The meetings represent the final round of Grand Rapids’ Bridge to Our Future campaign, an ongoing initiative to develop a Community Master Plan that will define the vision for how the city grows and develops over the next 20 years.
City Planning Director Kristin Turkelson says a great deal of input and research was gathered over the past year, and affordable housing is at the forefront of many citizen’s concerns.
“They really want to see the creation of more housing types. More small-scale, what we call ‘missing middle housing’ within the neighborhoods.”
Another area of concern has been parking.
“Considering whether we should have parking requirements in some of our small business districts, or should we use that space for business opportunities.”
Turkelson says the planning commission has been very intentional with how it gathers community input.
“These engagement sessions really provide us with the opportunity to make sure that we’re reporting back out the recommendations that have built upon the feedback we’ve received.”
You can RSVP to the workshops online at BridgeToOurFuture.com
