Consultants present draft Kettering comprehensive plan, highlight five focus areas and 124 recommended actions

Consultants from MKSK presented the City of Kettering’s draft comprehensive plan to the Kettering Planning Commission on Jan. 12, outlining engagement results, land‑use typologies, five focus areas for reinvestment and an implementation matrix that lists 124 recommendations.

The presentation was led by Jessica Hufnagel, who said the plan was developed over about a year and incorporated multiple engagement formats. "We heard from over a 100 people throughout the process," Hufnagel told commissioners as she summarized outreach that included open houses, pop‑up events, online comment tools and one‑on‑one interviews.

Why it matters: the comprehensive plan sets a 20‑year vision and a framework for future zoning, transportation and capital investments. Staff and consultants described the document as a tool for prioritizing projects, applying for grants and guiding future detailed studies such as housing or thoroughfare plans.

Key elements presented included an goals framework carried over from the city’s strategic plan, eight plan pillars that organize strategies, and a recommendations chapter that breaks actions into projects, policies, plans and programs. Consultants said the draft contains proposals to encourage housing diversity, increase walkability and connectivity, add green infrastructure and strengthen civic identity.

Land use and focus areas: MKSK described a future land‑use map built around three broad categories—areas to maintain, areas to enhance and areas to transform—and identified five focus areas for further study and visualization: the Dorothy Woodman retail node, the triangle near the Meyer, Oak Creek Plaza, Stroop‑Marshall ("Stroop Mart Crossing") and Town And Country Shopping Center. "What we're showing here are primarily 3 categories for land uses in Kettering, and that's to maintain areas, to enhance areas, and to transform areas," Aurora Albertson of the MKSK team said while explaining the conceptual diagram.

Economy and large sites: consultants walked commissioners through an economic‑vitality section that included the Tenneco/Delphi site. The team recommended treating that large parcel as an industrial/business‑park opportunity with options to subdivide larger holdings to attract a range of users while retaining industrial character.

Implementation: consultants emphasized that the plan is intended to be practical. The document’s implementation matrix assigns timing, likely city leads and partner types to each recommendation. The team described the list as actionable priorities that staff can use for budgeting and grant applications.

Commission response and next steps: commissioners asked detailed questions about which focus area should be prioritized, infrastructure constraints (stormwater and fiber), and how implementation priorities would be updated over time. Staff said any changes to priorities would return to the Planning Commission and City Council for review; Hufnagel said the consultant team will incorporate commission and public feedback into an updated draft to be forwarded to council for two readings and potential adoption.

The consultants encouraged commissioners and the public to submit written feedback; no formal recommendation or adoption occurred at the Jan. 12 meeting. The commission’s next regular meeting is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 2, 2026.