Mary Reilly

Mary Reilly is a land use educator with Michigan State University Extension. She serves northwest lower Michigan but also travels statewide to provide specialized training programs on request. Mary has over 20 years of experience in planning and zoning. She served as the Mason County Zoning and Building Director for 14 years as staff to the Planning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, Municipal Junk Authority, and Access Management Advisory Committee. Several other matters ran through Mary’s desk including all aspects of zoning and building permitting, floodplain verification, enforcement, airport zoning, and Michigan Natural River zoning. Ms. Reilly has extensive experience with wind turbine issues, particularly shadow flicker and wind turbine noise. Prior to moving back to Michigan, Mary was a tribal planner for Jicarilla Apache Nation in Dulce, New Mexico and also worked in the private and non-profit sectors as a planner. Mary holds a master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor of science in Natural Resources and Ecology from the University of Michigan.

Courses taught by Mary Reilly

Introduction to Planning

Introduction to Planning

This course is a short introduction to your role as a planning official. The course introduces your duties and responsibilities as a planning official, as well as the groups you will be working with.

46 Mins
Overview of the Planning Process

Overview of the Planning Process

In order to develop or update a comprehensive plan, you need a process. The planning process is not unlike how we plan our everyday activities. For example, before you start planning a trip across the country, you need an overall view of how you are going to get there. Once you have that, you can plan the details for each part of the trip. This course provides an overview of the phases involved in developing or updating the comprehensive plan and the details that will assist with performing each phase.

40 Mins
What is a Comprehensive Plan?

What is a Comprehensive Plan?

Before you create a plan, you need to know its purpose and the essential components of the document. This course reviews the basic elements and purpose of a comprehensive plan created through the planning process.

60 Mins
Working with the Public

Working with the Public

Working with the public is a critical element of the planning process. Knowing what the public wants or needs has a direct bearing on the content of the comprehensive plan. This course describes various techniques a planning commission can use to work with the public and identifies what is required for making that interaction successful.

67 Mins