Warsaw Planners, City Officials Review Comprehensive Plan Update
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Warsaw Plan Commission held a special meeting Wednesday night to discuss the city’s efforts to update its comprehensive plan. The plan has not been updated since 1998. It consists of a community profile and a comprehensive land classification and transportation plan. The purpose of the plan is to assist the city in managing community growth, fostering effective and safe transportation, stimulating economic growth, nurturing environmental quality and inspiring community character. Bradley Johnson, Ground Rules, a Zionsville company the city hired to update the plan, presented a rough draft to Warsaw Plan Commission members, Mayor Joe Thallemer, City Planner Jeremy Skinner and Assistant City Planner Tim Dombrosky. Johnson said the idea is to create a comprehensive plan that will assist the city for the next 10 years with review of the plan every five years. The plan commission will meet again March 10 at 4:30 p.m. at city hall prior to the regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. to continue to review the comprehensive plan update. The commission reviewed the community profile and the task of managing community growth and form Wednesday. The commission prioritized North Detroit Street and Winona Avenue as areas for commercial development, promoting redevelopment of under-utilized properties. Another priority is to open up more of the views of Center Lake and Detroit Street and encourage uses along the shoreline that capture that view as an amenity. The comprehensive plan outlines objectives including promoting compact form throughout the city. This means to fill in vacant lots and encourage redevelopment of under-utilized areas and a walkable community. The plan states the Little Crow Building and Gatke building are a high priority for reuse. Other objectives are to recognize that the established commercial areas within Warsaw contain enough land for all anticipated commercial growth over the next 20 years and to maintain a five-year capital improvements plan that informs, coordinates and prioritizes drainage and utility improvements. Objectives also include promotion of a mixed-use downtown with restaurants, retail, walk-in service providers and entertainment. Tom Allen, plan commission president, suggested the commission and city determine its goals to hone the plan into a more manageable task and then determine funding sources to reach those goals. Mike Klondaris, plan commission member, suggested the city create a timeline to accomplish the projects once the prioritized projects are identified. Jeff Grose, plan commission member, said he hopes the plan provides the city with priorities to accomplish. The commission discussed how the plan identifies the city’s community profile. Thallemer suggested the plan include South Bend Airport with improvements on U.S. 31 and connectivity the airport provides to Warsaw. Other additions to the profile were to add Raccoon Run and Little Bighorn as golf courses in the city as well as locations such as the Warsaw Racquet and Tennis Club and Tippecanoe Lake Country Club. Thallemer said the 2002 Hyett Palma Study the city completed guided downtown growth and he hopes the comprehensive plan will provide guidance for projects for the city. He said the idea is for the plan to encourage livability and walkability. He said the north and south rail lines in the city are getting busier and one of the topics the plan addresses is the possibility of a passenger rail system with a possible stop in Warsaw.
