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City planning staff report progress on GBL 2040: open space gains, resilience work and housing investments
Summary
City planning staff presented a five‑year (statutory) update to GBL 2040, reporting roughly 120 acres of protected open space and about 300 acres annexed since 2020, $63 million in housing‑related investments over five years, and public input priorities for resilience, trail expansion and preserving tree canopy.
City planning staff presented the required five‑year update to the GBL 2040 plan and summarized public input and program outcomes since adoption.
Michael, who oversees long‑range planning, said the update is a state‑law requirement and described recent public engagement (online surveys and workshops). He reported the consultants initially identified roughly 2,700 vacant acres in the city and that staff have added approximately 120 acres of protected open space and annexed about 300 acres of qualifying open space since 2020. The city adopted an annual open‑space acquisition budget of $250,000 and has spent about $1,000,000 to date under that program.
Public input showed strong support for preserving parks and expanding the Swamp Rabbit Trail, concerns over loss of tree canopy and requests for improved trail lighting and access. Staff also noted resilience (a new state requirement) as a priority: survey respondents cited extreme heat, floods and storms, and the public favored investments such as burying power lines, public transit and flood control.
On transportation, staff reported roughly 400 miles of city roads, trail usage of more than 2 million visits per year, an average commute of about 25 minutes and a continuing trend toward remote work (about 13.7% reported working from home). Michael said the city has over 100,000 inbound commuters and over 20,000 residents commuting out for work.
Michael summarized affordable‑housing accomplishments and resources: roughly $63,000,000 invested over five years, more than 7,000 approved units since GBL 2040 adoption, about 12% of those units required affordability, the city donated more than 16 acres to affordable housing, nearly $12,000,000 was spent on recent project properties and $1,400,000 in state tax funds was unlocked. The Greenville Housing Fund has helped preserve 630 units and enable 179 new affordable units.
Council members asked for follow‑up data on raw transit counts vs. percentages, AMI (area median income) breakdowns and demographic breakdowns of who is accessing affordable housing; staff agreed to provide additional data. A council member also cautioned that a proposed state bill to allow local property‑tax waivers for childcare facilities may not help Greenville because many local childcare providers are faith‑based and already tax‑exempt; staff agreed to track relevant state legislation.
