Urban Grand Rapids

UPDATE 2024-03-12: Zoning text amendment adoption vote [or not] has been moved out to April 23rd, which will be a 7pm evening meeting.

At the 2024-03-05 Committee of the Whole (COW) discussed the proposed zoning / land-use reform proposals from the Planning Commission.

The municipal agenda for the Planning Commission meeting on 2024-03-14 is 👉here👈

The municipal agenda for the Planning Commission meeting on 2024-02-22 is 👉here👈

UPDATE 2024-02-22: The Special Land Use request for 540 Cherry St SE was withdrawn from the agenda by the applicant.

There has been a great deal of mobility news in the past few months; 2024 is shaping up to be a big year.

This Thursday (2024-01-25) the Planning Commission will hear the official presentation of a suite of zoning reforms which have been in development since the joint meeting of the Planning Commission and the City Commission in July. As expected, as with any land-use reforms, the opposition has mounted quickly.

UPDATE 2024-01-26: The proposed reforms were advanced to the City Commission unanimously. The stream of the meeting is available 👉here👈. It has been heard on back-channel that the approval of ADUs by Director Review by a typo, and that counter approval of ADUs is the text which will be advanced to the City Commission. Counter approval of ADUs reduces the time of the approval process dramatically in addition to eliminating a ~$1,330 fee.

At the Economic Development Team Meeting the topic of permit-ready plans for infill development was discussed/presented. This also included the conversation of potential financial assistance from the city and/or county for small and new developers. The discussion on this topic begins at ~7 (seven) minutes.