Residents ask East Grand Rapids commission to delay Gaslight Village PUD vote pending traffic, parking and soil studies

At a meeting of the East Grand Rapids City Commission, residents urged commissioners to delay any near-term approval of the Gaslight Village Planned Unit Development and to require additional studies on traffic, parking and subsurface conditions.

The requests came during the meeting’s public-comment period, when multiple residents described the project as large enough to require additional analysis before the commission grants concept approval. "We can wait a little longer," said Jerry Anderson, an East Grand Rapids resident, adding that the city has "waited 22 years now for this development to go in." Suzanne McCarty, a resident of Kennesaw Drive, told commissioners, "Parking is a huge issue," and asked the commission to move a potential vote beyond the 30-day window so more work can be done.

The commissioners were told the studies residents most frequently requested are a traffic study, a parking study (including event-day observations), a subsoil/geotechnical study, safety and public-services analyses, and a retail feasibility study. David Decker suggested timing for parking counts tied to community events — "June 13, June 20, and July 11 might be good times to do a parking study," he said — and Judith Baxter asked explicitly for a parking study before the commission moves further on the proposal.

Residents raised a range of concerns: whether one parking space per unit would meet peak demand, how the project would rely on street and shared parking during school and community events, and whether proposed commercial space has commercial tenants committed. Nile Deems, a longtime resident, urged commissioners to scrutinize the developer’s track record, noting the project’s history of repeated proposals dating back to 2004.

Commissioner Schwartz and others noted the city’s master plan update is still in process and said that a draft inclusion of Gaslight Investors parcels in a map was a placeholder, not an endorsement. Deputy City Manager John Lefebvre told the commission that Gaslight Investors submitted a revised concept plan the prior week and that staff is reviewing it; he said staff intends to post the revision publicly and bring the item to the commission agenda for discussion on May 5.

No formal vote on the PUD took place at this meeting. Commissioners and staff emphasized that concept approval is not final site-plan approval and that additional studies and planning-review steps are typically required before final action.

Next steps: staff will review the developer’s revised concept plan and post it publicly; the commission scheduled discussion of that submission for the May 5 agenda and residents asked the commission to require or ensure further traffic, parking, geotechnical and feasibility work before any approval.