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..... The opinions expressed in these articles and features are those of their author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of McANA or the opinion of its Directors or Officers. |
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Comprehensive
Plan For this issue of Common Ground, editor Pat Andrews has asked me to address the question of the link between good planning and stable neighborhoods. Volumes could be written on this subject, so I will contain myself to the area I know best, which is comprehensive planning. Comprehensive planning and zoning both came into being in the first third of the twentieth century as outgrowths of the City Beautiful Movement, which had been inspired by the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Stabilizing neighborhoods was often the driving force for jurisdictions to institute zoning. Unfortunately, in many places, zoning decisions did not seem to be taking the “big picture” into consideration. So many jurisdictions began to do comprehensive planning as a way to consider broader themes and to insert more predictability into the zoning process. The Comprehensive Plan update currently underway in Marion County has made a tremendous effort to look at the broad themes affecting the development of the city and region. Early in the planning process, nine community value statements were formulated. All aspects of Indianapolis Insight are expected to respect and reflect these value statements. One of the value statements speaks directly to the idea of neighborhood stability. It reads: “New developments should be well planned, well built and well maintained so that they retain their value over the long haul. Established areas should be well maintained to retain (or regain) their value and to preserve their unique identity.” In addition to the value statements, the Community Values component of the Comprehensive Plan update sets forth 283 recommendations for improving development in Marion County. The recommendations call for new or improved policies, procedures, programs, projects and ordinances. Many of these recommendations are aimed directly at neighborhood stability. Indeed one of the eight Issue committees that worked on the Community Values component was specifically charged with the topic of Neighborhoods and Housing. The Land Use Mapping component of the Comprehensive Plan also affects neighborhood stability. It influences the original development of a neighborhood by recommending how land uses relate to each other, the environment and to systems such as the transportation network, city parks, and civic facilities. Another way that the Land Use Maps influence neighborhoods over time is by providing predictability. Neighborhoods remain stable because the people in them continue to invest their time, money and effort in their own properties and the neighborhood in general. Their willingness to continue to invest in a neighborhood is often based on whether they believe their investment is a good one. This is where the Comprehensive Plan helpful. If property owners have no way of knowing how a vacant site at the end of the street will be developed, it may cause the property owners to question their own investment in the neighborhood. Will this street continue to be a good one to live on or do business on, or serve the needs of the community on? The Comprehensive Plan helps provide some assurance on the answer to that question. The recommendations on the Land Use Maps often keep the most inappropriate uses from even making an attempt to locate on a specific site. The cost in money, time, and emotional well-being of conducting a losing zoning battle is a deterrent. Even when a zoning petition that is flagrantly in opposition to the Comprehensive Plan is filed, combined opposition by City staff and the affected neighborhoods more often than not results in a denial before the Metropolitan Development Commission. If not perfect predictability, the recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan’s Land Use Maps at least provide a large measure of confidence. The Comprehensive Plan is only one of many influences on the stability of a neighborhood, but by contributing to property owners’ peace of mind, it increases the probability of a neighborhood’s long term viability. Upcoming Comprehensive Land Use Planning meetings are: Washington
Township Planning Area Warren
Township Planning Area Washington
Township Planning Area Meetings are open to all Marion County citizens who wish to be involved. For more information or to be placed on the Indianapolis Insight mailing list, call 327-5155 or visit our website at. www.indygov.org/indianapolisinsight send comments
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2003
