Two Indiana communities – the City of Lawrence and Union County – recently adopted master plans created by the Planning + Economic Development Group that will guide development and recreation opportunities for the next five to 15 years. Work on both of these plans occurred through the heart of the pandemic in 2020, and staff found creative ways to maintain progress while being unable to meet in person. To this end, planning staff worked with our Marketing Services Group to create a virtual online public meeting space through the SeekBeak software that allowed public engagement and input in an online virtual safe environment. Both communities responded well to this tool, and we were able to gain valuable input and intel on issues effecting them. Read on for the details.
Lawrence Parks and Recreation Master Plan
This plan, adopted in April, provides an overview of the current state of the City of Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department and identified key projects that the suburban Indianapolis community can tackle within the next five years. It also includes an action plan for improving parks department operations and maintenance; a communications strategy that includes branding, wayfinding, and gateway signage; ways to improve connectivity via bike and pedestrian trails; and increasing community engagement via new park programming. The action plan also identifies recommendations and projects for each of the city’s 10 parks. The plan now qualifies the community to apply for various Indiana Department of Natural Resources funding grants via programs such as the Indiana Trails Program and the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Union County Comprehensive Plan
Our Planning team led this rural eastern Indiana county through its first comprehensive planning process since 1969. The plan outlines a communitywide vision and specific project recommendations, putting a strong emphasis on promoting tourism, updating government processes and procedures, and overcoming utility infrastructure challenges. It also identified 11 critical path strategies that are a combination of short-term, affordable projects to create near-term progress and other long-term projects that may require additional funding, time, or staff resources to complete. The plan is also visionary in its recommendations about attempting to spur development by creating a housing TIF district in Liberty (the county seat) and also working with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to redevelop properties located on Brookville Lake for future commercial and residential uses.