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GVL2040 Comprehensive Plan - Report to the Community FAQs

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1. Why doesn’t the plan prioritize the creation of jobs?

A comprehensive plan provides a framework and guiding principles, and the creation of jobs is an outcome of a successful plan. The plan does advocate for the creation of small urban centers located throughout the city, and those commerce areas will become job centers.

2. Will the development orientation of the plan lead to gentrification?

Currently, developers are seeking land in traditional neighborhoods because there are no incentives to do otherwise. By developing small urban centers or “nodes,” Greenville will shift the tide, encouraging growth in defined areas through incentives such as increased building heights and allowances for density. While land values in these urban centers will increase, the values of homes in traditional neighborhoods will become more stable over time.

3. Why is there so little emphasis on the natural environment in the plan?

Green space and open space actually play a key role in the plan. While Greenville is an urban environment, the plan emphasizes the preservation of green space as a key contributor to quality of life

4. Why doesn’t the plan address the fact that the city has more than 500,000 square feet of vacant office space?

Creating more desirable areas in our city will help attract more companies to Greenville. Quality of life can be a deciding factor in the site selection process and the plan puts Greenville on track for a high quality of life ranking.

5. Why is the plan so auto-oriented?

We don’t consider the plan to be auto-oriented. The plan supports the creation of small urban centers within a five-minute walk of adjacent traditional neighborhoods. Those urban centers are connected via corridors designed to support public transportation, which could be bus, light rail or some future option.

6. Why does the plan assume growth?

Our data (census, development, etc.) tells us that growth has occurred and is projected to continue. The plan acknowledges that growth will happen and gives us the ability to shape growth in a healthy way.

7. Other cities are regulating single-family housing out of existence, so why doesn’t this plan do that?

The plan preserves single-family housing because it strengthens traditional neighborhoods. By redirecting development to small urban centers, the plan effectively takes the pressure off of traditional neighborhoods.

8. Why doesn’t the plan speak to the need for more companies to relocate here?

Company leaders are looking for quality of life for themselves and their employees. The plan helps us create areas where people want to live.

9. The plan shows that Greenville hasn’t prioritized African Americans, who seem to have been leaving the city for the county, yet there’s no strategy to deal with this. Why not?

Regardless of race, many cannot afford to live in the city. People leave because the land values are inflated. We want to create a new balance that slows the rate of increase in residential land values and stabilizes our existing neighborhoods. The plan also establishes a goal of making 10-12% of all new housing units affordable (an increase from 8% currently) and recommends creating affordable housing throughout the city instead of only in specific areas.

10. Why doesn’t the City of Greenville’s plan correlate with Greenville County’s comprehensive plan?

There is a clear connection between the City’s and the County’s plans. The county plan directs growth to its existing urban centers, including the city of Greenville, which is the largest. The City’s plan assumes that and, in turn, directs that growth to small urban centers.

11. I’ve read the plan’s values and principles, and I get all that, but what is the overall vision?

The overall vision is for Greenville to grow in a healthy way that makes it stronger rather than allowing growth to occur at the expense of quality of life. The plan considers a new way of growing, a willingness to work for what Greenville wants to be and a willingness to adapt, putting Greenville squarely on the path to becoming a vibrant, sustainable and successful community.

12. The plan doesn’t explain what we’re going to do – why is it so vague?

Comprehensive plans are not meant to be project-specific. The plan is designed to provide a framework for the community to consider each new development based on its merits.

13. These are expensive priorities, and the plan says that local funding will need to play a big role. Where will that money come from?

Because it will require collaboration between the public and private sectors, the plan calls for incentives to provide balance. For example, developers can donate more green space on a specific project and receive an allowance for added building height. In addition to using incentives, the City will also seek grant funding.

14. One of the “nodes” is close to where I live. How soon will these nodes be developed and is there anything I can do to stop it from happening?

The nodes included in the plan are for illustrative purposes, based on areas where small urban centers are already forming. When a node location is officially identified, there will be a master planning process, which involves numerous opportunities for public participation.

15. Our downtown and riverfront are hugely important to the whole community, so why doesn’t the plan address them?

Downtown will always be our primary urban center, and the plan continues to emphasize downtown. The recently completed Downtown Master Plan also affirms its role as our city center.

16. Where will all of this new affordable housing go? Who gets to decide where it goes and who can live there?

The plan supports the concept that affordable housing can go anywhere. An affordable home could be in an apartment complex, mixed in with market-priced apartments or it could be a townhome in a traditional neighborhood. Federal guidelines are used to determine who is eligible for affordable housing.

17. Since open space doesn’t generate taxes or jobs, can we afford to keep so much land from being developed?

Open space has a direct impact on a community’s quality of life. Economic development analysts call it the “golden rule” of development. Cities that maintain a high quality of life enjoy ongoing growth and prosperity.

18. How does the plan account for the added traffic that all of this new development will generate?

When we consolidate growth in nodes that are bikeable, walkable and accessible via public transportation, we reduce the traffic pressure along the corridors that connect them. The goal is to create an environment where maintaining an automobile is not considered essential.

19. Why are you trying to reduce reliance on cars instead of just widening the roads to reduce congestion?

Widening roads could be part of a solution to a specific congestion issue, but it is only one option. There are other ways to manage traffic (such as public transit, integrated trail systems, etc.). The plan considers using other options to reduce pressure on roadways.

20. Why isn’t there more of an emphasis on the need for Greenville to grow and develop and create more jobs?

All three of the plan’s identified priorities (affordable housing, open space and transportation) are about growth. The plan emphasizes directing most of Greenville’s new growth into higher density nodes or centers located throughout the city that are connected by major corridors. We are creating a place where people can live, work and play within five miles of their home.

21. Why does the plan focus so much on affordable housing?

Throughout the public engagement phases of the planning process, the need to add more affordable housing continued to emerge as a top priority for the community. Home prices and rents have risen faster than inflation in recent years and many residents have diminishing options—especially for homeownership.

22. Few people ride the buses we have now, so why does the plan talk about improving bus service?

Effective public transit requires density. Right now, our community is spread out, which makes it difficult and expensive to meet transportation needs. The plan creates nodes of density throughout the city, which will increase ridership opportunities.

23. I know the plan focuses on creating new development “nodes,” but what about existing neighborhoods? What are we doing to improve those?

We are preserving traditional neighborhoods by protecting them from gentrification. The plan recommends incentives and regulations to push development pressure to the nodes rather than established neighborhoods. The result will be stabilized land values in neighborhoods because redevelopment will be more costly.

24. Who decided that enterprising, resourceful, inclusive and courageous were “our” core values?

While the core values listed in the plan may not reflect the values of any one person, they do reflect the community’s values, which were identified through extensive public engagement efforts.

25. How much will this raise my taxes?

There is no impact on tax rates associated with the plan.