LTBB Master Land Use Plan - Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa ...

LTBB RESERVATION AND
COUNTY PROFILE
THE LTBB MASTER LAND USE PLAN
POPULATION AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS
The human population of an area, its distribution and makeup, are a major factor in the land use
decision-making. To study the population as it relates to the LTBB Master Land Use Plan, data for
those Minor Civil Divisions (MCD) that make up the LTBB Reservation area were compiled and
examined in various ways. This will give us a picture of the past, present, and future of the
population, both tribal and otherwise.
Evaluating the quality of life in a township or city is a vital and necessary responsibility of those
governmental agencies involved with the delivery of human services. Knowing where the population
is concentrated or perhaps more specifically, where the elderly population is concentrated helps
officials and staff to better understand the demographic makeup of their jurisdiction. Knowing where
and how many housing units are available or what the mean rent is for an area is also useful
information.
Age Distribution by MCD
The Table “LTBB Reservation – Age Distribution by MCD” (Table One) shows us the actual
number of persons in either 18 or 9 different age groups (called cohorts), for each Minor Civil
Division in the LTBB Reservation. The table with the larger number of groups is presented for
completeness; this analysis will focus on the summary table below it. An analysis of a community’s
population breakdown by age cohort is important when trying to forecast the infrastructure, housing,
and social services needs for the future.
As can be seen in the table, the distribution of population in the various age groups is fairly
constant over the entire area, with perhaps two exceptions. By a slight degree, the population is
generally older in the more urbanized areas, particularly in the City of Petoskey. Conversely, the
population is youngest in those areas that are growing the fastest, i.e. Bear Creek Township. Of
particular interest is the relatively large concentration of population in the 55+ age groups. This can
also be seen in Charlevoix County, particularly in the City of Charlevoix. With only 60% of the
population of Bear Creek Township, they nonetheless have a nearly equivalent number of persons
over the age of 75. The inverse of this can be seen in the faster growing areas by the larger
percentage and number of persons in the age groups under 19 years old.
The implications of these two patterns are primarily important in terms of the public
infrastructure, i.e. schools, police, fire, and medical care facilities. In other words, a bulge in the
population at younger ages will, over time, require greater expenditures in areas like schools and
recreational facilities. Likewise, an aging population will need to be dealt with by use of public
resources like police, fire, and ambulance services, and of course will put greater strains on availability
of medical care.
Of particular concern to any plan for the future is the age distribution of the population. Trends,
or exceptions to trends in this area are of paramount concern for the region as a whole when trying
to forecast the infrastructure, housing, and social services needs for the future. For our purposes, it
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