Ask yourself — just how big do you want to live?

Howland has embarked upon a community planning journey that is vital to the sustained growth and future economic vitality of the community. Fifteen community members are leading the planning effort as part of a Comprehensive Community Plan Steering Committee, and Stantec has been retained as the consultant to facilitate the effort.

A new Web site - www.planhowland.com - was created for the sole purpose of this process, and is up and running. Please check in there for details and frequent updates over the next year.

As expressed in our request for proposal, this plan will create an overriding sense of place within Howland. A commitment will be made to the development of our community identity that will extend beyond the built environment to include community amenities, programs, and innovative, cost-effective solutions for sustainability.

The intent is to provide the tools to become a community of choice, a healthy, active-living community, a center for collaboration, and a standard by which public organizations and the communities they serve are judged. The document goes on to define the scope of work, which will stress:

l Public participation. You will be involved and informed throughout the planning process; maximized participation is essential. The new Web site is a community asset in this regard.

l Community identity. The community's shared picture of Howland's desired future will be articulated and interwoven throughout the plan and the community.

l Green innovation. We will be a sustainable community through economically and environmentally sustainable practices to be interwoven throughout the Plan.

l Intergovernmental cooperation. We will build upon cooperative working relationships with neighboring communities to manage sustainable growth.

l Economic development. We will promote the stabilization, retention, and expansion of the economic base and employment opportunities.

l Land use. We will provide existing and future land use plans that designate the future distribution, location, and interrelationship of land uses. We seek to be a leader in high quality urban design through form-based zoning at the township's core, conservation design on the township's fringes, and creative ideas for redevelopment.

l Transportation, mobility, and accessibility. We will encourage multiple modes of transportation through bicycle paths/trails, sidewalks, railroads, streets, etc. We will focus on developing a sidewalk/bike path plan, and improving traffic flow patterns.

l Parks, open space, and recreation. We will provide solutions on connecting existing neighborhoods, parks, and green areas, and plan for additional areas.

l Natural resources. We will inventory environmentally sensitive areas and natural resources.

l Community and cultural facilities. We will inventory existing facilities and plan for future facilities as well as encourage green innovation within this component.

l Implementation element. We will define and schedule the specific township actions necessary to achieve the objectives of the Comprehensive Community Plan.

The public participation will begin in the coming weeks with a community survey, to be followed by several public meetings. As you take this journey with your neighbors, remember that Howland is a part of you as much as you are a part of her. You walk her neighborhoods, shop her stores, learn in her schools, wander in her parks, and gather in her spaces. You understand, and are a part of, what makes her special.

Howland is a living, breathing, evolving being, full of your life, spirit and energy. Howland is a means to a way of life. So ask yourself - how do you want to live?

Dream big and take that first step.