“Forward SGF is a visionary document for what we want the city to be 20 years from now. From the plan we’ve identified some 800 recommendations,” said Randall Whitman, principal planner with the city of Springfield’s planning and neighborhoods team.
Whitman, along with other city officials and a team of consultants, was on hand Thursday night at Springfield Art Museum. They held a drop-in event intended to update residents on the first major community development code update since 1995. Codes including subdivision and zoning rules are being updated with the Forward SGF plan in mind.
Adopted 14 months ago, Forward SGF emphasizes modern city trends like quality of place and so-called “complete neighborhoods.” Those include various types of housing with nearby amenities and services. The plan also touches on environmental consciousness, and it seeks to follow market trends and allow for more flexible permitting.
Whitman said, “This is an opportunity for us to take a look at those entire library of codes and redo them and align them with the vision from Forward SGF.”
The next Forward SGF meeting is set for 6 p.m. February 29th at Springfield Art Museum, covering the economics of community design.
