A - Z List

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  1. In 2009, Pittsfield Township became the first community in Washtenaw County to provide single-stream recycling services to all its residential customers. Since then, we have continued to work toward enhancing waste management operations including being the first in Washtenaw County, in 2019, to partner with the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commission to establish a county-wide regional waste management collaborative (WRRMA).
  2. In November 2008, about $1 million of grant funds were left unused and due to expire in December 2009, for the installation of a greenway. We used these funds to install the first 10-feet wide multi-use pathway in Washtenaw County, the Platt Road Greenway, within a matter of months. The PRG, on the east side of Pittsfield Township, connected thousands of area residents to the largest recreation park in Pittsfield (Lillie Park).
  3. In the last decade, 2009-2019, Pittsfield Township has set the regional standard in installation of multi-modal amenities such as greenways, mid-block crossings, sidewalks, and transit. Today, the majority of Pittsfield residents can rely on walking, biking, or taking transit to access recreational, job, cultural, historical, municipal, commercial, and entertainment destinations through multiple modes of transportation both within Pittsfield Township and to our adjoining municipalities of Ann Arbor, Saline and Ypsilanti. pittsfield-mi.gov/sustainability
  4. In 2009 and 2010, Pittsfield Township successfully implemented, what at the time was the State of Michigan's largest water main replacement project, in the oldest residential neighborhood (Washtenaw Heights; Washtenaw/Carpenter/Packard/Golfside) in Pittsfield Township. This project replaced 50 year old infrastructure; removing poisonous lead pipes with copper ones thereby significantly improved water quality for residents and potentially avoiding dangerously unfortunate scenarios like the Flint water crises. pittsfield-mi.gov/projects
  5. Pittsfield Township was awarded an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant in 2010 that was used to audit Pittsfield's public facilities to identify energy saving upgrades and retrofits with a goal of at least a 10% savings in energy costs and pollution reduction. Since then, these energy efficient retrofits have not only saved costs but reduced our energy use significantly.
  6. Pittsfield Township has partnered with multiple partners such as the Ann Arbor Greenbelt Program, Legacy Land Conservancy, and Natural Area Preservation Program, over the years, to expand its open/green spaces. In addition, our private sector partners have provided various land donations which have increased our preserved and park (Woolley, Seyfried) spaces.
  7. In 2010, beginning with the rain garden at Township Hall, Pittsfield has continually been working to expand its installation of rain & native gardens, butterfly gardens, bee apiaries, community garden, and native habitats. Independently and in partnership with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife, we currently have these along our linear park systems (Lohr-Textile Greenway, Platt-Textile Greenway, and Platt Road Greenway) and at Hickory Woods Park, Woolley Park, Seyfried Park, Pittsfield Preserve, and Prairie Park.
  8. Pittsfield Township, both independently and in partnership with the Huron River Watershed Council, has spearheaded a multitude of eco-friendly practices including banning of plastics and Styrofoam at all Township facilities, banning use of coal tar driveway sealants in Pittsfield Township, snow removal practices at all township facilities aimed at reducing the use of salt. We have also published a line of eco-friendly brochures aimed at protecting our natural resources and improving water, air, and soil quality in our community and region.
  9. Established the Stormwater Management Committee in 2009 that compiled, for the first time, a Stormwater Management Plan for Pittsfield. This Committee, in partnership with HRWC and WCWRC, also hosts the only regional forum on stormwater management for residential developments in Washtenaw County. This group is currently working on implementing a tree canopy program for residential neighborhoods in Pittsfield Township.
  10. Partnered with the Washtenaw County Road Commission (WCRC) to implement the County's first 'road diet' program at Golfside Road, in 2010-2011, that removed a motorized lane and added bike lanes, transit stops and sidewalks. Since then, Pittsfield Township has retrofitted every single primary road in its jurisdiction, with the exception of State St, to provide for multiple modes of transportation that are supported by mid-block and pedestrian crossings.
  11. Pittsfield Township partnered with AAATA to host majority of the leadership meetings in 2013 as the regional transit plan was being developed for Washtenaw County. Pittsfield Township has been integral to the implementation of this regional transit plan that has expanded fixed route and on-demand transit services to thousands of Pittsfield residents and, for the first time, provides public transportation to Township Hall. We have, for the first time since the 1990's, expanded transit services in Pittsfield that not only provides transportation options to our seniors, youth and those with special needs but also helps to reduce emissions. pittsfield-mi.gov/transit
  12. In 2015, Pittsfield Township initiated and completed the first comprehensive revision of the Zoning Ordinance since the 1970s that promotes, among other things, mixed-use form-based districts, use of renewal energy, and the economic viability of local agriculture that includes allowing for local food stands and supporting organic farming.
  13. Pittsfield Township's Master Plan, beginning in 2011, for the first time, addressed Arts & Culture along with Open Space, Agriculture, and Natural Features that articulate a vision to preserve our green spaces and natural areas. In addition, the Master Plan, promotes infill development for commercial/retail developments to reduce sprawl. Most recently, in 2019, the Township adopted its Sustainable Pittsfield Master Plan with the Preservation Plan addendum that precisely and pro-actively outlines a vision of preserving open/green spaces in our community.
  14. Established the Farmers Market in 2013 to promote local food access and support local agricultural lands. In 2016, the Board of Trustees supported expanding it from a summer-only to a year-round Market. In 2019, Pittsfield Township installed its first ADA-accessible Community Garden adjacent to the Farmers Market as we continue to work toward expanding healthy and local food access.
  15. Received a $1.2 million grant, in 2015, to perform preventative maintenance of Pittsfield Township's sanitary sewer system, coordinated with WCWRC, to provide for better local and regional stormwater management. This also allowed us to digitize our water and sewer infrastructure for purposes of efficient maintenance and future upgrading.
  16. Beginning in 2014, Pittsfield Township began installing fiber to connect its municipal buildings and will, in 2020, have full fiber connectivity to provide for efficient public safety and information sharing services.
  17. Established the Pittsfield Township Sustainability Committee, in 2017, to follow through on the Master Plan's commitment to "hard-code sustainability into the DNA of [Pittsfield Township's] work processes and products."
  18. Pittsfield is the only community in Washtenaw County to provide Tesla charging stations and while we have begun the process of retrofitting our township vehicles with energy efficient ones, our goal is to have a hybrid or EV township vehicle fleet. We are currently working on installing general use EV charging stations at the Administration Building, thereby continuing our belief in leveraging public facilities to promote eco-friendly and sustainable practices in our community.
  19. Pittsfield Township is the first and only community in Washtenaw County to receive, in 2014, the Sustainable Community Leader Award (at the gold level) by SEMCOG for our leadership, since 2009, in promoting multimodal transportation, infill development, and park/green space preservation. pittsfield-mi.gov/awards
  20. Pittsfield Township is one of twenty communities across the state of Michigan recognized by University of Michigan's (Dearborn) eCities initiative, for the past five years, for implementing sustainable strategies that foster entrepreneurial growth. We received the highest designation of being a 5-star Best Practices community for clearly identifying and implementing a sustainable vision centered around placemaking.
  21. Pittsfield Township has been consistently awarded the Michigan Green Communities award, since 2017, for its commitment to sustainability and 'green' or eco-friendly initiatives.
  22. Pittsfield hosted its first Sustainability Conference, in April 2016, that invited regional stakeholders to set out 'challenges' for us to meet that will continue prioritizing sustainable projects and initiatives. The planned Sustainability Forum in 2020 to celebrate the 50thanniversary of Earth Day was cancelled due to COVID-19, but we hope to set goals to achieve carbon neutrality in the near future.
  23. Initiated the Preserving Pittsfield program, in 2019, that relies on public-private partnerships to preserve vacant parcels for wetland and natural resources protection and installation of rain/butterfly/native gardens while also purchasing land that is either provides relief for dense development or builds upon existing green hubs.
  24. Initiated the Green Corridor program, in 2019, that will (beginning with the Textile Road corridor scheduled for 2020 implementation) retrofit the main arterials within Pittsfield Township with green infrastructure such as bioswales, rain gardens, and tree canopies. pittsfield-mi.gov/sustainability
  25. In 2020, Pittsfield Township will be partnering with the City of Ann Arbor to install the first inter-jurisdictional solar farm in Washtenaw County at the Wheeler Service Center which will, when fully functional, provide 100% of all municipal energy (in both City of Ann Arbor and Pittsfield Township) through renewal solar power.
  26. As part of the implementation of the Preservation Plan, we will, in 2020: (1) Update Pittsfield Township's regulatory and zoning ordinances to strengthen open space and natural resource protections; and (2) Conduct public forums to outline a preservation program to protect open/green spaces in our community.