Porch Light proposes community-driven strategic planning after Canton housing study

Jessica Myers, CEO of Porch Light, told the Canton City Commission that Porch Light can lead a community-driven strategic planning process grounded in the firm’s recent housing study for the city. "We will have a step-by-step plan ... it's not a strategic plan that just gets put together and is put on a shelf," Myers said, laying out a sequence of steering-committee work, public input sessions, community surveys and measurable goals with named owners and deadlines.

Myers said the firm typically assembles a five-person steering committee drawn from Canton residents and local stakeholders, conducts multiple input sessions and interviews, deploys a community-wide survey based on those conversations, and returns with three to five core topics and three tangible goals for each theme. She described the approach as focused on implementation: assigning responsible parties and deadlines so the plan drives action rather than sitting unused.

The presentation tied the strategic plan to a recently completed housing study. Myers said the housing report used U.S. Census and American Community Survey data and local outreach to identify a shortage of housing stock suited to people who say they would like to return to Canton. "Your housing study shows that people want to move back. There's just not a housing stock to come back to," she said, adding that the strategic plan would address where to encourage multi-unit housing, senior living, workforce housing and the amenities needed to attract employers.

Commissioners and residents pressed on implementation and financing. One resident asked how the plan would make senior housing financially attractive to developers given thin projected returns; Myers responded that the housing study provides data on demand and that the strategic plan can examine incentives and partnerships but that Porch Light does not typically run capital campaigns. "We try not to" lead fundraising, she said, and suggested the city would likely engage partners skilled in capital campaigns for that work.

Myers cited examples from other towns where strategic plans led to concrete projects and grant success, including Madison and Chamberlain, and said Porch Light offers follow-up support to keep communities on track. Commissioners encouraged public feedback and said they would consider bringing the proposal back on a future agenda for formal action.

The commission did not vote on the proposal at the meeting; Myers was invited to submit feedback and a formal agenda item when the city is ready to proceed.