's open space resources are discussed in more detail in the Community Facilities portion of the Plan. In total, approximately 460 acres of land have been identified for open space and recreation purposes. ROADS The Township is currently served by a network of major roads that largely follow section lines and existing physical features, such as the Lake Huron shoreline and the Black River. Numerous local subdivision streets are also evident that provide access to designated neighborhood areas. As the Township continues to grow, additional roads will likely be developed. For the most part, these new roads will consist largely of collector and local roads designed to penetrate large tracts of vacant land, thereby facilitating the development of this acreage. Approximately 1,580 acres of land have been allocated for this purpose. Realistically, the quantity of land needed for this purpose will vary from one development to another. -69- �TABLE 18 LAND USE PLAN ACREAGE ALLOCATIONS Percentage Acres RESIDENTIAL ! -. i .: I 65.0 6,660 Agricultural/Rural Residential Single-Family - Infill Single-Family - Conventional Planned Unit Development Mobile Home Parks Multiple-Family 25.4 16.1 16.1 4.9 0.4 2.1 2,600 1,650 1,650 500 40 220 • COMMERCIAL Convenience Regional Highway 480 4.7 70 330 80 TRANSITIONAL 0.7 3.2 0.8 30 0.3 210 2.1 90 0.9 LOW-DENSITY BUFFER AREA 200 2.0 PUBLIC 580 5.7 OPEN SPACE/RECREATION 460 4.5 1,580 14.9 INDUSTRIAL LANDFILL ROADS -70- �r COMMUNITY FACILITIES PLAN INTRODUCTION Within the total development of a community, one of the most important services is the provision of adequate community facilities. Often the impression created by a particular community is directly related to its parks, libraries, schools and public buildings. r: r ; ' Community facilities are normally divided into three major categories: neighborhood, community and regional. Neighborhood facilities include elementary schools, play areas, neighborhood parks and playgrounds. The extent to which these facilities are developed is dependent upon the needs of the particular neighborhood; however, it is desirable to plan for all of these facilities so that the neighborhood is not left deficient in facilities at the time of its total development. Community-wide facilities are normally municipal offices, senior high schools, junior high schools, libraries, fire stations, playfields and community parks. By the very nature of their individual functions, they serve not only the neighborhoods, but the entire community. Regional facilities are developed to serve large areas. These areas include two or more communities. PROTECTIVE SERVICES Fire Fighting Facilities Among the most important services provided by local government is fire protection. Fire fighting facilities are important because they protect residents, businesses, and industries from financial loss and personal injury, and because they can also substantially reduce the cost of fire insurance. The standards contained in the Plan should be considered as the minimum necessary to provide an adequate level of fire protection for the Township. t-, Fort Gratiot Township operates a volunteer fire department that consists of 22 part-time fire fighters and one full-time member. The fire station is part of the Township Hall site and was recently expanded to accommodate a newly purchased fire truck. The Fire Department has six (6) vehicles available which consist of one mini-pumper, one rescue vehicle, three standard pumpers and one aerial ladder truck. The amount of equipment available to the Fire Department appears to be sufficient to meet future demands. The Township does, however, have a need for a full-time fire chief and for additional space to house their operation. In the event that the Township builds a new administrative complex on another site, the existing Township Hall building would appear to be suitable for eventual conversion to the permanent Township Fire Station headquarters. -71- �The National Board of Fire Underwriters has stt wi~i@um standards for fire protection that enable communities to get the best possible rating. Since this can be an ultimate savings to the community, it is only logical to adopt these standards: 1. The water system should be able to provide a "fire flow" during a five (5) day maximum consumption period of ten (10) hours. 2. The existing system of water mains should be a minimum of eight (8) inches in diameter to serve residential development. 3. Fire hydrants should be within three or four hundred (300 or 400) feet of every structure and never more than six to eight hundred (600 to 800) feet apart. 4. A fire station should be located so that it is close to, or leading into, a major or secondary thoroughfare. 5. Within the primary service area of each fire station, there should be no barriers, natural or man-made, that would delay the effectiveness of the fire fighting equipment. 6. The fire stations should be built and manned in such a way as to be the most efficient for the area to be served. In most larger communities, they are manned by salaried employees; however, in many areas of the country they are manned by volunteers on an extremely well-organized basis. TABLE 19 LOCATION STANDARDS FOR FIRE STATIONS Fire Station Pumper and Hose Company Radius Served Standard High Value District Residential Number of Men 0n Dutz Minimum Land Area Re9.uired 3/4 mi. 1 1/2 mi. 4-5 1/2 acre Ladder Company 1 mi. 2 mi. 5-6 1/2-3/4 acre Pumper-Ladder Company 1 mi. 8-10 1 acre These standards possess a certain amount of flexibility which is based upon the individual community's needs. -72- �Police Protection Police protection for the Township is provided by the St. Clair County Sheriff on a contractural basis. One officer is available to the Township for daytime patrol Monday through Friday. Evening and weekend police protection is provided by the county Sheriff and the Michigan State Police as part of their regular patrols and service. LIBRARY Books are but one of many services of information that a wellorganized library can provide. Generally, the library should be located within the community in such a way that it can serve as many of the people as conveniently as possible. Fort Gratiot does not operate a Township library. Library services are available to Township residents through St. Clair County which has a library in downtown Port Huron. f .. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS I • The Township Public Works Department is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the water and sewer system and the Township cemetery. Seven (7) people are employed by this Department, which is located on the south side of Keewahdin Road, west of the Township · Hall. 'I I • CIVIC CENTER I I ; • The concept of a civic center as a community focal point is not new. For many years, the aesthetic and economic advantages of this locational feature has been known. The location of a civic center near the area of greatest use serves to strengthen the economy of the area and brings a public awareness and economic vitality to that area of the Township. The benefit of a civic center can be both functional and aesthetic. By creating a grouping of essential buildings, such as administrative offices, police, fire, and parking, people will be drawn to the uses surrounding the civic center. If properly designed, nearby commercial enterprises will attract people from the civic center. This will add to the economic vitality of the community because people are placed within easy access of many of their daily and weekly activities. It also decreases the time and distance residents must travel to complete their trips. The Fort Gratiot Township Hall and administrative complex is located at the intersection of Keewahdin Road and Pine Grove Road. The existing Township offices appear to be undersized to meet the current staffing needs of the Township. Continued growth of the Township will place further strains on this facility. -73- �The Township has formed a committee to explore the possibility of developing a new Township Hall building. One area that deserves considertion is the Township-owned site near the cemetery. This site is centrally located along one of the Township's major roads and would serve as an important community focal point. The location of a civic center in this general vicinity is reflected on the Master Plan Illustration. UTILITIES l. . I C Achievement of the full growth potential of a community is directly related to the availability of capacities of public utility systems. As a community grows, increased demands are placed on these systems to provide the necessary infrastructure required for commercial, industrial and residential development. Sanitary Sewer Facilities ' l: Fort Gratiot Township is one of several communities in the Port Huron urban area that is participating in the regional sewer system. As part of this system, the Township has a contract with the City of Port Huron wastewater treatment facility. In exchange for participating in the operation and maintenance of this facility, the Township effectively reserves for itself a portion of the capacity of this plant to serve existing and anticipated development. Sanitary sewers are currently available to the more developed portions of the Township. More specifically, the existing sewer service boundaries are confined primarily to Lakeshore Road and North River Road corridors. The Township's proposed future sewer service area map envisions the eventual extension of sanitary sewers to the central portions of the community. It appears that the Township has sufficient purchased capacity to allow these extensions to occur if there is enough development to justify the extensions. The development of an industrial base in the Township could alter this situation if any fu~ure industries are significant water users that consequently discharge large volumes of water back into the treatment system. In the absence of this type of user, however, the availability of future sewer capacity should not be considered to be a factor limiting the Township's growth potential. I., One factor that may impact the extension of sanitary sewers into previously unserved areas involves regional utility extension policies reflected in SEMCOG's sewer service area map. This map does not anticipate the widespread future sanitary sewer extensions as shown on the Township's sewer service area maps. In an effort to reconcile this obvious difference and to promote an orderly growth pattern, the Township should consider the development of a community-wide sewer extension policy. Such a policy would provide the community with a better understanding of the costs of extending utilities into unserviced areas and the longterm financial obligations associated these extensions. -74- �: . Public Water Distribution System r. Public water, like sanitary sewer services, are also purchased by Fort Gratiot Township from the City of Port Huron under the terms of a rate ordinance between the two communities. The Township subsequently resells the water to those residents and businesses that are tapped into the system. Public water lines are more widely available to Township residents than are sanitary sewers. In addition to serving the more heavily developed Black River and Lake Huron shoreline areas, the public water distribution system extends into the interior portions of the Township along Keewahdin Road, Krafft Road, Parker Road and State Road, among others. ! . i : .·• Ii. ' i . i - ( An ample supply of water is available to accommodate future development. Further, existing water lines were designed large enough to allow for subsequent growth and new taps. Storm Drainage With the exception of specific drains that are the responsibility of the St. Clair County Drain Commission, all remaining storm drainage in the Township is essentially a private matter. Numerous private drains are located in the Township that remain in private hands which may receive little or no maintenance. The Township does not have any comprehensive policy for addressing long-term drainage concerns. As the Township continues to urbanize, this will continue to be a problem. In response to this concern, the Township may wish to consider developing a community-wide storm dr~inage master plan which describes the limitations of the existing system and outlines a program to address these problems including a capital improvement program to fund necessary improvements. . i : ,_ r' i L...: II SCHOOLS The entire Township is served by the Port Huron School District. Five existing school sites are located within Fort Gratiot Township. These include two elementary schools (T~omas Edison Elementary and Keewahdin Elementary), one junior high school (Fort Gratiot Intermediate) and one high school (Port Huron Northern). On a system-wide basis, elementary school enrollment has been maximized for the current school year and all elementary school sites are full. All four school sites located in Fort Gratiot Township are currently full. In order to assess future district space needs, the Port Huron School District has established a Planning Committee that will be addressing district-wide needs. It is anticipated that the committee will reach some conclusions regarding future school facilities during 1990. Until such time as this committee makes its recommendations, no future school sites are shown on the Master Plan Illustration. -75- �,' ' RECREATION PLAN A community's overall quality of life is influenced by many factors, not the least of which is the availability of recreation facilities for area residents. Parks not only provide areas for active and passive recreation activities, they also introduce welcome open space and natural areas into an urban environment that is frequently lacking those amenities which are essential components of a balanced and healthy land use pattern. All too often, however, one frequent consequence of urban development is the loss of recreation areas to a variety of urban uses. As land becomes more valuable for these urbanized uses, it becomes more expensive to purchase for recreation activities. It is, therefore, appropriate to plan for the development of future recreational facilities in proportion to the expansion of Fort Gratiot's other uses, particularly residential neighborhoods. The development of future recreation facilities needs to be related to existing and anticipated residential neighborhoods within which these sites will be located and whose residents they are intended to serve. Consideration should also be given to the availability and location of existing recreation sites and the extent to which these sites are capable of meeting both current and future needs. EXISTING RECREATION FACILITIES AND PROGRAMS Fort Gratiot Township and the Port Huron School District are the two principal providers of recreation facilities and programs to Township residents. The range of both recreation facilities and programs available within the Township are described in the following narrative. Township Facilities and Programs I - Fort Gratiot Township operates two existing park sites. The first of these two sites is the seven-acre park located on the south side of North River Road, west of Pine Grove Road. This site includes a basketball court, baseball diamond, picnic tables, playground equipment, open play area and frontage along the Black River shoreline. The second park site is located on property leased by the school district. This site abuts the Fort Gratiot Intermediate School property to the north. This 18-acre park features four baseball diamonds that are used for little league competition. Other facilities and equipment available at this site include a slide, swings, bleachers, concession stand and portable restrooms. In addition to the two previously described park sites, the Township also operates a part-time recreation program for Township residents. During summer months, activities for children are offered at both elementary school sites in the Township. -76- �Structured recreation programs are offered at each site which include arts and crafts, sporting events and field trips. Other activities sponsored by the Recreation Department include a winter carnival held at Willow Ridge Golf Club, the Senior Olympics, Santa Days and the sale of amusement park tickets. Many of these programs are offered in conjunction with the Community Education Department of the Port Huron Public School System. I-· These programs and activities are organized and coordinated by one part-time Township employee. An elected Recreation Board oversees those programs which are funded by the Township Board. School ·Sites f •, The Port Huron School District operates four school sites in Fort Gratiot Township. Collectively, these sites occupy nearly 100 acres of land. Numerous recreation facilities are available at these sites. Both elementary schools include a full range of new playground equipment, small baseball diamonds and large open play areas. The intermediate school site includes an exercise station, basketball court, baseball diamond, practice football field and open play area. Facilities available at the high school include a baseball diamond, practice football fields and a track. I .' . RECREATION NEEDS Determining future recreation needs should consider well-defined geographic areas that each park site is intended to serve. Generally, a determination of recreation deficiencies considers both neighborhood-level recreation needs as well as larger community-wide needs. Both levels of need and the identification of specific neighborhood areas are considered in the following narrative. r Neighborhood Unit Concept The individual neighborhood unit is considered to be the basic residential planning unit. The intent of this concept is to create self-contained residential areas, each served by an elementary school, playground and park area. These residential areas are typically bounded by man-made or physical boundaries, such as roads or rivers, and are sized to accommodate the development of an elementary school and a park to be located at the center of the neighborhood. As they were originally conceived, these neighborhoods were intended to serve a population of between 3,000 and 5,000 persons. [ - Another feature of this approach was the establishment of commercial uses on the periphery of the neighborhood. Major roads designed to accommodate through-traffic framed the boundaries of each neighborhood with the intent of minimizing conflicts between through-traffic and local traffic. This concept is displayed graphically in Illustration 5. -77- �I ' c···· l : l .' I • '! L.: ' I ' \ ca SchoolPark u _,0 >ca i::, Local C: 0 .,u - (/) 0 ! I Secondary Thoroughfare NEIGHBORHOOD UNIT DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT -78- 5 �This planning concept has numerous advantages which include the following: 1) neighborhood safety is advanced by providing children with an opportunity to walk to neighborhood facilities without encountering major traffic conflicts; 2) it provides economies of scale for public and private expenditures; and 3) it encourages stable property values. t., I -· I l , Within those areas planned for future residential development in the Township, six larger neighborhood planning areas have been identified. These geographic areas largely correspond to the Port Huron Urban Area Traffic Analysis Zones. Utilizing similar planning area boundaries offers an opportunity to coordinate Township land use planning activities with those occurring on a broader regional basis. Within these planning areas, smaller neighborhood-sized units have also been identified which more closely approximate the concept described above. These areas are reflected in Illustration 6. Each of these residential neighborhoods generate a need for recreation facilities which ideally should be provided within the boundaries of the neighborhood, or in close proximity to it. Collectively, these neighborhoods will provide a basis for determining the need for community-wide recreation facilities. The purpose of the Recreation Plan is to identify future recreation needs based on anticipated residential development trends and the availability of existing park and schoo~ sites. Within each of these individual neighborhood planning areas, assumptions have been made regarding the anticipated number of dwelling units that are likely to develop, average family size, and the anticipated number of school-age children. Such capacity population estimates are subsequently correlated to the previously defined recreation planning standards to arrive at a preliminary determination of neighborhood level recreation needs for each individual planning area. As a result of this analysis, the following capacity population estimates have been arrived at for each neighborhood area. ( I TABLE 20 CAPACITY POPULATION ESTIMATE Neighborhood North Central Lakeshore 1980 Population Capacity Population Estimate Pine Grove Old Farms 1,604 440 1,168 1,011 2,936 1 325 14,900 9,300 1,900 2,500 14,500 12 200 TOTAL 8,484 55,300 Fairway -79- �.: .:. J ,...., NORTH .c; _, 6 ' ....... .:.: . ... .: : : : I:• i. • 9 7 ---··--· . "----·--···-··.. -·········-······ CENTRAL I . -······················ l~e:; . .;-::;;· 1 ~ ~ I : ~ . 19 16 11-1,.....---\7 1G ·:;. ·-···-----···.: : .:: :. 20 I PINE I 1r=---~lr'--...:,-'lr-=-~~....-1-,.~~~~~ ~I ' ·- ~·1 ' , . I NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING AREAS FORT GRATIOT TOWNSHIP ST. C&.AIII COUNTY , MICHIGAN FORT GRATIOT TOWNSHIP PLANNIHG COMMISSION raaa'!. A C-■■■iTT ll'lu•i-. 6 . .~••t ■t , I'! C. - .. . - . . . nic& , •idti~• - -80- 6 �Recreational Standards Several techniques are commonly used for the purpose of determining the nature and extent of future recreation needs in a community. Perhaps the most traditional method of determining recreation deficiencies and/or needs is to compare existing park acreage and the distribution of this acreage with accepted recreation planning standards. These standards normally suggest optimum or ideal conditions that communities should strive to meet in the development of park facilities and provide a benchmark against which progress can be measured. The risk in using these standards, however, is that they may not be uniformly applicable to every community; and as such, need to be evaluated in light of the unique physical, social, and economic conditions that may characterize a specific community. ( . Recreation planning standards should include acreage requirements based on anticipated population levels, the size of such facilities, and their proposed locations. Examples of specific optimal recreation standards for some typical recreation facilities are summarized below. These standards are provided by the National Recreation and Park Association and are based on a 1983 study entitled Recreation Park and Open Space Standards and Guidelines. Neighborhood Facilities '. These sites are intended to be areas for intense recreational activities such as field games, court games, crafts, playground apparatus areas, skating and picnicking, among others. This type of park is optimally suited to serving a neighborhood consisting of up to 5,000 people and having a service radius of 1/4 to¼ mile. The desirable size of such a facility is approximately 15 acres. Between one and two acres of neighborhood park land should be provided for each 1,000 persons anticipated to reside within a given neighborhood area. Such facilities should be easily accessible to the neighborhood they are intended to serve with consideration given to pedestrian and bicycle safety. This type of park may be appropriately developed in conjunction with an elementary school. Using a planning standard of 1.5 acres of land per 1,000 persons, the need for future neighborhood-level recreation sites is estimated in Table 21. Specific needs for each designated neighborhood planning area are discussed in more detail following the table. -81-- -- - �TABLE 21 NEIGHBORHOOD RECREATION NEEDS Neighborhood l I • 14,900 9,300 1,900 2,500 14,500 12,200 Projected Needs (Acres) 22.4 14.0 2.9 3.8 21.8 18.3 Existing Acreage (Acres) 40 11 48.7 Deficiency/ Surplus + 17.6 14.0 + 8.1 3.8 + 26.9 - 18.3 - North - This is the largest and among the most sparsely settled portions of the Township. The only noticeable area of concentrated residential is located north of Brace Road between the Detroit Water Board property and the Lake Huron shoreline. No existing public recreation sites are currently available to serve this neighborhood. The preceding analysis revealed a potential need for slightly more than 20 acres of neighborhood park land to serve this neighborhood at capacity development. '. I • !. ' . North Central Lakeshore Fairway Pine Grove Old Farms Estimated Capacity Pop. ; ' : One potentially suitable park site in this area is located at the extreme northeast corner of the Township south of Metcalf Road between M-25 and the Lake Huron shoreline. This 40~ acre site has approximately 500 feet of beachfront shoreline along Lake Huron and is one of the few remaining sites along the Township's Lake Huron shoreline that could reasonably be used for public access and enjoyment of the lake. A conceptual plan for the development of this site is shown in Illustration 7. The development of a 40-acre park at this location would not only meet the recreation needs of nearby neighborhood residents, it could also double as a community-wide type of recreation facility. The location of this site at the corner of the Township realistically precludes this park site from functioning as a neighborhood recreation facility for the remainder of this neighborhood planning area. Consideration should also be given to the development of a second site in Section 9. It is unlikely that any additional park sites will be necessary to serve the remainder of this neighborhood. The low density development pattern envisioned for Sections 6, 7 and 8 would not likely create a need for a future park site. Further, the larger lot sizes that typically characterize this area provide sufficient opportunities for spontaneous recreation activities, especially for younger children, thereby fulfilling the need for recreation space. -82- �~ a: I.. C a. ...-> z z C ::, :E ..J :E I- 0 A. A. w u u z z 0 0 a: u ::, ---- .. ~ ---- --- -·-- --- --- -- '· I , I :c -83- 7 �Central - No existing recreation sites are available to serve this neighborhood area. Considering the low density development pattern planned for this area and its proximity to the existing school and park site located at the northwest corner of Keewahdin and State Roads, the development of neighborhood park to serve this area is neither practical nor necessary. Lakeshore - This neighborhood is nearly completely developed with few remaining opportunities for new residential growth. The recreation needs of this neighborhood are being adequately addressed by the Keewahdin Elementary School site. This site is centrally located to serve the neighborhood and includes a well-developed playground area. j • L_ r ' f T ' Fairway - Like its counterpart to the north, this neighorhood is also approaching capacity development. The existing development pattern in this neighborhood may limit opportunities for the development of a centrally located public park site. A more appropriate approach for this neighborhood may be to encourage the provision of open space as part of any future single-family or multiple-family development proposals. All three of the single-family condominium projects located to the north of Port Huron County Club included areas reserved for open space. Additional recreation areas could be incorporated into any future residential areas located to the east of the golf course. Pine Grove - Four existing recreation sites are currently located within this neighborhood planning area. These sites should be sufficient to meet the neighborhood recreation needs of this neighborhood area at capacity development. Some enhancement and upgrading of existing equipment and facilities located at these sites should be considered. Old Farms - The southern portion of this neighborhood, namely Section 30, is nearly fully developed. No existing recreation sites are located within this area. As development continues and moves in a northerly direction across Krafft Road, land should be reserved for a future park site. Community Parks These parks are frequently areas of diverse environmental quality and may include areas suited for intense recreational facilities such as athletic complexes and large swimming pools. They may also feature an area of natural quality for outdoor recreation activities such as walking, viewing, sitting and picnicking. Community parks are intended to serve several neighborhoods located within a one to two mile radius and should be easily accessible to these neighborhoods. An ideal site would occupy an area of 25 acres or more. Plans for community parks should consider allocating between five and eight acres of land per 1,000 persons. -84- �I : Based on a planning standard of five acres of park land per 1,000 persons and an estimated capacity population of approximately 50,000, there is a theoretical need for some 250 acres of land for community-wide recreation purposes. Realistically, however, the need for this quantity of land for community parks will, in all probability, not be realized in the foreseeable future. The Master Plan envisions the development of three communitysized parks to serve the Township at capacity development. Each site would contain some common basic park features such as playground equipment, picnic facilities, fitness trails, etc. Other more unique improvements would also be planned for each site depending on the specific physical and 1ocation features of the site. For example, the proposed community park described earlier along the Lake Huron shoreline in the northeast corner of the Township would emphasize water-related recreation activities. A second community park is proposed in conjunction with the development of a new civic center site in Section 20. The inclusion of recreation improvements in conjunction with the development of this site will further reinforce this area as an important community anchor or focal point. i ' A third and final community-wide recreation proposal reflected on the Master Plan is the identification of the Black River shoreline as a future passive recreation corridor. More specifically, this concept envisions the development of a pathway along this unique open space resource · that could be used for walking, jogging and bicycling. A more detailed analysis of this area would need to be undertaken to more appropriately determine the feasibility of developing such an open space corridor. I ' I Other Recreation Needs • In addition to the specific facility needs described previously, there may be a corresponding need to increase the range of recreation programs being offered to Township residents. Of specific concern is the need to address the recreation needs of senior citizens and children. The Recreation Department also needs a physical location from which recreation programs can be offered. As part of the development of a new Township Hall site, consideration should be given to providing space for the Recreation Department. -85- �THOROUGHFARE PLAN INTRODUCTION A community's growth is influenced by the region in which it is located. Road systems are developed to provide fast and efficient movements of goods and people, both within and through a community. The unpaved or graveled roads of early settlements and road alignments that were adequate for low traffic volumes become hazardous with increased volumes of traffic. A coordinated and improved road system must be provided to allow a smooth and safe flow of traffic. l ~ II • ' I I_, An important consideration in planning land development is proper accessibility. The automobile has reoriented land use patterns, making the free movement of people and goods essential to the economic and social welfare of the community. The Thoroughfare Plan must consider the relationship between type and intensity of land uses and resulting generation of traffic movements to ensure orderly development and a desirable environment. Often, the Thoroughfare Plan will shape the urban development pattern, improve the environment and economic efficiency of the land uses, and result in the optimum use of the thoroughfare system. The Land Use Plan provides an indication of future land use locations. The Thoroughfare Plan analyzes available data relative to present traffic conditions and existing problem areas in the Township and makes traffic recommendations designed to meet the needs of the expected land use pattern for Fort Gratiot Township as it approaches the turn of the century. I • The Thoroughfare Plan is designed to provide adequate roadways to serve future growth and development in Fort Gratiot Township. In designing such a system, attention should be directed to coordinating the Township's road network with those in adjacent communities. It must also be viewed in the regional and county context in order to integrate the community into the larger region of which it is a part. The Township's ability to achieve and realize the land use pattern described previously is dependent, to a great extent, on improvements to the existing road system serving the community. THOROUGHFARE CLASSIFICATION Thoroughfare systems are grouped into a number of different classifications for administrative, planning, and design purposes. In the most basic classification system for design work, thoroughfares are grouped into freeway, arterial, collector, and local road classes in urban areas. These classifications carry with -86- �them suggested minimum design standards. The various types of County highways are shown in Table 22. State Trunkline System carries relatively high volumes of traffic between State-wide population centers and should be designed to facilitate traffic movement while controlling land access. A County highway system normally consists of primary and local roads. The primary road system provides access to higher classification roads and connects abutting communities to nearby areas. A local road system consists of all Township secondary feeder roads to the primary system, Township residential streets, and County park drives. The County Highway System consists of primary roads and local roads. The primary road system provides access to higher type roads and connects abutting communities and nearby areas. ' - The local road system consists of all Township secondary feeder roads to the primary system, Township residential streets, and County Park drives. A functional classification of the roads might be suggested as follows: 1. Major arterial system providing for the through-traffic movement between areas and across the Township, and direct access to abutting property, subject to the necessary control of entrances, exits, and culvert uses. 2. Collector street system providing for traffic movement between major arterials and local streets, and direct access to abutting property. 3. Local street system providing for direct access to abutting land, and for local traffic movements. Appropriate road right-of-way design standards are reflected in Table 22 and in the Cross Section Standards Illustration which follows. -87- �TABLE 22 SUMMARY OF STREET CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM* Expressway and Regional Thoroughfares Major and Secondary Thoroughfares Collector Local primary freeway: none regional: secondary primary secondary equal equal secondary primary over 3 miles over 1 mile under 1 mile under 1/2 mile 1. Land Uses major generators & commercial areas secondary generators & commercial areas local areas individual sites 2. Rural Highways Interstate & State primary State primary & secondary County roads none 1 mile 1/2 mile Element .. SERVICE FUNCTION ,! 1. Movement ·! L ! . I. PRINCIPLE TRIP LENGTH LINKAGE SPACING * Adapted from Standards in Manual of Housing/Planning & Design Criteria, Joseph DeChiara & Lee Koppelman, 1975. By Community Planning & Management, P.C. L -88- �SECTION CROSS STANDARDS i" 1------ 36 -------! 1 - - - 28 + - - - - - - - - 6 o' l LOCAL • I -------; --------; - - - - - - 50' --------1 - - - - - - - - - - - - 86° - - - - - - - - - - ~ SUBDIVISION COLLECTOR +-----------59 -----------1 -------------------- 120'--------------------, 1 1 , SECONDARY THOROUGHFARE I , !I , !-------- l * Medium- AOT 63' *---------i J 1------------ High -,:~:r_e_4_'_--=-*_-_-~~----_-_-_-_-~_-_-_-_-_-~_-_-_-1__________ r , AOT Avero1,e Da i ly Traff i c . MAJOR THOROUGHFARE ! !' 1' i I f - - - 1 0 · - - - - 24' - - - - 1 0 ' -l ! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 120' ------------------~ In i ti al Stage MAJOR THOROUGHFARE -89- 8 �EXISTING THOROUGHFARE SYSTEM State Routes ...-1 ' lI ' l , Two State-designated highways cross Fort Gratiot Township. The first of these roads is M-25, which follows Pine Grove Avenue, 24th Avenue and Lakeshore Road. This route basically provides the principal access in a northerly direction from Port Huron to those communities located along the Lake Huron shoreline in the Thumb area of the State. The second State designated route is M-136, which follows portions of Pine Grove Avenue and Keewahdin Road. This route provides access across the northern portion of the County connecting with M-19 which runs in a north-south direction. County Roads 'i ',_ r ' L, The remaining roads in the Township consist of County roads. These roads are classified as either primary, secondary or local. Primary and secondary roads mainly follow section lines and are largely the product of the Land Ordinance of 1785. This ordinance divided all unsurveyed land in the Northwest Territory into square mile sections. The mile roads of the Township today reflect this grid pattern. Local streets provide access to residential lots located in single-family subdivisions. County primary roads are intended to carry traffic throughout the County and adjacent counties. Each of the roads carrying this designation are important to intra-county traffic flow. The following roads, or road segments, are designated as primary roads on the St. Clair County road map: North River Road, Brace Road, Lakeshore (between 24th Avenue and Krafft Road, and Keewahdin (between Lakeshore Road and Pine Grove Avenue). With the exception of a one-mile segment of Brace Road west of State Road, all of these roads are paved. County secondary roads include Krafft Road, Parker Road, State Road, Campbell Road, Brace Road, and Cole Road. Significant portions of these roads, especially those serving the northwest and central portions of the Township, are not paved. I ',. 1,. I Right-of-Way Standards The predominant right-of-way standard for most of the County's primary, secondary and local roads is 66 feet. The exception to this rule is 24th Avenue which has a right-of-way of 120 feet. Several other roads have variable right-of-way widths. These include portions of Keewahdin, Pine Grove, Fairway, Lakeshore and State. Existing right-of-way widths for these roads vary between 66 feet and 120 feet. -90- �Traffic Volumes I • The two State-designated roads crossing the Township carry the heaviest volumes of traffic. The highest traffic volumes are experienced along that portion of M-25/Pine Grove Avenue as it enters the Township from the City of Port Huron to the south. This small road segment has average daily traffic volumes exceeding 33,000 vehicles. Volumes decrease further north on M-25 to approximately 13,000 vehicles per day. Traffic volumes on M-136 (Pine Grove Avenue/Keewahdin Road) average between 4,400 and 6,400 vehicles for that segment located within the Township. Significant traffic volumes are also noted along portions of the major routes that intersect with these two State routes. For example, portions of Krafft Road to the east and west of M-25 and M-136 have a daily volume of 10,200 and 2,600, respectively. That portion of North River Road, between M-25 and Parker Road, experiences daily volumes approaching 10,000 vehicles. Further west on North River Road, the volumes decline markedly. For example, at Campbell Road, which is the Township's western boundary, the average daily volumes are 2,500 vehicles. , . ' ' '. i Among the most important transportation planning issues facing the Township is the need to relieve the high volumes of traffic along M-25. This road serves three principal functions: 1) to accommodate through-traffic between Port Huron and other communities to the south to the resort communities located along the Lake Huron shoreline north of the Township; 2) provide access to the emerging regional commercial center along 24th Avenue; and 3) serve as the main southerly route to Port Huron for Township residents. Observed traffic patterns along this road suggest that it is not able to accommodate all three roles simultaneously, and that significant improvements are needed. There is no one single solution to this problem. Rather, a combination of improvements are needed to relieve this problem and to help facilitate the Township's desired land use pattern. Further, the scope of the existing problems is regional in nature; therefore, any effective solution will necessitate road improvements both within and outside the Township. THOROUGHFARE PLAN The Thoroughfare Plan is designed to provide adequate roadways to serve future growth and development in Fort Gratiot Township. In designing such a system, attention should be directed to coordinating the Township's road network with those in adjacent communities. It must also be viewed in the regional and county context in order to integrate the community into the larger region of which it is a part. -91- �I· North Street Bypass The Township's greatest transportation need is for an additional north-south route serving through-traffic. One alternative would be to encourage the use of the Wadhams Road crossing, and North Street and Keewahdin Road as a second means of access into Fort Gratiot and to points further north. North Street is already a paved County primary road which runs parallel to the Townshp's western boundary. Traffic with destinations along Lake Huron could exit I-69 at Wadhams and travel in a northerly direction on North Street to either Keewahdin or Burtch Roads, both of which intersect with Lakeshore/M-25 a short distance to the east. I , A secondary north-south route is also needed within the Township. State Street, which runs the full length of the Township, could also be upgraded to help provide a secondary means of access in a northerly direction. Black River Bridge (·· ,- Another partial relief value could be provided by the extension of a second bridge crossing of the Black River. Two possible alignments include Strawberry Lane and Beach Street. The proximity of a Strawberry Lane crossing to the existing North River Road/M-25/Pine Grove intersection would only serve to complicate what is already a difficult intersection. Beach Street offers a better alignment and may, therefore, be more practical. It is unlikely, however, that a Beach Street River crossing would significantly relieve the regional traffic flow problems impacting the Township. Rather, it would likely serve as a more secondary intra-community route. The cost of providing such a crossing further limits potential for relieving the Township's regional traffic problems. ' .. : Keewahdin Road I l The development of the mall will increase the need for an eastA portion of such a corridor exists along Keewahdin, between Campbell Road on the west and Pine Grove Avenue on the east. The missing link in this system is the one and one-half mile segment of Keewahdin between Pine Grove Avenue and 24th Avenue. Upgrading this segment to State trunkline status should be considered. Such an improvement would provide a better means of access to the Township development focal point that is emerging at the M-25/Keewahdin Road intersection. Upgrading Keewahdin would effectively eliminate the need for Pine Grove as a State-designated highway. west corridor through the Township. i I I .. Regional thoroughfares have a planned right-of-way width of 150 feet. This wider right-of-way width is necessary to accommodate the higher volumes of traffic which characterize both roads. It is particularly important along 24th Avenue, along which the Township's most intense development is planned. -92- �■ 1--. Major Thoroughfares The major thoroughfare designation is largely reserved for those section line roads in the more densely developed portions of the Township and which carry higher volumes of traffic. These roads have a planned right-of-way width of 120 feet. Roads and road segments carrying this designation include the following: • • • • i ' ,-(' "'i ) i. North River Road 24th Avenue/Lakeshore Road State Road Metcalf Road Secondary Thoroughfares Secondary thoroughfares function as principal feeder roads for primary thoroughfares. These roads also have a planned rightof-way width of 120 feet. While the full 120-foot width may not be needed to accommodate the current function of the road, it does allow for the road to be upgraded in the future as traffic volumes increase. Roads designated as secondary thoroughfares are primarily concentrated in the more undeveloped sections of the Township. Specific road segments designated as secondary thoroughfares include the following: • • • • • • • Krafft Road Pine Grove Avenue Campbell Road Cole Road Brace Road Carrigan Road Parker Road Collector Roads In many areas of the Township, additional roads will be necessary to carry traffic from the interior of property to the major section line road network. Roads designed to serve this function are classified as collector roads. As a rule, these roads have a right-of-way requirement of 86 feet and follow quarter-section road alignments. '. Three existing roads appear to function as collector roads: Fairway, Polina and Dykeman. Additional collector roads will be needed in the future to accommodate future development. The need for one such road is evident to serve the undeveloped interior acreage west of 24th Avenue and south of Keewahdin Road. A road at this location would serve to open up the interior acreage for future commercial and residential purposes. The development of a similar collector road on the opposite side of Keewahdin could help promote future industrial development in this area. Other roads will be needed to accommodate future residential development. Where such roads cannot be located on the quarter-section alignment, alternate locations should be required and their feasibility determined before development occurs. -93- �Local Roads The remaining Township roads that do not fall into one of the previously mentioned categories are considered local streets. Local streets are designed to provide direct access to abutting properties and to direct this local traffic to the higher level thoroughfares. A 66-foot right-of-way standard is acceptable for this classification of road. Local street systems should be designed in a curvilinear fashion, as opposed to the traditional gridiron arrangement which fosters area traffic volumes and higher speeds. Curved streets discourage both of these potential problems. For the most part, local streets are shown only in the existing and proposed urbanized portions of the Township. A generalized local street system for this area has been shown for illustration purposes. CONCLUSION The road network shown in the Thoroughfare Plan provides a transportation system designed to ·meet the land use requirements reflected in the Master Plan. As is the case with any plan, periodic review of the highway system may be necessary. Adjustments may need to be considered subsequent to the completion of the updated Transportation Plan for the Port Huron Urban Area by the Port Huron Urban Area Transportation Study. This Plan will project traffic volumes to the year 2010 and will provide a technical basis for determining specific road segments which will require upgrading to meet future land use and population demands. Preliminary results of this study indicated that several roads within the Township exhibit capacity deficiencies that will need to be addressed as part of future road improvement efforts. Specific roads that require attention include the following: • • • • • • M-136, as far as State Road M-25 (the entire length) Krafft Road between Gratiot and Parker North River Road from State Road to Campbell Road Keewahdin from M-136 to Lakeshore Lakeshore from Krafft to Keewahdin. The road right-of-way and pavement standards suggested here should be followed and applied to new development occurring in the Township. For example, when subdivision plats or site plans are presented to the appropriate local review agencies, planned right-of-way widths should be dedicated and observed. Sufficient setbacks should also be observed so that additional right-of-way requirements can be met clear of obstruction. -94- �METCALf Q RURAL RESIDENTIAL 0 SINGLE FAMILY INFILL COVENTIONAL PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT Q MULTIPLE FAMILY 0 MOBILE HOME PARK (D COMMERCIAL C CONVENIENCE R REGIONAL H HIGHWAY CA RRI GAN @ INDUSTRIAL ~ LANDFILL @ PUBLIC e - RECREATION/OPEN SPACE MAJOR THOROUGHFARES SECONDARY THOROUGHFARES * FOCAL POINTS PLAN MASTER TNIS IUUSTU TIOI tF THE Ju.STU Pl.Al . T05£THEI 'II ITI DTHU IU CIIPTIV! MTEIIAL. VAS ADO,TED IT THE OtAIT£1 TOVISHIP Of FOil WTIOT P-..AIIII& COIIII SSION IESOLUTfOI DI JUIE U . 1990, FORT GRATIOT TOWNSHIP ST. CLAIR COUNTY , MICHIGAN FORT GRATIOT TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION ,000 zooo Co101uNiTy lOOO PlANNiNG S... - . -,, J. AQG[ftS , Utw:e -95- 4000 & MANAGUIENT ' P. C. UTiCA, MicitiGAN 9 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wyckoff Planning and Zoning Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Planning & Zoning Center (Lansing, Mich.) (Organization) Wyckoff, Mark A. Description An account of the resource Municipal master plans and zoning ordinances from across the state of Michigan, spanning from the 1960s to the early 2020s. The bulk of the collection was compiled by urban planner Mark Wyckoff over the course of his career as the founder and principal planner of the Planning and Zoning Center in Lansing, Michigan. Some additions have been made to the collection by municipalities since it was transferred to Grand Valley State University. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Michigan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960/2023 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/870">Planning and Zoning Center Collection (RHC-240)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/">No Copyright - United States</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Comprehensive plan publications Master plan reports Zoning--Michigan Zoning--Maps Maps Land use--planning Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-240 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Fort-Gratiot-Charter-Twp_Master-Plan_1990 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Charter Township of Fort Gratiot Planning Commission, Fort Gratiot Charter Township, St. Clair County, Michigan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1990-06 Title A name given to the resource Charter Township of Fort Gratiot Master Plan Description An account of the resource The Charter Township of Fort Gratiot Master Plan was prepared by the Charter Township of Fort Gratiot Planning Commission in June 1990. Subject The topic of the resource Master plan reports Fort Gratiot Charter Township (Mich.) St. Clair County (Mich.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/870">Planning and Zoning Center Collection (RHC-240)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ccb51266df53f506206a001282d8b0b7.jpg 8bed8121c9e10e7bc9b57d05063d2ff8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Grand Rapids Boat and Canoe Club collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Rapids Boat and Canoe Club Description An account of the resource Scrapbooks of newsclippings, photographs, postcards, and ephemera of the Grand Rapids Boat and Canoe Club. Photos were taken at regattas on Reeds Lake; the Grand River; Peoria, Illinois; and in Chicago of club members, and events. Historical articles, reports of regatta events, and articles featuring members Charles McQuewan and Jack Corbett are included. Programs include the First Grand Regatta on Great Salt Lake 1888, and Peoria Rowing Festival, and banquet and music programs and the GR Log, a publication of the Grand Rapids Boat and Canoe Club. Materials from the Central States Amater Rowing Association, and the National Association of Amateur Oarsmen are also included. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource circa 1980s to 1940s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/481">Grand Rapids Boat and Canoe Club scrapbooks, (RHC-54)</a> Subject The topic of the resource Grand Rapids (Mich.) Outdoor recreation Boats and boating Racing shells Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-54 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-54_Photographs-GRRC18 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Rapids Boat and Canoe Club Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource no date Title A name given to the resource Chas McQuewan Portrait Description An account of the resource Chas McQuewan, Oldest active Oarsmen in Grand Rapids, stands in front of spectatin crowd. Saved for Conlon. Subject The topic of the resource Grand Rapids (Mich.) Outdoor recreation Boats and boating Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/481">Grand Rapids Boat and Canoe Club scrapbooks (RHC-54)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/">No Known Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f7d57f6c153ec52cab17ec632a2bcf86.jpg 7ae820ebfec650941566cdb2b7d111b2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Merrill_FilmPacks_V_14_003 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938-08-10 Title A name given to the resource Chas. & Mary Merrill stone Forest Hills Cemetery Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of the gravestone of Charles And Mary Merrill which reads, "Charles Merrill 1814-1888 His Wife Mary L. Merrill 1821-1908 Merrill" Subject The topic of the resource Boston (Mass.) Gravestones Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/05843e4003c1536b21cafa2f424eeca3.jpg c55cabe2d05086f27b6e5979570dcad5 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Merrill_EastmanAlbum_3_1911-1915_050 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1913-08-07 Title A name given to the resource Chateau Frontenac from "Tadousac" Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of the Chateau Frontenac in Québec. Taken by Robert Merrill from steamer Tadousac. Several other buildings are visible in the foreground. Two large signs are visible, one in French and one in English, advertising the J.B. Laliberte fur house. Water damage is visible on the image, which was scanned from the negative. Subject The topic of the resource Québec Château Frontenac (Québec, Québec) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives