| Community Visioning Meeting - Area E |
| West Main Hill / Stuart / West Douglas |
| Combined Visions | ||
| Rank | Visions | Votes |
| 1 | Well Maintained Residential Neighborhoods - more single family uses; less than 30% rentals; more owner occupancy; better maintained structures; balance between rentals and owner-occupied units; better sense of investment from landlords and transient population; commercial uses "clustered" among neighborhoods; quality housing stock; neighborhood based retail commercial. | 11 |
| 2 | Vital Downtown - creative use for Jacobsons (food courts); pedestrian mall remains; Jacobsons kept on tax rolls; grocery store; people are there all of the time; convention center @ Cole / Gilmore site; no parking meters; trolleys; hotel @ Koopsens building; open evenings; better lighting; business tax eliminated; secured parking for residents; 24 hours; new stores; easy connections; evening downtown activities; entertainment downtown. | 10 |
| 3 | Enhanced Greenspace, Open Space and Kalamazoo River / Our Finest Points are Connected - equal amount of parks / open space on east and west sides; preserve created at Asylum Lake and Lee Baker Farm; historic walk; better aesthetics at gateways and entrances (especially by train); good farm land not developed (Lee Baker Farm); clean Kalamazoo River; aesthetically pleasing corridors; diverse parks are connected and evenly placed throughout city; expansion of Arcadia Creek development north and west; better pedestrian access everywhere. | 7 |
| 4 | Transportation Improved - inner-urban rail brought back; high-speed rail; two-way streets, reroute major arteries out of neighborhoods; another major access to downtown. | 6 |
| 5 | Public Schools (K-12) Improved - best in Michigan; system attracts families and businesses; 90% graduation rates; technical and trade schools partnered with businesses; accountability. | 5 |
| 6 | A More Representative, Effective Local Government. | 4 |
| 7 | WMU Problems Resolved (They’re a Good Neighbor) - students live on campus; better quality on-campus housing; no more donations to WMU. | 4 |
| 8 | Compatible Mix of Land Uses Throughout the City. | 3 |
| 9 | Safe Neighborhoods. | 2 |
| Group One - Visions | ||
| Rank | Visions | Votes |
| 1 | Enhanced Greenspace, Open Space and Kalamazoo River - Our Finest Points are Connected - equal amount of parks/open space on east and west sides; preserve created at Asylum Lake and Lee Baker Farm; historic walk; better aesthetics at gateways and entrances (especially by train). | 8 |
| 2 | Vital Downtown - creative use for Jacobsons (food courts); pedestrian mall remains; Jacobsons kept on tax rolls; grocery store; people are there all of the time; convention center @ Cole / Gilmore site; no parking meters; trolleys; hotel @ Koopsens building; open evenings; better lighting; business tax eliminated; secured parking for residents. | 8 |
| 3 | Well Maintained Residential Neighborhoods - more single family uses; less than 30% rentals; more owner occupancy; better maintained structures; balance between rentals and owner-occupied units; better sense of investment from landlords and transient population; commercial uses "clustered" among neighborhoods. | 7 |
| 4 | WMU Problems Resolved (They’re a Good Neighbor) - students live on campus; better quality on-campus housing; no more donations to WMU. | 5 |
| 5 | Public Schools (K-12) Improved - best in Michigan; attracts families and businesses; 90% graduation rates; technical and trade schools partnered with businesses; accountability. | 4 |
| 5 | Transportation Improved - inner-urban rail brought back; high-speed rail; two-way streets, reroute major arteries out of neighborhoods; another major access to downtown. | 4 |
| 7 | Economics - full employment; good business climate; high-tech companies vs. manufacturing. | 3 |
| 8 | Creative Use of Brownfields - redeveloped and reclaimed. | 2 |
| 9 | Government - ward systems for city commission; commissioners attend neighborhood meetings; more ordinance enforcement; representation for downtown business owners; better inspections; more citizen input; more long-term vision with leadership. | 2 |
| 10 | Reduced perception of crime-safety issues improved; community-based policing implemented. | 1 |
| 11 | Limited acreage for churches and Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) programs for all non-profit organizations. | 0 |
| Prouds | ||
| Rank | Prouds | Votes |
| 1 | Cultural activities - new museum and library within walking distance; great arts center; good arts and cultural activities; interesting history. | 8 |
| 2 | History. | 5 |
| 3 | Civic involvement of community. | 4 |
| 4 | Higher education - tremendous resources; opportunities; strong and responsive system. | 3 |
| 5 | Medical facilities and resources. | 3 |
| 6 | Diverse population. | 1 |
| 7 | Downtown - central area; Bronson park, historic redevelopment. | 1 |
| 8 | Economics - world class companies, commercial history. | 0 |
| Sorries | ||
| Rank | Sorries | Votes |
| 1 | Housing and Residential Neighborhoods - high-density rental units concentrated on west side; loss of owner-occupants; downsizing from residential uses; deteriorated neighborhoods; Arboretum; residential flight from City; lack of enforcement (parking for apartments); definition of "family"; lack of support for residential areas. | 8 |
| 2 | Downtown - parking meters; poor hours of operation; lack of incentives to attract businesses; downtown taken out of Comprehensive Development Plan. | 6 |
| 3 | Greenspace / Open Space - City turned back on Kalamazoo River; Arboretum; no westside parks (inequity compared to eastside); lack of vision for open space. | 5 |
| 4 | Traffic - one-way streets; WMU traffic patterns; over-dependence on automobile; gave away West Michigan Avenue to WMU free of charge; business loop connection; better street lighting needed; road conditions (Academy St.). | 4 |
| 5 | Economics - commercial decay; loss of world class companies and all businesses. | 3 |
| 6 | Local School System (K-12) - few neighborhood schools left; no high school downtown; no technical or trade school. | 3 |
| 7 | Relations with City Government - too much reliance on neighborhood leaders (where’s City staff?); too many excuses from City; downtown taken out of Comprehensive Development Plan; increased assessments; lack of action and concern; employees don’t live in City. | 2 |
| Group Two - Visions | ||
| Rank | Visions | Votes |
| 1 | Quality housing stock. | 6 |
| 2 | Revitalized downtown - 24 hours; new stores; easy connections. | 4 |
| 3 | Compatible mix of land uses throughout the City. | 3 |
| 3 | Safe neighborhoods. | 3 |
| 3 | A more representative, effective local government. | 3 |
| 6 | Fewer cars, less pollution, efficient mass transit. | 2 |
| 7 | Good farm land not developed (Lee Baker Farm). | 2 |
| 8 | Appropriate, efficient use of land. | 2 |
| 9 | Clean Kalamazoo River. | 2 |
| 10 | Aesthetically pleasing corridors. | 2 |
| 11 | More parks; connected; evenly placed throughout city; diverse types. | 2 |
| 12 | Full interchange @ Business Loop US-131 and US-131. | 1 |
| 13 | Pedestrian and bike trails. | 0 |
| 14 | Adequate space and light for each person in each unit. | 0 |
| 15 | More infill housing. | 0 |
| 16 | Evening downtown activities; entertainment downtown. | 0 |
| 17 | Kalamazoo is a place where everybody wants to come and stay. | 0 |
| 18 | Neighborhood based retail commercial. | 0 |
| 19 | Expansion of Arcadia Creek development west and north. | 0 |
| 20 | Improved road network. | 0 |
| Prouds | ||
| Rank | Prouds | Votes |
| 1 | Cultural and ethnic diversity. | 4 |
| 2 | New investments downtown. | 3 |
| 2 | Non-profits. | 3 |
| 2 | Cultural events and festivals. | 3 |
| 5 | Open debate in community. | 2 |
| 6 | Good parks. | 1 |
| 7 | Good hospital care. | 1 |
| 8 | Historic districts. | 1 |
| 9 | Arcadia Bank. | 0 |
| 10 | Diverse economy. | 0 |
| 11 | Good schools. | 0 |
| 12 | Baseball in city. | 0 |
| 13 | Curblawn violation enforcement. | 0 |
| Sorries | ||
| Rank | Sorries | Votes |
| 1 | Segregation. | 6 |
| 2 | Schools not as strong as they could be. | 3 |
| 3 | Abundance of brownfields. | 2 |
| 3 | Need more parks. | 2 |
| 5 | Lack of intergovernmental cooperation. | 1 |
| 6 | Lack of City support for parks. | 1 |
| 7 | Vacant malls. | 1 |
| 8 | Lack of plan implementation. | 1 |
| 9 | Road conditions. | 1 |
| 10 | Lack of neighborhood retail. | 1 |
| 11 | Infighting between hospitals. | 0 |
| 12 | Lack of recreational uses along river. | 0 |
| 13 | Fragmented community - not cohesive. | 0 |
| 14 | Cost of parking downtown. | 0 |
| 15 | One-way streets. | 0 |
| 16 | Mall issue divisive. | 0 |
| 17 | High cost of cultural activities. | 0 |
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Council ] [ Community Profile Report ] [ Preface ] [ Neighborhood Visionary Meetings ] [ Communitywide Visionary Forum ] [ Area A ] [ Area B ] [ Area C ] [ Area D ] [ Area E ] [ Area F ] |