Earlier this year, the City Commission approved an agreement with the Michigan Department of Transportation for the jurisdictional transfer of certain segments of road in the city. Segments of Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo Avenue, Westnedge Avenue, Park Street, Riverview Drive, and Stadium Drive, which were formerly controlled by the State of Michigan, are now under local control. This transfer creates the opportunity to redesign these streets in a way that is more aligned with community goals related to connectivity, safety, and transportation. 

A public meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 21 to begin the process of planning the future design of these streets. The meeting will be held at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts at 435 W South Street from 6:30 - 8 p.m. Please join the discussion and share your ideas on how these streets can best contribute to the vision for Kalamazoo's future! 

You can view the City Commission memo and documents related to the jurisdictional transfer here. You can RSVP or share the event on Facebook here.

The City of Kalamazoo's pdf 2019 Action Plan (791 KB) and pdf 2019-2023 Consolidated Plan (1.52 MB) are available for public comment through August 23, 2019. Draft plans were originally posted in February, but due to plan revisions, an additional 30-day comment period has been opened. 

Please submit any comments or feedback to Venessa Collins-Smith, Community Investment Compliance Specialist via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by mail to: City of Kalamazoo Community Investment, 415 Stockbridge Ave, Kalamazoo, MI. 49001, Attn: Community Development Coordinator.

To qualify for funding from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, the City must have an approved Consolidated Plan and Action Plan. The Consolidated Plan identifies five-year goals for CDBG, HOME, and ESG funding and outlines the City’s strategy to address the housing and community development needs of its low and moderate income families and individuals. Action Plans are prepared each year and detail how HUD funds will be spent each year to achieve the broader goals established in the Consolidated Plan.

A new public art project in Kalamazoo will replace the grey paint on utility boxes with photographs of the city- all captured by members of the community.

Camera stations can be found downtown in Bronson Park and on the Kalamazoo Mall, as well as in the Vine and Edison neighborhoods. Each station includes two disposable cameras that community members are invited to use to take a photograph of the city through their own eyes. After taking a photograph, the cameras should be returned to the station for the next photographer. Once all exposures have been used, cameras may be left at the station or returned to the Kalamazoo Public Library.

Once the film is developed, the photographs will be used to wrap 10 utility boxes in the city. The first wrapped utility box can be found on the corner of Rose and Lovell Streets. It features images of the Kalamazoo Public Library. At the conclusion of the project near the end of summer, all will be included in an exhibition at the Kalamazoo Public Library.