Green Bay adopts Go Big Green Bay 2050 plan with bike, housing and design amendments; zoning code rewrite held for more review

The Green Bay Common Council on Oct. 21 adopted the Go Big Green Bay 2050 comprehensive plan, approving a package of amendments to emphasize bike connectivity, review housing infrastructure incentives and add a design-review process for public projects. The council approved the plan by voice vote after amendments were adopted; the separate zoning-code rewrite tied to the plan was held for further review by council members.

The plan, submitted by the Green Bay Department of Community and Economic Development, drew public comments and specific amendment requests during a public hearing. Noel Halverson, president and CEO of NeighborWorks Green Bay, told the council: "I just think it's a great plan. Really appreciate the work that everybody's put into this, and I think it'll be an excellent tool to guide future growth in the city." Greg Kersling, Green Bay's representative on the Brown County Planning Commission, urged the council to make explicit connections outside city limits, saying, "Green Bay should be a biking destination like Madison." Jennifer Sundstrom, speaking for the Northeast Realtors Association, urged the council to approve changes to increase housing supply: "We have to make up for the significant underbuilding in the last decade and try to do it in a way that creates much larger diversity of housing options and at lower price points."

Why it mattered: Council members said the plan and its amendments aim to address housing affordability, link the city's bike network to neighboring municipalities and improve design outcomes for public infrastructure projects. Planning staff and council members noted the document will guide growth and that many implementation steps (zoning changes, developer incentives, capital projects) will return to the council for…