ALPA board member, Tom Howes, delivers a public comment on ALPA’s proposed conservation and green space zoning districts to the City Commission. Howes introduced the proposal, ALPA’s goals, and then requested that the City Commission instruct Kalamazoo City Planning to act now.
On September 3, 2026, the Kalamazoo City Planning Commission discussed “green” zoning for the first time. Listen to that discussion in the video below. Just two weeks prior, the Environmental Concerns Committee voted unanimously to send ALPA’s five-point proposal (which included a new conservation zoning district and green space zoning district) to the City Planning Commission for consideration. Though the deliberation here was brief, the subject remains active at the city level. More news to come.
The Environmental Concerns Committee voted unanimously on 8/19/26 to recommend that the City Commission direct City Planning to establish Green Space and Conservation zoning districts in the City's zoning ordinance. We're proud that this recommendation goes forward alongside a 3-page letter ALPA prepared, proposing the two districts and laying out the case for them.
Currently, Kalamazoo has no zoning designation that fits lands like the Asylum Lake Preserve (which is currently zoned 'Residential') or the many other publicly used green spaces and conservation lands across the city.
Our letter to this commission and the city at large ends with the following requests:
Create a Green Space Zoning District and a Conservation Zoning District in our zoning ordinance;
Reflect these designations on the Future Land Use Map now, while it is being updated through Imagine Kalamazoo 2035, so the map and the new districts work together to guide development;
Apply the districts directly to public and institutional land already functioning as green space or conservation land, and allow private owners to opt in;
Study which parcels across Kalamazoo's neighborhoods would benefit from these designations; and
Bring a draft framework back to the community for input and eventual implementation.
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