By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
Along the corner of Porter and Lee streets is an example of what the City of Wyoming residents would like to see throughout Wyoming — small commercial neighbors where residents could walk to a grocery store, restaurant or even to work.
The neighborhood node concept is just one of the outcomes after months of discussion and meetings to develop the city’s new Master Plan, which will be unveiled to the public at the Wyoming City Council’s Monday, Aug. 17, meeting. This is the council’s second on-the-road meeting which will be at 7 p.m. at the SpartanNash YMCA, 5722 Metro Way SW, right off of Gezon Parkway.
The city’s current master plan is about 14 years old and was revised about eight years ago in 2012. Since the revision, the city has implemented the first phase of its 28 West project, which included the redevelopment of the Wyoming Village Mall, now called 28 West Place and the construction of the new Hom Flats project on the old Studio 28 site.
Since May of 2019, the city has been working on a new master plan hosting meetings with residents and community leaders to discuss how they would “reimagine” the City of Wyoming. Along with those meetings, residents had the opportunity to share their input through an interactive website and surveys.
“We were very fortunate in that when COVID-19 hit, we were in the process of writing the plan so it did not have an impact on the process,” said Nicole Hofert, principal planner for the City of Wyoming. The consulting firm Houseal Lavigne Associates took all the comments to compile the draft proposal for the new master plan.
The city’s Planning Commission and city officials have been reviewing the draft proposal and have forwarded it on to the City Council, which is scheduled to approve the release of the draft to the public at Monday’s meeting.
What does the plan include? Residents want sense of community with the creation of walkable, mixed use districts along with the establishment of a city center.
Residents want to spend more time closer to home, Hofert said. It was noted by many that the north side of the city such as Lee and Porter streets and Burton Street and Godfrey Avenue were designed to support such community nodes with stores, restaurants, and parts to walk to. The south side of the city, such as the panhandle, have more of a suburban feel and that future development should be encouraged to be more compact and walkable.
Another idea was a thriving, pedestrian-friendly city center that would help to attract better-quality businesses into Wyoming and diversify shopping options, particularly along 28th Street. The future of Rogers Plaza was discussed along with revitalizing the area with food truck rallies, public open spaces, a community center and a farmers’ or flea market.
Another area that residents discussed, according to Hofert, was Site 36, the former location of a General Motors plant. Suggestions for the site varied with a mix of commercial, recreational and industrial, she said, adding that most resident felt the site could be redeveloped to help attract people to Wyoming and build up the South Division area.
The Division corridor was not addressed in this plan. Hofert noted that The Rapids’ Silver Line is conducting a study on the Division corridor which runs through the cities of Grand Rapids, Wyoming and Kentwood, all of which have been working on new master plans.
A need that was demonstrated through this master plan process was for more diverse housing, Hofert said. The city has a lot of single family homes but there is a need for multi-family spaces along with affordable housing.
There is a 63-day public comment period for the proposed draft. Hofert said due to COVID-19 staff will have to facilitate public comment while following social distancing guidelines. Plans do include small workshops to be held through the community and that would be multiple opportunities to gain comment from the public. Once the public comment period closes, the Steering Committee will review the final draft. That draft will be sent to the City Council for approval, which according to the timeline, will be in December.
