HOBART | The last time the city's comprehensive master plan was written was nearly 10 years ago.
A new master plan, which City Planner A.J. Bytnar hopes to present in rough draft form by late this year or early next year, is way overdue.
"The master plan really needs to be updated every five years," Bytnar said.
Bytnar hopes to receive input for the master plan from residents through a charrette or public meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Nov. 13 at Festival Park Community Center, 111 E. Old Ridge Road.
"It should be a very productive meeting since nothing so far gathered is set in stone," Bytnar said. "We want public input because we want residents to embrace the plan."
The city, which is one of the largest geographically in the area, has been outlined into 10 areas for current and future land use, Bytnar said.
Discussion will be limited to about 10 minutes per area with the charrette leaders taking notes during the process.
Some of the areas include the U.S. 30 corridor, the city's downtown, the County Line/Ind. 130 area, Ross Township, 61st Avenue/St. Mary Medical Center, 10th Street educational corridor, the west end and the 37th Avenue/Cressmoor area.
"The master plan will go into specifics as far as land use," Bytnar said.
City officials will zoom in to take a close look at each of the 10 areas and then zoom out to look at the larger picture that is Hobart, Bytnar said.
Although the city isn't working on its master plan with Ball State University, graduate students from the university will be providing input indirectly through a separate study, Bytnar said.
Graduate students next semester will be taking part in a Merrillville/Hobart U.S. 30 project. That research will look at ways to make U.S. 30 more pedestrian friendly particularly for those wanting to walk or ride bikes to destinations, Bytnar said.
"That research will be a sub-chapter in Hobart's completed master plan," Bytnar said.
Other related information that will become part of the plan includes the recent downtown impact study and recent environmental impact studies including that of the Robinson Lake area.
Please Wait…