Grand Haven Planning Commission took up the Centertown Vision Plan Tuesday night

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — The Grand Haven Planning Commission was scheduled to take public comment Tuesday night, Oct. 13, on an updated Centertown Vision Plan that would guide the Washington Avenue and Seventh Street gateway into downtown.

Case 26-36 was listed as the sole public hearing on the commission’s regular Oct. 13 agenda, which began at 7 p.m. in City Council chambers at 519 Washington Avenue, according to the meeting packet posted by the city. Two other hearing items that had been advertised — an event-center special land use at 224 Washington Ave. and an open-air business at 816 Elliott Ave. — were withdrawn, the city’s updated hearing notice says.

City planner Brian Urquhart’s staff memo says the Planning Commission agreed in August to distribute the draft plan for the comment period required under the Michigan Planning Enabling Act. That 42-day window has closed, and no comments were received, the memo states. Planning consultants from McKenna were listed as available after the hearing to answer questions.

After the hearing, commissioners needed a motion recommending approval to City Council. Staff still anticipate Council could adopt the plan at its Oct. 19 meeting. Implementation would then fall to the Planning Commission and city staff.

Centertown is described in the draft as the natural gateway into downtown for many residents and visitors, centered on Seventh Street and Washington Avenue and part of the Grand Haven Main Street DDA. The 2026 update revisits a 2014 vision plan whose earlier wins included a Centertown business group and recurring events such as Chowdown Centertown and Wine About Winter, according to materials in the packet and prior public briefings.

Residents could speak at the hearing or submit written comments to Urquhart at burquhart@grandhaven.org or 519 Washington Avenue; the hearing notice set a noon Oct. 13 deadline for written comments to be considered. A 6 p.m. work session came before the regular meeting.

Updated Oct. 14, 2026: The hearing was set for Tuesday night, Oct. 13, so this story’s headline and schedule language are now in the past tense. As of Wednesday morning, the city had not posted minutes or a recommendation, and no news report of the commission’s action had appeared.

Sources:
City of Grand Haven, Planning Commission meeting agenda and packet, Oct. 13, 2026 (Case 26-36 Centertown Vision Plan staff memo), https://grandhaven.org/downloads/_news_/oct._13_2026_pc_packet.pdf
City of Grand Haven, updated notice of public hearings (Oct. 13, 2026), https://grandhaven.org/downloads/_news_/phnotice_101326_withdrawn_ph.pdf
City of Grand Haven, Planning Commission work session agenda, Oct. 13, 2026, https://grandhaven.org/downloads/_news_/october_2026_work_session_packet.pdf
Photo: WestMichigander, “Grand Haven City Hall.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-adjusted; derivative under the same ShareAlike license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grand_Haven_City_Hall.jpg

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