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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.
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Celeste
Novak, AIA (far left), serves on the Scio Township Planning
Commission in Michigan, 2005
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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.
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