Plans
IK at Work
Over 16 months of over 4,000 diverse community voices joined together exploring opportunities, breaking down barriers, and charting new directions for the City. At open houses, community picnics, art hop, and online surveys, people from every neighborhood contributed ideas about places, programs, policies, investments, and communal goals that were most important to them. The visions, plans, and goals to guide the City are available to help everyone reach the desired outcomes of the work that will now go forward. The PROJECTS page is a place to track and see progress on goals outlined in the PLANS.
Strategic Vision
The Strategic Vision is the overarching guiding document for the City informed by the community’s priorities and vision for the future of Kalamazoo. The document outlines 10 Strategic Goals that guide the City’s work and provide a framework for all other City plans. The Strategic Vision was approved by the Kalamazoo City Commission on July 17, 2017.
Master Plan
The Master Plan is the road map for City projects. It shapes the City’s future built environment by guiding growth and development, preserving Kalamazoo’s unique character, and enhancing Kalamazoo’s neighborhoods. The City-wide document primarily focuses on land development and transportation. The Master Plan is reviewed every 5 years and updated at least every 10 years.
The Master Plan was approved by the Planning Commission on October 5, 2017, and the Kalamazoo City Commission on October 16, 2017.
NEIGHBORHOOD PLANS
It is the City’s goal to have all of Kalamazoo’s 22 neighborhoods create a neighborhood plan to be adopted as sub-plans to the Master Plan. Neighborhood plans allow residents to focus on issues important to their neighborhood, while also creating the opportunity to achieve City-wide Strategic Vision and Master Plan goals.
Approved Neighborhood Plans
Neighborhood Planning Tools
Public Participation Policy, Neighborhood Plan Checklist, Master Plan Section on Neighborhood Plans
Public Participation Policy
The heart of Imagine Kalamazoo is engagement. The City recognizes the importance of prioritizing meaningful engagement with citizens in all decisions that affect their lives. The Public Participation Policy guides outreach and engagement by the City, developers or project leaders, and neighborhoods to make sure the community's voice is heard in every city project. The updated Public Participation Policy was approved by the Kalamazoo City Commission on August 1, 2022.
Note: The Public Participation Policy serves as an update to the 2017 Public Participation Plan and 2018 Community Engagement Toolkit
Street Design Manual
The Street Design Manual utilizes industry best practices, standards, design guidance, and innovative design at the national, state, and local levels to comprehensively deliver design direction and recommendations that reflect the City’s commitment to complete streets and safety for all users. The manual outlines a process for how and when the manual should be used, and includes an updated Street Type map and street design elements checklist.
The Street Design Manual was completed in November 2021. Learn more about the Street Design Manual by viewing this training video.
Complete Streets Policy
The Complete Streets Policy establishes performance measures for street design and considers how each street project can be an opportunity to apply complete streets design principles for the equity and safety of all users. The Complete Streets policy was approved by the Kalamazoo City Commission in January 2019.
Community Sustainability Plan
The Community Sustainability Plan (CSP) is a 10-year guiding document focused on the role city government can play in partnership with the broader community to create a more sustainable, resilient Kalamazoo. The plan includes four key themes: Accessible Complete Network, Affordable Efficient City, Healthy Prepared Community, and Green Circular Economy.
The Community Sustainability Plan was approved by the Kalamazoo City Commission on June 21, 2022.
Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo Action Plan
The Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo (SPK) Action Plan sets goals for transforming our community into a place where no one is isolated or left behind due to poverty and/or inequality of opportunity and where every adult and every child can thrive and prosper. SPK has three areas of focus including promoting the healthy growth, development, and learning of children, increasing access to good jobs, and promoting strong families.
The Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo Action Plan was approved by the Kalamazoo City Commission on March 5, 2018.
Download the Identifying Community-Based Strengths, Supports, and Solutions Report
Imagine Fun! Kzoo Parks Master Plan
The Imagine Fun! Kzoo Parks Master Plan reflects a vision for the City of Kalamazoo’s parks and recreation facilities: their operations, maintenance, and enhancements for the next several years. It serves as a road map for future recreation facilities and programs by considering what's available in and around the city, and the anticipated demand for additional services
The Imagine Fun! Kzoo Parks Master Plan was approved by the Kalamazoo City Commission on February 18, 2019.
Downtown Kalamazoo Placemaking Study
The City of Kalamazoo engaged the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture’s Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative to develop a downtown vision to help repair the damage from Urban Renewal and reconnect activity throughout the downtown core. This study builds on the efforts of Imagine Kalamazoo 2025 to shape a collective vision for the city. The catalyst for this study was the city’s approval to return several of the one-way streets to two-way traffic.
Downtown Kalamazoo: Study of Urban Sequences & Activation of the Public Realm
Kalamazoo Retail Market Analysis
Gibbs Planning Group conducted a retail market analysis for Kalamazoo in 2017 and updated it in 2022 to incorporate the impact of new urban planning and traffic calming initiatives. Both versions are provided below, along with a memo summarizing the updates in the Downtown area and Northside Cultural Business District.
Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Consolidated
The Consolidated Plan identifies five-year goals for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), the HOME Investment Partnership, and Emergency Solutions Grant funding. It outlines a strategy to address the needs of low-to-moderate income residents in the city.
Action Plans are prepared each year and detail how HUD funds will be spent each year to achieve the broader goals of the Consolidated Plan.