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Kalamazoo officials present Imagine Kalamazoo 2035 draft, seek public comment this winter
Summary
City staff presented a draft strategic vision called Imagine Kalamazoo 2035 at the Sept. 15 Committee of the Whole, saying more than 4,300 community contacts shaped goals that will guide a December public-comment period and inform the 2027 budget process.
At a Committee of the Whole meeting of the Kalamazoo City Commission on Sept. 15, 2025, Chief Operating Officer Laura Lam and Deputy City Manager Rebecca Kick presented a draft of Imagine Kalamazoo 2035, a strategic vision and master-plan framework that city staff said is based on more than 4,300 community contacts and will open for public comment in December before the commission considers a draft in January.
The plan, presented as draft language that will be revised after further community engagement, is intended to guide the city’s work through 2035 and to inform the city’s master plan and departmental strategies. Lam highlighted past results she linked to the previous vision, Imagine Kalamazoo 2025, including work to build, preserve or rehabilitate more than 700 homes and $11 million invested in starting or expanding more than 500 small businesses. Lam also said the Foundation for Excellence endowment created after the 2025 process will help fund the community vision in perpetuity.
"In 2035, all…
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