About The AIAPrograms & Initiatives

Celeste Novak, AIA
SmithGroup Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan
 
Architecture and community involvement have always been synonymous for me. When I was 10, my mother told my father, who was an architect, that he needed a hobby. I think she meant golf, but instead he joined the planning commission of our small town. He then ran a successful campaign to become a city councilman.

I, too, became an architect and was appointed to the planning commission in my township. After speaking at a public meeting about a project on my street, I was asked by the township supervisor to become a member of the commission. My initial two-year term continues to be extended. I agreed to become a planning commissioner because I was frustrated by the planning and permitting process in our state, and I wanted to influence the growth and sustainable development of my home town. My commitment on the planning commission involves two public meetings a month, preliminary plan reviews once a month, and some site visits. I have extended my volunteer commitment to include community design charrettes and ordinance review and amendments.

As a planning commissioner, I am aware of many of the development plans proposed for the township. In 2000, I saw the opportunity for the community to direct the development of 10 adjoining properties with the construction of a new bridge over Interstate 94. I coordinated a community design charrette focused on this issue and invited more than 50 members of the community to participate. Businesspeople, city and state officials, and interested citizens walked the site, met each other, and collaborated to propose a different way to direct new development. This charrette motivated the township to create a “dark sky” and a “big box” ordinance. It also spurred the revision of the zoning ordinance to include planning for natural resources and watersheds.

Through my role as commissioner, I also advocated for approval of a new community shelter and proposed meetings with community leaders and the heads of the associations of our low-income housing developments. In a wealthy community where many homes cost well over a million dollars, maintaining a balance of social equity and economic concerns can be challenging. I am glad that I am able to have a voice toward sustainable growth.

I have yet to be able to change the time for permitting, but I have been able to reduce some of the paperwork and length of the process. I am grateful for my “hobby,” which has helped me be a better architect, an active citizen, and a part of my community.