Westfield — City consultants on July 28 updated the City Council on progress toward a new comprehensive plan that sets a 20-year vision and a place-type framework intended to guide growth, transportation and housing in Westfield.

Cynthia Bowen of Bridal Ernsberger Associates summarized public engagement to date: a community planning week in April, two public open houses, farmers-market outreach and 200 responses to an online open house. Bowen said that the plan’s vision emphasizes connected, resilient and welcoming growth, and the draft includes goals for transportation, housing, economic development and quality of place.

Adam Carr of Urban3 presented preliminary fiscal-productivity findings the firm calls “value per acre” and “productivity ratios,” which compare different development patterns on how much property value they generate per acre. Urban3 highlighted the Midland Trace and Monon trail corridors and observed a notable concentration of higher-value parcels near downtown and at some trail-adjacent nodes. Carr showed example parcel-level values and said mixed-use, higher-density place types generally yield much greater assessed value per acre than low-density, single-family patterns.

Key takeaways and next steps: The plan team is refining 20 place types (residential, mixed-use, economic, natural/open spaces and an overlay for trail-oriented development) and drafting implementation policies. Bowen said next steps include continued refinement of place-type detail, policy language to support the framework and a fiscal return analysis by Urban3. The city scheduled an elected/appointed official workshop for Aug. 18 and a public workshop Sept. 9; additional public outreach and targeted stakeholder sessions will follow.

Why it matters: City officials said the plan will provide a framework for future zoning updates, transportation investments and economic development. “We’re looking at where Westfield wants to be in 20 years — purposeful growth, dynamic public spaces and a diverse economy that supports residents of all ages,” Bowen said. Urban3’s productivity analysis will be used to model how different place types are likely to affect city revenues and the fiscal footprint of future development.