General Meeting 06/27
General Meeting 06/27
06 June 2023 / 6:00 PM
ATTENDEES
Board: All present
Members: 22 people present
Last Meeting Follow-up
501c4 going forward- see Action 1
Bike prom volunteers in September- Would like 7 people
Bike lane push on the city is the goal in the near term.
New Business
City planning portion: Layla Aslani and Kristin Turkelson from GR’s Planning Department did a quick Community Master Plan (CMP) introduction and took questions. Contact at planning@grcityus.gov
Comments from this were placed in NOTE 1.
https://www.gvmc.org/mtp - MTP Bingo was distributed to members.
NOTES
CMP is limited in the scope of impact, so utilizing other channels to push the city in directions that we want to see will be needed.
CMP is focused primarily on land use as it relates to the citizens.
47 steering committee from the community. See here for breakdown: https://www.grandrapidsmi.gov/Government/Programs-and-Initiatives/Community-Master-Plan-Updates
Questions:
Local presence of the consultants on the CMP team?
Staffing constraints on the city were the main reason consultants were brought on board. The city did incentivise local consultants in the search, however that was unable to be fulfilled. 47 Committee should help balance that out, selected from the community. The committee then helped select the consultants picked to be used in the CMP process. Expertise over locality, was a concern for the city with this planning process.
How can we coordinate the efforts across the city with the CMP?
CMP is focused on gathering the information from the community on improvements that the citizens want to see. Department management needs to be aligned with the future plan to direct the vision, via community input thru several rounds.
In regards to the housing shortage in Grand Rapids recently updated the last CMP, how do we get the city to keep to a goal with the CMP, with outside influence?
HousingNOW was to address the concerns. However, it was put aside, with the new masterplan on the horizon, due to timing and the pandemic. On July 11th, the city commision will hear a proposal in the Committee of the Whole (COW), about housing projects that are aligned on the goal of near term housing. This meeting will bring up updating the city plan for ADUs, addressing the housing shortage, and what the city is planning to do with this plan. The Planning department is looking to allow duplexes, and 6 plexes, Multi family by right, and increase parking reductions. Short term rentals are still a no-go in the city. This is prioritizing housing for residents over visitors.
How does the city prioritize projects?
Consultants are analyzing the data, looking for themes that are highly requested by the citizens.
Planning Department statements on some comments:
Strong Towns GR can help the city with parking requirements, by supporting the message that the planning department is trying to use.
Comment was brought up about the meeting for the Creston area parking update, which was not taken well by the community.
Please educate people on how much parking is really required and which areas need parking.
Please take over the planning commission. - Securing positions there may take some time.
November/December for 3rd round of engagement.
Bicycle action plans can have a huge impact on road designs in the city.
Property right state laws in Michigan, causes issues in the city with vacant buildings. Cueing frustration for residents and the city. Neighborhood associations, till end of August are hosting guided walks of the area, bring up vacant buildings in these to show people!
Detroit has a vacancy tax, does the city plan on doing that?
The Planning Department does not know currently, ask again later. Could suggest that in CMP!
Rapid prototyping in the city? Contact Kristen Bennet from Mobile GR.
A comment was made on the low inventory of high density of housing.
Ryan Kilpatrick will know more information, but GR doesnt have the market for high investment groups. City is going zone free downtown, which should allow developers more freedom to expand on building types.
How can neighborhood associations be better and be more effective in the city?
Engage with the organizations, make sure everyone is actually getting involved in the process. Make the associations better by getting involved in them and pushing them to keep on task.
ACTION ITEMS
501c4- Need to coordinate the paperwork and submit.
7 people for Bike Prom
Next Meeting’s Agenda
Date of next meeting: Tuesday, July 18⋅6:15 – 8:00pm
