You might have a special place that you frequently drive or walk past, one that reminds you that there is more to life than your daily routine. Or you might have moved into your neighborhood in part because of some amenity like a woods or a pond just across the street from your house. You may not own this special place but you will lose something very important in your life if this place is developed.

However, the right of landowners to use their land as they desire is a fundamental American value. Stopping someone from developing the land that he or she owns is very difficult and often impossible. The earlier you get involved and the more consistent your involvement, the greater your chance is to make a difference and to satisfy your concerns. Ideally, you will get involved long before anyone thinks about developing the land about which you are concerned. Ideally, you will help shape your local jurisdiction's plans for that property and similar parcels as well.

Involvement takes time. You will have to learn about governmental rules and regulations governing the particular piece of property in which you are interested. You will have to talk to or contact local officials, the property owner, and perhaps others. You may have to go to and speak at public meetings. You may have to join committees or form committees of like minded citizens.

So, do you just wait and hope that no one will buy it, that no one will develop it? Or is there something else, something more proactive, that you can do?

This website is designed to help you become informed, efficient, and effective in the land use decision-making arena in Kalamazoo County.

Much of the detailed research for this website was done by Kalamazoo College students in the Urban Economics class in Winter 2002. For acknowledgements and a select bibliography, click here .

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