Planning & community Development
The Department of
Planning & Community Development is primarily responsible for land use and
economic development issues for the City of Crawfordsville. The
department oversees citizen boards that handle the majority of the city’s
land use issues.
The Crawfordsville Plan Commission is a
nine-member board that addresses rezoning and subdivision of land requests
for the City and Two-Mile Zone. Another responsibility of the Plan
Commission is to update the City’s Comprehensive Plan on a regular basis.
The Comprehensive Plan was last updated in 2007. The Zoning Code and
Subdivision Control Ordinance are both in the process of being updated.
It is anticipated that the update will be complete in 2009. The
Director of the Department of Planning & Community Development also serves
in an advisory capacity to the Plan Commission.
The Crawfordsville Plat Committee is a five-member board that is chaired
by the President of the Plan Commission. The City Engineer, the Director of
the Crawfordsville Waste Water Department, an additional representative from
the Plan Commission and the Director of Planning and Community Development
also serve on the Plat Committee. The sole responsibility of this committee
is to grant secondary plat approval for subdivision of land requests.
Primary plat approval is granted by the Crawfordsville Plan Commission. The
Crawfordsville Plat Committee meets at 5:00 PM in the City Council Chambers
on an as needed basis
The Crawfordsville Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) is a five-member board
that addresses variances to the development standards laid out in the City’s
Zoning Code. The primary types of appeals that can be filed with the BZA
include: Nonconforming Situation Ruling; Administrative Appeal Ruling;
Special Exception; Development Standard Variance; and Use Variance. The
Director of Planning & Community Development serves in an advisory capacity
to the BZA. The Crawfordsville Board of Zoning Appeals meets the third
Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM in the City Council Chambers.
In addition to addressing City land use concerns the
Department of Planning & Community Development also issues a variety of
permits relating to construction projects. Building permits, improvement
location permits, sign permits, demolition permits, and address designations
are just a sampling of the permits that are issued by the department. For
large-scale construction projects the City has created the Technical
Advisory Committee (TAC). The TAC Committee is made up of representatives
from City Departments, state agencies, and utility companies. The TAC
Committee reviews large-scale building plans prior to the issuance of
appropriate permits from the City of Crawfordsville. The TAC Committee meets
on an as needed basis in the City Council Chambers.
The Historic Preservation Commission is a seven member
board concerned with the elements of development, redevelopment,
rehabilitation, and preservation that affect visual quality in a historic
district. The Commission is responsible for administering the facade
grant/loan program as well as governing locally designated historic
districts. The Historic Preservation Commission meets the fourth
Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.
The Department of Planning and Community Development also
serves as staff to the Crawfordsville Redevelopment Commission. The
Redevelopment Commission is a five member board responsible for overseeing
the City's tax increment finance (TIF) districts. The Commission may
also acquire, redevelop, and sell property. The Redevelopment
Commission is the owner of the
Crawfordsville Commerce Park and is in the process of developing the
park. The Redevelopment Commission meets the second Wednesday of each
month in the City Council Chambers.
As its name implies the Department of
Planning & Community Development also handles community development matters
for the City of Crawfordsville. The department is responsible for qualifying
relocating or expanding businesses that are seeking City incentives such as
tax abatement and/or tax increment financing (TIF). Additionally the
department is responsible for overseeing the City’s development strategy for
the
Crawfordsville Commerce Park as well as the City’s branding and
marketing strategy.
Planning News