Master Plan

Master Plan Concept Drawing

The East Grand Rapids Master Plan document outlines our vision for the future of the City. The current Master Plan was adopted in 2018, the result of many months of citizen input, formal and informal discussions, studies, research, painstaking attention to detail, and an overall desire to develop a far-reaching map for the road ahead. Since the Plan's adoption, more than 75% of the original goals were either completed or are currently on-going. These range from City-wide goals for mobility and multi-family housing to those focused on improvements to Gaslight Village. 

The Michigan Planning Enabling Act requires that a master plan shall be reviewed every five years to determine if the existing plan needs to be amended or readopted, or if a new master plan should be adopted. In August 2023, the City and Planning Commissions reviewed the current Master Plan and determined that with the majority of the 2018 Plan being implemented, updating parts of the current Plan was warranted. The City and planning consultants have been working since Spring 2024 to prepare this update. The main focus with this update is on concepts to guide the future of four subareas in the City: Gaslight Village, Eastown, St. Stephens, and the Lakeside/Greenwood neighborhood.

All of the suggestions and recommendations contained in this update are concepts and will need additional research by staff and consultants, input from involved citizens and lengthy discussions among elected and appointed officials. Some of the concepts and ideas will be implemented, some will be altered, and some may not be right for our community at this time. In some cases, changes may need to be made to the city’s ordinances to allow the plan's recommendations to be realized. Throughout the entire update process, public input will be vital and extensive, ranging from online surveys to open houses for various subareas.

As this is an on-going process, the City has a dedicated website devoted to the update process. Here, you can learn about the progress on the plan, leave your comments on the different subareas, and see what other residents have to say. You can access the Master Plan Update website at the link below.

View the Master Plan Update Website

To view the current 2018 Master Plan, click on the link below. 

View the 2018 Master Plan