GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — On Tuesday, the Kent County Finance and Physical Resources Committee was supposed to vote on the revised John Ball Zoo Master Plan, which outlines efforts to increase parking. However, that vote was pushed back to November 21 to allow for more public input after several neighbors made it clear they're not satisfied with the latest proposal.
That includes neighbors like Amy Hinman, who has lived directly across the street from John Ball Park on Grand Rapids' westside since 2018.
“We love it," Hinman said. "There’s some sticky wickets, as with anywhere.”
John Ball Zoo is the fifth-fastest growing zoo in the country, but it has had trouble finding space to put all those new visitors.
During Tuesday's meeting, Peter D'Arienzo, John Ball Zoo's CEO, addressed the committee and said, "Our number one complaint from zoo guests is a lack of parking and the condition of the parking. The number one complaint that we got from the neighborhood was, 'I don’t have a park.'”
The zoo claims it has fewer paved parking spaces today than it did in the 1960s.
All those guests have to go somewhere. Many of them end up parking directly on the grass, right outside Hinman's house.
“It’s been great to have them as a neighbor," Hinman said. "I love telling people that I live by the zoo. I don’t like telling people that I live by a parking lot.”
The zoo had an approved Master Plan in 2015, but to address all the concerns, it wanted to come up with a new proposal that worked for everyone. That proposal needs to be re-approved by the committee before it's put into action.
You can view the current proposal that was put in front of the Kent County Finance and Physical Resources Committee on Tuesday:
John Ball Zoo Master Plan by WXMI on Scribd
D'Arienzo said, “If I were to put myself in the shoes of a neighbor across the street, I would want assurances that this will always be a park. Not only is it always a park, what is the nature of that park? Free of cars. Then amenities— walking trails, things like that.”
Here's how JBZ wants to achieve that:
As a result, some green space would be recovered, but other spots would be paved into new parking lots.
Hinman said, "people come out and play with their kids and their dogs. We have festivals over here, or at least we used to, and that’s just what makes this neighborhood really special. That’s worth saving and worth fighting for.”
You can see that fight from her front yard, which prominently displays signs that read, 'Save John Ball Park!' Other neighbors have followed suit.
“To me, the value in a green space is more than what you can get out of it financially," Hinman said. "I don't believe that you need to pave something to produce revenue for it to be valuable.”
On Tuesday, when the Kent County Finance and Physical Resources Committee met to vote on the proposal, it instead enforced a motion to postpone.
Stephen Wooden, vice-chair of that committee, said he's, "concerned about status quo ultimately leading to further degradation of vital green space."
Wooden said there needs to be at least one more opportunity for the public to respond, so the zoo can hear from people, like Hinman, who understand something needs to be done, but feel they haven't found the solution quite yet.
“It just seems pretty unconscionable to remove that kind of resource from a community that is already disadvantaged and excluded from a lot of resources," Hinman said. "We have a dump over there. We have a highway and we have a factory. Please don't take our park away in a community that really really needs it.”
The vote has been pushed back to Nov. 21 to allow for a new public comment period that has not yet been scheduled.
The following statement, sent to FOX 17 after Tuesday's meeting, can be attributed to D’Arienzo:
“John Ball Zoo is proud to engage with our neighbors on the best ways to serve them as well as Zoo guests. We’re thankful for their input at today’s meeting and look forward to further engaging with the community as we amend the Zoo’s master plan in a way that will balance the needs of the neighborhood and the needs of West Michigan. Since 2017, we have led many informative sessions with our immediate neighbors about future parking plans, and our proposal was developed in collaboration with our neighbors. It includes the addition of picnic pavilions, new restrooms, walking and biking trails and more. John Ball Zoo is one of the most attended cultural attractions in Michigan, and we welcome more than 700,000 guests annually. As that number continues to grow, it underscores the need for more efficient parking solutions. We are working hard to accommodate both our guests and our immediate neighbors in a plan that works for us all.”
In the meantime, Hinman started a Facebook page and a petition to save the park. The petition has 700 signatures so far, and counting.
