Part 1: Summary of the Planning Process (so far!)
(A) Hello!
Virtual Workshop Agenda
- Part 1: Summary of the Planning Process (so far!) (around 5 minutes)
- Activity #1 - Participant Survey, see above (please fill it out even if you have previously!)
- Then, review the other tabs in Part 1 (Constructing the Plan, Community Vision for 2045)
- Part 2: Review of the Draft Goals (15 - 30 minutes)
- Activity #2 - Evaluate the Draft Goals of the Plan
- Part 3: Placetypes and Future Development (15 - 45 minutes)
- Activity #3 - Defining the Placetypes
- Part 4: Next Steps in the Framework Phase
A comprehensive plan is a citizen-driven, long-range plan (around 20 years) to help city planning staff, policymakers, and other local government officials identify goals and objectives for the future development of the community as well as provide a framework for how to implement the plan. The plan works to prioritize the needs and values of the community by looking at infrastructure and how different activities occurs throughout the city, including the land use, transportation network, utility infrastructure, quality of life, environmental features, and existing policies that affect businesses and residences such as zoning laws.
The city is pursuing a comprehensive plan for three main reasons:
- To provide a guide for future development in the city based on what the community desires,
- A comprehensive plan provides a prioritized list of and rationale for other policies, projects, and programs that the city and government officials implement,
- It allows the city to pursue other local, state, and national grants/funding for economic development, environmental restoration, and more since a prior plan is often one of the requirements in an application.
Although these are the main reasons for a comprehensive plan, it is of course not an all-inclusive list. Another major reason not mentioned above is accountability of government officials to implement what the community desires.
While a comprehensive plan can bring positive change to a community, it cannot solve all issues. It is important to note that a comprehensive plan is mainly to provide guidance to the City regarding land use and development. Here are some other aspects of a comprehensive plan that are important to know:
- The comprehensive plan is not about politics.
- The comprehensive plan has limited impact on social issues that are not directly related to development or land use.
- The comprehensive plan is not law (in Indiana) - it is a policy document to guide decisions.
- The comprehensive plan makes recommendations. It cannot mandate actions.
- The plan's recommended policies, projects, and programs are implemented by city officials, private investment, and citizens.
Rundell Ernstberger Associates are the lead consultants. Based in Indianapolis, REA has over 40 years of experience with a diverse portfolio of projects ranging from land use plans, regional economic plans to zoning to public space, park, and streetscape designs.
Learn more about REA at their official website here: https://www.reasite.com/
CWC Latitudes is an economic and implementation based firm out of Columbus, Indiana.
Staff from both firms have worked with Greenfield on past projects including the previous Comprehensive Plan, Downtown Plan, Stellar Plan and application, and Depot Park.
(B) Constructing the Plan
Planning Process
The comprehensive planning process is currently near the end of the Framework phase. Several months have been spent with City staff, elected officials, and the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee reviewing public feedback and developing the draft goals and placetypes you will see later in this virtual workshop. Presentation slides and other materials from previous meetings week can be found on the Documents page. Find out more about what will be accomplished during the rest of the Framework phase and the next phase, Action, by clicking on the black dots in the image above.
Structure of the Plan
This diagram shows how the plan has been structured. The four-phased planning process is shown above each element of the plan, detailing when each element occurred (or will occur) in the process. Starting on the left is one of the most essential parts of the plan: a vision statement, or in other words, a community-driven vision for the future. On the right are "Benchmarks and Tracking Metrics" and "Subarea Plans." Defining benchmarks will help the city track its progress in implementing the comprehensive plan. Subarea plans give the city a more detailed description of how a specific area should be developed, such as downtown. Click on the bubbles with question marks to learn more about each plan element.
Note: Phase 1 (Discovery) is when the existing conditions of the community are analyzed, such as socioeconomic and development trends. These analyses were presented to the public at the beginning of the Visioning phase (Public Workshop #1) to help inform the conversations with and between community members.
(C) Community Vision for 2045
Our Roadmap for Greenfield 2045 envisions:
Planning Principles
These six Planning Principles break down the vision statement into categories that express the core values of the Greenfield community and what has been heard throughout the planning process at previous events and meetings. They are used to help organize the goals of the plan and subsequent action steps. Click on the question marks in the image below to view how each principle is defined.
Part 2: Review of the Draft Goals
In this activity you will review the draft goals of the plan, organized by the six Planning Principles. The dropdown tabs below contain the full list of draft goals. The tabs are intended to be used for easy reference of all the draft goals in one place. These goals were publicly presented to the City Council on August 8, 2024. Your input will help further refine these goals and start the brainstorming process on what actions can be taken to achieve them. You may choose to give feedback for one, some, or all of the Planning Principles by clicking on their respective surveys below.
Tip: Goals are what the community wants to achieve, not how -- those are action steps, which will begin to be worked on after public feedback on the draft goals is collected and analyzed, then used to revise the draft goals as necessary.
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Part 3: Placetypes and Future Development
In this activity, you will choose images for each placetype based on which one you think best represents development for that placetype. You will do this for two broad characteristics of development. Click on the tabs below for further instructions and to learn more about "placetypes." This activity will close on September 20, 2024.
In this activity, you will choose images for each placetype based on which one you think best represents development for that placetype. You will do this for two broad characteristics of development.
- Design / Style
- Size / Scale
There is an option for "Other" which lets you recommend a development you know of that would fit better than the image choices.
There are nine (9) different placetypes:
- Downtown Mixed-Use
- Suburban Commercial Center
- Employment Hub
- Neighborhood Center
- Mixed Residential and Infill Neighborhood
- Suburban Neighborhood
- Natural Areas, Parks, and Open Space
- Gateways
- Connecting Corridors
Placetypes are an approach to land use planning that defines development by its characteristics, such as building design, layout, architecture, land use, and size/scale. This approach to land use planning utilizes precedent imagery and/or conceptual renderings to convey the desired qualities of development. In comparison to traditional land use planning, there is a greater emphasis on the quality of development rather than only the quantity.
Part 4: What's Next?
Click on the information markers ("i") below to learn more about what's next in the comprehensive planning process as we enter its third phase, Framework.
