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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 The Indianapolis Insight Plan, the update to the Indianapolis-Marion County Comprehensive Plan, is experiencing record turnouts for its meetings in Decatur and Franklin Townships. The initial meeting in each township was attended by 120 persons. This is nearly triple the attendance at any previous township level meeting held in conjunction with the plan update and is comparable to the plan’s kick-off half-day conference held in September of 2000. In the subsequent meetings in Decatur and Franklin Townships, attendance has ranged between 65 and 120. [editor’s note: about 300 people attended the last Franklin Township Comp Plan meeting—after this article was submitted] These numbers can be attributed to the efforts of the City planning staff and to the neighborhood organizations who have energetically promoted the meetings. The high attendance is also likely due to the point in the development history of each township. Both townships have seen high rates of growth in the last five to ten years. Although both townships are still largely rural, the current rates of development make it easy for residents to envision a day when the townships will be more town than country. This naturally can lead to increased interest in planning for the future. By Indiana code, only one public meeting is required in the Comprehensive Planning process. However, the City understands that public input is vitally important to developing a sound plan. So far the Comprehensive Planning staff has held over 100 public meetings in the process of developing the Indianapolis Insight Plan and 20 more meetings are expected before the process ends. These public meetings provide a forum of discussion that initiates positive ideas for the plan. Meeting attendance is not a contest (but if it were, I’d have to give the nod to Decatur Township; 120 is a bigger percentage of their population). However there is a prize: a population base that is knowledgeable about the Comprehensive Plan update specifically and about development issues in general. This will enhance future public discussions of land use issues. And that can only help in developing a livable, world class city. Upcoming Comprehensive Land Use Planning meetings: Tuesday, March 16 Tuesday, March 23 Tuesday, April 6 Tuesday, April 13 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
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2004
