Greenfield staff previews citywide general plan update, seeks short-term steering committees and consultants

Chair Paul Newman, speaking for the Community Development Department at a Planning Commission meeting, previewed an update to Greenfield’s general plan and described how staff intends to manage the multi-element rewrite.

The proposal centers on short-lived, topic-specific steering committees and outside consultants for technical work, including an environmental impact report (EIR). “We hear repeatedly about what the general plan is. It's, the constitution of your city,” Paul Newman said. He told commissioners that some parts of the existing plan are ambiguous or repetitive and that staff intends to bring the commission focused element-by-element packages for review.

The update matters because the general plan guides land use, zoning and public facilities for decades. Newman reminded the commission that Greenfield’s plan is typically updated about every 20 years while the housing element follows a shorter, eight-year cycle. He said an EIR will be required and that request-for-proposal (RFP) work for consultants “normally... comes in at between a million and $2,000,000 for the plan and also, environmental review.”

Staff described the steering committees as advisory, appointed by the city manager, non-Brown Act working groups and intended to be small and temporary. Newman gave circulation as an example: short-term groups could include frequent street users such as bus drivers, bicyclists and truck drivers who would advise on the circulation element, then disband.

Staff also described an internal production approach for much of the plan, arguing that doing the work in-house could save resources and yield a product more closely tied to local policy questions than an outside consultant producing multiple plans simultaneously. Newman said staff would use state guidance from the governor’s Office of Planning and Research and checklists to verify required elements are included.

Newman introduced staff and contractors who will participate in the work. He named Brent Solana as assisting the team and said that “Mister Slum” will take the lead on the land use element. Newman also noted the addition of Imani Erudin to the team, saying she was “born and raised in the city of Greenfield” and holds a bachelor’s degree in urban and regional studies from Cornell University.

Staff offered a tentative calendar of public workshops on zoning and land use: an introductory land use workshop in September, residential zoning in October, commercial zoning in November and industrial zoning in December. Newman said the team plans to schedule smaller, district-level workshops so each council member’s district can participate.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions during the discussion. One commissioner asked about an individual policy item mentioning a “Pine Street” bridge; Newman acknowledged the wording likely needs correction and said staff would “circle back” with clarification. Commissioners and staff noted there is no hard statutory deadline for the general plan update but staff said it was aiming to complete the effort in about a year, while acknowledging some jurisdictions take longer.

The commission received the staff report and opened public comment; no members of the public spoke on the general plan at that time. The commission did not take formal action beyond accepting the staff update.