Formation of a Task Force on Zoning Commitments

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Formation of a Task Force
on Zoning Commitments
by Mayor Bart Peterson

This is a monthly message from the Mayor to Indianapolis' Neighborhoods.

In recent years, our city has experienced an immense building boom. New housing subdivisions and strip malls have cropped up in former corn and soybean fields, and busy transportation interchanges dot our landscape. While new developments signal progress and excitement in our community, they pose a unique set of challenges for neighborhoods, developers and the city.

A key component of a successful development is the cooperation among adjacent property owners, the developer/builder, and the neighborhood. In Indianapolis, these different groups work together with each new project to ensure the infrastructure is sound and safe, the physical amenities are aesthetically pleasing, and all applicable health and safety codes are followed. One common element of this development process is the use of commitments.

Commitments, which are the legal conditions attached to a zoning case, allow developers and neighborhoods to reach consensus about a wide variety of characteristics of a new development. Yet, with so much new development in our community and a growing number of commitments associated with these developments, these parties are sometimes stymied when trying to ensure the commitments are enforced.

The City of Indianapolis, through its Department of Metropolitan Development (DMD), recently has established a task force to conduct a top to bottom evaluation of the city’s approach to both supporting and enforcing commitments. This task force, which will meet throughout the fall, is comprised of stakeholders from not only DMD, but also neighborhoods and the development and legal communities.

Chaired by Mike Graham, the veteran Washington Township Administrator, the task force will begin to determine its items of action at its first meeting, scheduled on October 3 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at 640 North Sherman. Mike can be reached at 327-5380 for more details.

As the task force moves forward to understand the issues at hand and develop realistic and workable solutions, its principal goal is to ensure neighborhoods and developers can continue to reach consensus, and that the commitments they put in place are practical for the city to enforce.

There is no doubt that commitments have become a critical part of the zoning process in Indianapolis. I am confident that your interest and feedback will be a valuable resource as the task force meets to discuss this very important issue.