The Janet D. Lynn Papers (3.7 linear feet) document CLURE's activities in land use activism and education. These include the Northwestern Highway Extension project and the related M-275 freeway discussions, efforts to stop construction of proposed shopping centers in West Bloomfield and Novi, Michigan, as well as discussion of legislation in the state of Michigan and materials related to CLURE-sponsored symposia. In addition to these topics, the records also document CLURE itself, through legal, promotional and fundraising materials.
The collection is arranged in three series: Biographical/Historical Information, Northwestern Highway Extension, 1972-1981 and Citizens Council for Land Use Research and Education (CLURE) Records.
Janet D. Lynn, a land use activist from West Bloomfield, Michigan, founded the Citizens Council for Land Use Research and Education, Inc. (CLURE) in 1971, in response to her concern that the natural richness of West Bloomfield Township might be destroyed. The voluntary organization was formed following a private effort to offer community planning services to municipalities in southeastern Michigan. Lynn has served as both president and executive vice president of the organization.
CLURE was organized with three goals in mind: to educate the public about the nature of the land use decision-making process; to promote the need for reforms in the public interest; and to encourage citizen participation in land-use planning. CLURE has supplied citizens with leadership, information and educational programs related to projected effects of proposed land use changes on the community. The programs have also encompassed conferences and symposia dealing with generic problems of land in American society. Members of CLURE have served on advisory councils of the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) as well as other special task forces.
Two of CLURE'S biggest projects dealt with the consequences of a vast proposed regional shopping center in a nationally reported "demonstration project" and a request for performance of an environmental impact statement on an expressway extension.
A proposed expressway project was first suggested in 1929. In 1970, Lynn discovered that the federal government required an impact statement when federal funds were to be used for a large project and that there was an order from Michigan's Governor William Milliken that impact statements be written for projects using state funds. CLURE requested a statement from the Michigan Department of Highways and Transportation, sued the state to halt acquisition of right-of-way property for the expressway, and requested that public hearings be held on the matter. In the summer of 1973, Milliken ordered an environmental impact statement be performed and the State House of Representatives committee began investigating the need for the expressway. As a result of Lynn's efforts, the federal Department of Transportation ordered the state to write another impact statement. With the addition of two new state highway commissioners who were more sympathetic to CLURE's position, the Commission, in 1977, ordered the highway department to stop construction of the expressway.
Following these successful projects, Lynn continued to be an advocate for responsible planning and use of land through CLURE's involvement with local towns and organizations in Oakland County, Michigan and its sponsorship of symposia exploring broader issues of land use in the United States.
