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How far is too close? How big is too small? Or is any of it even necessary? These are just a few of the complicated questions members of the Grand Valley Metro Council's Growth Committee will be asking each other over the next few weeks.
At its last meeting, council members seemed ready to approve or reject a regional boundary that was recommended by the committee. The line was drawn around Kent County and its seven adjacent counties: Ottawa, Barry, Muskegon, Allegan, Newaygo, Ionia and Montcalm. If passed, future GVMC membership would be restricted to counties, cities, villages and townships within that perimeter.
But, in a somewhat surprising move, GVMC postponed its vote and sent the border proposal back to committee for further review.
At the gathering, Bob Homan of Plainfield Township began the discussion by raising two concerns. One was that GVMC might get too big. The other was that members outside of metro Grand Rapids could impact issues important to the area.
"As an example of that, I might use the decision to approve the contract to update...