The Village of West Greenville Micro-Area Plan has been released. This new micro-area plan, created by Wernick & Co., was designed in an effort to, “unlock the area’s potential” while also maintaining the Village’s authentic character, reinforcing its unique identity, facilitating a mix of uses and services, and planning for inclusive growth.

The plan is split up into 5 sections — Identity, It Takes a Village, SWOT Analysis, Unlocking Potential, and Ready for Action — but we want to talk about that Unlocking Potential section.

In the plan, they highlight unlocking the Village’s potential by suggesting a series of recommendations based around 3 strategies: Connectivity, Activation + Regulation.

Connectivity. This strategy is all about bridging the gaps between the Village’s strengths and weaknesses, and some of the recommendations for bridging these gaps include wayfinding + gateway signage, extension of streetscape improvements on Pendleton Street, colorful crosswalk intervention on Pendleton Street, a Pendleton protected bike lane connecting the West End to the Village, a Village public parking garage, and a Unity Park trail connector.

The activation strategy involves getting folks to come and experience the Village and everything it has to offer with shops, food, and art. Some of the recommendations in this section include pop-up markets, a Village Green/performing arts venue, arts + enterprise property tax credits, and shared waste collection programs.

Now for regulation. This strategy covers balancing the need for new development while still preserving the uniqueness and authentic character of the Village. Some of the recommendations for regulation include a Village of West Greenville zoning framework, a parking program + parking trust fund, a VOWG community benefit fund, and a Village action plan implementation committee.

The full plan is 76 pages long, so click here to see the whole plan, and you can send comments here.