Updated April 30, 2025

The Greenfield Comprehensive Plan (Our Roadmap to 2055) is currently in Phase 4 (Action) of the planning process. This tab is where the current versions of significant elements of the Plan can be found. These elements have been (or will be) identified in the planning process.

Provide feedback on the draft plan here.

The Discovery Phase is the first phase of a 4-step process that Rundell Ernstberger Associates (REA) uses to comprehensively plan for and with communities. It includes:

1. Collection and analysis of data from authoritative sources like the US Census Bureau,
2. The formation of a Steering Committee that consists of community leaders like non-profit organizations, elected officials, and other community organizations, and
3. Determining the key trends and significant impacts that the community has and is experiencing.

NOTE: During the Framework Phase, Planning Principles were renamed to "Goals," and what were formerly called "Goals" were renamed as "Objectives." Documents with a date before December 2024 will likely use the old terms.

Focus Group Meetings (20 - 21 February 2023)

Over two days, the planning consultants and Greenfield's Planning staff met with eleven focus groups. Key findings and themes that focus groups discussed were:

• Community Growth and Development,
• Infrastructure and Services,
• Quality of Life and Community Engagement, and
• Economic Development.

These findings and themes were presented at Community Workshop 1 and laid the foundation for the Plan's Vision and Goals (previously called Planning Principles).

The Visioning phase is the second phase of the planning process. Visioning involves presenting the findings of the Discovery Phase to the public and teaming with the community to define a Vision Statement and Goals of the Comprehensive Plan. The vision and goals are the foundations with which the third phase, Framework, is started.

NOTE: During the Framework Phase, Planning Principles were renamed to "Goals," and what were formerly called "Goals" were renamed as "Objectives." Documents with a date before December 2024 will likely use the old terms.

Community Workshop 1 (01 April 2024)

Over 60 people joined the planning team to envision the future of Greenfield and identify the desired characteristics that go along with their vision. Participants worked in group of 3 - 8 to complete three activities, where they brainstormed together about opportunities and barriers that Greenfield might face in the future. The final activity included a land use mapping exercise, where groups drew possible future development, trails, etc. on a map of Greenfield. The input gathered at this workshop would go on to create the Plan's Vision Statement, Goals (previously called Planning Principles), and start work on the Objectives (formerly known as "Goals").

Additionally, participants took a voluntary demographic survey that allowed the planning team to see if certain groups in the Greenfield community were underrepresented at the workshop. The survey showed that younger age groups were underrepresented, hence another workshop session was arranged with high school students in collaboration with the Greenfield-Central School Corporation.

NOTE: These documents use previous language from before December 2024 to describe goals and objectives.

After solidifying the vision and goals with the community, the third phase, Framework, begins. This phase is where the Objectives and associated Action Steps are created. Additionally, the Placetypes and associated Future Development Map are drafted through conversations and workshops with public, Steering Committee, and focus groups.

NOTE: During this phase, Planning Principles were renamed to "Goals," and what were formerly called "Goals" were renamed as "Objectives." Documents with a date before December 2024 will likely use the old terms.

Community Workshop 2 (29 August 2024)

At the workshop, over 50 community members worked in groups of 3-6 people to:

• Review the proposed objectives for the Comprehensive Plan,
• Suggest action steps to accomplish them, and
• Discuss the desired characteristics of future development in the community, such as building design and style, and development size and scale.

NOTE: As of December 2024, Planning Principles have been renamed to "Goals," and what were formerly called "Goals" have been renamed as "Objectives." SOME of these documents use the previous language before December 2024.

The final phase, Action, is when the prioritization of the Plan's Objectives through an Implementation Matrix and identification of responsible parties (for example, public agencies, City staff, local organization, etc.) is completed. Prioritization helps the city and community partners determine how to allocate resources for different proposals. The public is engaged to help prioritize them. Then, a Draft Plan is put together and presented at public open house and public meetings for Greenfield's Advisory Plan Commission and City Council. Then, a public review and comment period of 30 days is announced. Finally, after revisions and explanations via public input, a Final Plan is presented again for adoption by both the Plan Commission and City Council.

Post-Adoption

Once the plan is adopted, city staff, elected officials, and other community partners will be responsible for implementing the plan over the next 20 years. It is important to note that Comprehensive Plans should be viewed as 'living documents.' Therefore, it is recommended that the Plan has minor updates every five to 10 years to reflect changes in the community, such as socioeconomic trends or major real estate developments. Then after 20 years, a major rewrite is recommended, which should include an in-depth analysis of the progress, challenges, and achievements the community has made to advance the Vision, Goals, and Objectives set forth in the plan.