|
|
|
|
| ..... 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. |
||
|
Comprehensive
Plan The primary land use categories are the building blocks of the Comprehensive Land Use Maps. Every parcel of land in the Planning Areas will be assigned one of the 19 primary land use categories approved by the Metropolitan Development Commission. The categories broadly define development by use and intensity such as “Community Commercial Uses”, “General Industrial”, and “Park”. Although Indianapolis Insight introduced a number of new land use categories, it doesn’t hurt to have a little refresher on some of the old stand-bys, for example, Office Commercial Uses. The Office Commercial Uses land use category is intended for low-intensity office uses, integrated office development and compatible office-type uses. Retail uses are not promoted in this category, unless those uses are significantly subordinate to the primary office use or the retail function exclusively serves an abundance of office space in proximity to the retail use. Medical and dental facilities, education services, insurance, real estate, financial institutions, design firms, legal services, and communications studios are representative of this land use category. Some less obvious uses in this category are day care centers, mortuaries, and assisted living communities. Areas designated as Office Commercial Uses can serve a variety of functions in the cityscape. They can stand alone as major employment centers. They can also act as buffers between higher intensity land uses and lower intensity uses. For example, they provide a transition between industrial or retailing centers and residential areas. Offices work well for this because they tend to generate less traffic and noise, operate shorter hours and are often smaller in size than industrial and retailing areas. Offices can also be a good solution for buffering residential areas from high traffic intersections. These locations are often not conducive for new or continued residential use due to the amount of traffic. In some instances, office uses may be a preferable alternate to retailing uses. The Office Commercial Uses category is likely to be most often implemented through the C1 zoning district, although in some circumstances it might be implemented through the C2, CS or even DP zoning categories. Upcoming Comprehensive Land Use Planning meetings: Tuesday, April 13 Tuesday, April 27, 2004 Wednesday, May 5 (note change in day of week) Tuesday, May 18, 2004 All meetings begin at 7 p.m. 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
to webmaster@mcanaindy.org |
|||
2004
