DETROIT, August 13, 2020 – Giffels Webster, a Detroit-headquartered consulting firm specializing in infrastructure, community planning, and land development solutions for public, private and institutional clients, today welcomes Springfield, Michigan as the second Calhoun County community to adopt its Clearzoning® planning tool to breathe new life into local zoning ordinances.
“Clearzoning improves customer service and enhances the user experience in both print and online platforms. The City of Springfield’s zoning ordinance and zoning map are available online, even when the city’s offices are closed,” said Rod Arroyo, Partner and Director of Community Planning at Giffels Webster. “It sends a positive message to residents, local business owners and those interested the development in the city.”
The new Springfield, Michigan zoning ordinance includes an interactive zoning map. This map was created by Giffels Webster using their Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology and links parcel data directly to the corresponding zoning district requirements in the zoning ordinance. The map also has a search feature to enable lookup of zoning information by parcel ID or address.
The Springfield City Council voted to adopt Giffels Webster’s Clearzoning product in August 2020, following a unanimous recommendation from the Planning Commission. To date, the Clearzoning planning tool has had far-reaching benefits for other municipalities, including communities throughout Michigan and in Colorado, Louisiana and West Virginia.
“The City’s Planning Commission worked tirelessly over a period of two years, crafting a new master plan and zoning ordinance. We truly believe Giffels Webster has positioned us for strategic economic and community development success by incorporating best practices and innovative standards in our new ordinance,” said Kevin A. Catlin, City Manager.
“Residents, businesses, and prospective guests of our community now have a chance to be engaged in responsible government and development because of the user-friendly ordinance developed in partnership with Giffels Webster,” said Brent Folkema, Planning Commission Chairman.
Giffels Webster’s Clearzoning product breathes new life into online versions of municipal zoning codes by reformatting them into a more user-friendly, understandable format with color graphics, links to key information and searchable works and terms. This makes it easier for citizens, business owners, real estate developers and public officials to quickly access important zoning information. Whether you’re a homeowner determining what is allowed on your property, or you’re an experienced developer, zoning codes can be confusing and intimidating. Clearzoning makes development codes clear and connected®.
The Clearzoning product starts with Giffels Webster conducting a zoning audit of the municipal zoning code. The team then identifies and fixes incorrect cross-references, duplicate language and inconsistent text. Through the audit, inconsistencies between the zoning code and master plan policies, changes in regulations, new case law and industry best practices are identified.
About Giffels Webster
Giffels Webster is a collection of people — civil engineers, landscape architects, planners, surveyors and GIS specialists — who choose every day to make communities better. The Michigan-based firm helps public, private and institutional clients throughout the United States with their planning, land development and infrastructure needs.
Since its inception in 1952, Giffels Webster has evolved to offer a broad scope of services centered on helping clients achieve their project or programming goals, including civil engineering, municipal consulting, planning, land development consulting, landscape architecture, traffic engineering, surveying and GIS consulting. For more information, visit giffelswebster.com.