Residents press City Commission on Gaslight Village as commission approves draft master plan distribution for intergovernmental review

At a City Commission meeting in East Grand Rapids, residents and commissioners spent the bulk of public comment urging more study and transparency on the proposed Gaslight Village planned unit development and related zoning changes, while the commission voted to distribute a draft update of the city’s master plan to neighboring communities and state and regional agencies for a mandatory 42‑day review.

The master plan item matters because the draft will guide land‑use policy in four focus areas — including Gaslight Village — and distribution triggers the 42‑day comment period required by the Michigan Planning Enabling Act. Zoning Administrator Jay Giannotti told commissioners the draft reflects more than a year of public engagement and five Planning Commission work sessions; planning consultant Paul LeBlanc said the draft updates demographics using 2020–2023 data and would be adopted as an amendment to the 2018 plan.

During public comment, dozens of residents described the Gaslight Village concept plan as too dense, inadequately studied for traffic and parking impacts,…