02
Community Vision
In the Master Plan development process, various types of engagement opportunities were offered to gather feedback from the community, forming the basis for the plan’s recommendations. This included a Strategic Visioning Workshop in May 2024, an Ice Cream Social Field Day in July 2024, an online survey and interactive map, a series of roundtable discussions in June 2024, and a policy prioritization workshop in October 2024. This chapter provides a summary of the feedback received.
Overall Results & Feedback
Community, History, and Character
Above all, Pleasant Ridge residents value the sense of a tight knit and accepting community in their neighborhoods. Residents take great pride in the architectural features of the community’s housing stock as well as the charm of tree-lined streets. When considering expanding the housing stock and reimagining public space, community members felt strongly about limiting overdevelopment and ensuring that any changes aligned with the historical design of current homes and maintained the current tree canopy.
Housing Choice and Aging in Place
Some residents commented on the need to provide housing choices and other services for elderly and aging community members while also improving the diversity of the community’s housing stock to accommodate younger families. Accessory dwelling units are a favored option by the community to work towards this goal. However, a common concern included the impact of short-term rentals on the housing stock and community fabric, and residents are interested in regulating such units.
Neighboring Roadways
Given that Pleasant Ridge is nestled between both the Woodward Corridor and I-696, residents communicated a need to continue promoting health and safety for pedestrians and nearby neighborhoods. A common point of concern for residents included noise from traffic and safety issues. Further, community members desire safer walking and biking routes across these corridors as well as increased traffic safety measures at popular intersections.
Community Voice Spotlight
"We're very thankful for Gainsborough Park, which is right at the end of our street - but something that you'll hear a lot of moms mention is the need for more shade... We didn't realize how great of a city Pleasant Ridge was until we moved here... We feel like we have a voice as a small town, and we would never want to leave."
-Amy, Community Resident
Engagement Opportunities
May 21, 2024
Strategic Visioning Workshop
A public workshop for all Pleasant Ridge residents was held on May 21, 2024 at the Pleasant Ridge Community Center to solicit feedback on residents’ vision for the future of the community and identify specific concerns and goals. The event included self-guided comment boards and a facilitated table map activity to give participants the opportunity to comment on multiple aspects of daily life in Pleasant Ridge. McKenna staff also held a presentation explain the master planning process and issues identified by City staff, as well as to provide residents the opportunity to ask questions and comment on the master planning process. Several outreach strategies were used to advertise the event, including:
- An update to the City website;
- A post on the City Facebook page; and,
- Individual post card mailings to each resident in the City.
Approximately 29 people attended the event and numerous comments were received across a wide range of topics. Below is a summary of the key topics discussed as well as the main points derived from the comments for each board at the workshop.
May 21 - June 30, 2024
Online Engagement
From May to June, 2024, the community was able to offer input through a dedicated project website. Two primary communication outlets were offered, which mirrored the exercises conducted at the in-person Strategic Visioning Workshop: A Comment Map and a Community Survey
Comment Map
Pleasant Ridge residents were invited to interact with a virtual map of the community by marking places of interest. The Pleasant Ridge Comment Map was available online through Social Pinpoint and collected 23 responses. Popular comment locations included Gainsboro Park, Pleasant Ridge Dog Park, the intersection of S Main Street and 10 Mile Road, I-696, and the Woodward Corridor
Community Survey
Participants took a brief visioning survey that sought to capture qualitative information about what residents value about parks and recreation provisions, and their own experiences with Pleasant Ridge parks.
June 24, 2024 - July 17, 2024
Roundtables
One of the key in-person opportunities was Roundtable discussions which were advertised through a direct postcard mailer to every home in Pleasant Ridge. The primary aims of the roundtables were to:
- Provide a collaborative, interactive gathering that focuses on a specific topic or issue.
- Encourage equal participation amongst participants.
- Test ideas based on feedback received thus far in the process and explore new ones brought up by participants.
A total of 31 participants were involved across the conversations. A summary of the discussions is provided in the following section. All community data will be thoroughly analyzed and incorporated into the drafting of the Master Plan and the 5-year Parks and Recreation Plan. The roundtables focused on five different topic areas: Aging in Place, Community Groups, Youth, Parks & Recreation, and Housing & Neighborhoods.
July 17, 2024
Ice Cream Social Field Day
A field day was held on July 17, 2024, in conjunction with the Pleasant Ridge Ice Cream Social. This event was open to all residents of Pleasant Ridge. Self-guided boards were provided to refine the feedback gathered from the Community Survey and Strategic Visioning Workshop. Areas identified in previous engagement efforts include sustainability in parks, accessibility in parks, ADUs, and amenity locations. McKenna staff were available to provide information about the planning process and explain the exercises.
Over 300 people attended the event and had the opportunity to provide feedback. Numerous comments were received throughout the event. Below is a summary of the key topics discussed as well as the main points derived from the comments for each board at the event.
October 16, 2024
Policy Prioritization Workshop
Taking in the input from residents and City officials, staff from McKenna held this workshop to share the goals, objectives, and other components of both plans with residents to collect their input and refine the language of this plan. McKenna staff briefly presented on the components of the plan, and then turned the discussion to the audience to review the goals, objectives, and policy recommendations that would be incorporated into the plan. Utilizing an online polling software, Mentimeter, the proposed goals and objectives were validated. Alongside the goals and objectives, attendees also used Mentimeter to share their opinions on proposed redevelopments along Woodward Avenue, ideas for different housing mixes, and improvements to the parks.
Community Voice Spotlight
"We want to set Pleasant Ridge up for success in the future... It's been a successful community in the past and present, but we do have some challenges with affordability. We want to make sure it's going to be a place where our existing residents, from those who are looking to buy their first home, to those who may be aging out of their homes, can continue to live."
-Alex Bellak, City Commission Member, 2024
Feedback on Featured Topics
Accessory Dwelling Units
When discussing ADUs, residents responded largely in support, with 80% of responses supporting the creation of ADUs within Pleasant Ridge.
Short Term Rentals
Within the context of housing, residents were also asked about short-term rentals. Short-term rentals include properties or rooms of buildings that are part of sites like Airbnb and VRBO.
Woodward Avenue
Residents were asked about what they believed would most benefit the Pleasant Ridge portion of the Woodward Corridor. Just over half (50.5 percent) of responses believed Beautification was the highest priority, followed by Diversity in Businesses (45.3 percent), Streetscaping (40.1 percent), and Appearance of Buildings (39.6 percent).
Pedestrian and Non-Motorized Connections
Residents broadly supported initiatives to improve pedestrian and non-motorized connections. Safety was a common concern, especially along major corridors like Woodward Avenue and 10 Mile Road.
