- Departments
- Community Development
Community Development
APPLICATIONS FOR FARMLAND PRESERVATION PROGRAM AVAILABLE
Applications for the Berrien County Purchase of Development Rights Program are now available for farm owners in Bainbridge, Chikaming, Lincoln, Royalton and Sodus Townships. Applications can be downloaded at the www.berriencounty.org . Community Development Department, under the Farmland- Purchase Development Rights Program.
The program allows willing farmland owners to apply for state funding to purchase the development rights for their property. The purpose of this program is to preserve farmland in Berrien County in order to enable commercial agriculture to continue to thrive as well as to protect the county’s scenic beauty. The State funding requires a minimum 25% cash match which can be in the form of private donations from the land owner, or from other local funding sources. Application are due August 16, 2024 to the local municipality for review and consideration. For more information, please call Katie Montoya at 269-983-7111 x8257
Purchase Development Rights Application
Homeowner Impact Program Public Notice
St. Joseph River Harbor Dredging - Bathymetry Maps
Click below for individual maps.
Upstream Map
Middle Map
Downstream Map
Morrison Channel Upstream
Morrison Channel Downstream
The Twin Cities Sustainable Harbor Project Report is available online. Please click the photo below to view the report.
Berrien County’s excellent location in the heart of "Michigan’s Great Southwest" makes it a prime market for business, industry, and tourism. Its substantial and wide variety of agriculture has established locally grown crops as major attractions for tourists and food processors. Strategically located on the Chicago/Detroit, Grand Rapids/Indianapolis vectors, Berrien County is served by major interstate highways, airports, rail transportation, and shipping - both deep draft and river barge. Scenic natural beauty and 50 miles of shoreline on Lake Michigan make Berrien County a choice destination for tourists, artists, and naturalists.
Services
The Berrien County Community Development Department oversees Economic Development, Planning, Solid Waste Management, Transportation and Resource Recovery. The Department works closely with community leaders and governments to coordinate their activities that deal with attracting and maintaining businesses within Berrien County through pooling resources. It is also the focal point for many projects that are multi-governmental. The Berrien County Community Development Department is the resource that the community looks to for the coordination of programs that are grant or loan eligible.
The Berrien County Community Development Department’s primary role is to enhance a cooperative spirit in the community to include education, government and private sectors through the retention of current jobs and to stimulate increased employment opportunities. The Berrien County Community Development Department seeks to improve the economic well-being of Berrien County by influencing, encouraging and supporting private business growth, expansion and job creation to continually stabilize our tax base without duplicating efforts. Job retention, job creation, tax base enhancement and property reuse improves everyone’s quality of life.
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Land Bank Authority |
Harbor Shores Development
For information on the environmental clean up and redevelopment of Brownfields in the Harbor Shores development, visit the Harbor Shores Development website .
