GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The 2025 Master Plan for John Ball Zoo was recently released, but many people in neighboring communities are not happy.
Wednesday night, a meeting hosted by John Ball Zoo for feedback on the Master Plan was interrupted multiple times with outcries from neighbors believing that this plan is robbing them of green space.
Jaclyn Geroux, a mom who lives in the neighboring community to John Ball Zoo, said, “I’ve got three kids. We come to these parks. We walk this neighborhood. Part of the appeal and moving here to this neighborhood two years ago was the abundance of green space, the beautiful trees... To know that that's going to be taken away is pretty disappointing.”
A fellow mom, Emma Garcia, added, “The major concern of our neighbors is the thriving health and safety of our kids.”
John Ball Zoo CEO Peter D'Arienzo says the plan aims to help guests better enjoy the zoo. “We’re trying to show the community that there is a way to build that is in harmony with the natural world that either reduces our impacts or is restorative," D'Arienzo said.
D'Arienzo says the zoo aims to expand existing exhibits, create new ones and build one of the world's largest domed habitat spaces. “Our role is to inspire people to connect to wildlife and nature and to take action, and we can't do that without showing them the zoo,” D'Arienzo said.
However, it's what's happening outside the zoo, a proposed parking lot, that leaves moms like Emma Garcia uninspired. “They're looking at taking out the playground, taking down historic groves of trees, more than what was already taken down to pave the 12 acres,” Garcia said.
The kids are upset, too. “My 6-year-old is ticked. She often has tirades about how frustrated and disappointed she is,” Garcia said.
Garcia explains that for her family of five to go to the zoo, it costs them $78 per trip, but the park is free. “To walk under the beautiful trees, to have picnics, to create fairy gardens with my 6-year-old, that's free and accessible for us anytime, and we want to protect that,” Garcia said.
Still, D'Arienzo says the county wants modern parking; the plan details a combination of expanded parking, off-site parking and a parking garage. “Zoos, museums, gardens, they can't exercise their mission unless people can come to their location,” D'Arienzo said.
In Wednesday night's meeting, the majority of the people were opposed to the new parking plans, Garcia included. “We’re very disappointed that there is absolutely no guarantee at this point that there will be even a sliver of green space left,” Garcia said.
The zoo has a different view. “The reality is, birds don't nest in the middle of a grassy field, so while that's not our mission, the parking that we're building will actually improve the quality of the habitat," D'Arienzo said.
However, Garcia said, “They have dozens of houses directly lining their property. They're a neighborhood asset of this community, and they have to take that responsibility seriously.”
John Ball Zoo is hosting their final meeting for feedback on the Master Plan this Thursday, Nov. 21 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Gaines Township Office: 8555 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, Caledonia.
For more details of the John Ball Zoo Master Plan, click here.
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