Pendleton, IN

Highway Corridor Overlay District

Pendleton recognized the importance of its gateway corridors in shaping the Town’s image and fostering economic development. Seeking to create inviting public streetscapes, the Town engaged HWC Engineering to develop a Corridor Overlay District.

This overlay provides a cohesive design framework while offering practical solutions for property owners and businesses. Tailored to the unique character of each corridor, the overlay incorporates urban design best practices, establishing standards for both building rehabilitation and new construction. These standards address site design elements such as exterior materials, colors, parking, lighting, signage, landscaping, and screening (walls and fencing). The overlay also reevaluated permitted land uses, prohibiting certain undesirable activities within the corridors. To ensure consistent implementation, a Design Review Board was established to review all projects within the overlay district.

Lawrenceburg, IN

Unified Development Ordinance

The City of Lawrenceburg adopted a new Comprehensive Plan in December 2021. The Comprehensive Plan recognized four distinct districts across the community including downtown, the riverfront, US 50 corridor, and Ludlow Hill area. However, the City’s zoning ordinance did not distinguish between these very different character areas. To better implement the vision and recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan, Lawrenceburg retained HWC Engineering to create a Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) that combines the zoning, subdivision, construction standards, housing, and historic preservation codes into one document. The first phase of the UDO process included assessing the existing ordinances with respect to the recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan, changes to State planning statutes, recent planning and zoning case law, and current development best practices. After the assessment, a series of working group meetings with City staff, elected leaders, and building and development professionals were conducted to strategize solutions and refine drafted updates. The new UDO creates general mixed-use and downtown mixed-use districts, as well as floodplain, highway corridor, and steep slope overlay districts. It establishes a technical advisory committee for the purpose of site plan review and other important functions, and a new zoning map was created to align with the districts established in the UDO.

Flora, IN

Unified Development Ordinance

The Town of Flora had been operating under a zoning ordinance rooted in the 1970s, a framework built for a different era and long overdue for replacement. A dedicated Steering Committee brought community insight to every step of the process. Their engagement made all the difference. From the kickoff meeting to final adoption, Flora’s new Unified Development Ordinance was enacted in just 79 days, delivering a half-century’s worth of regulatory progress in a matter of months. The result is a modern structure that gives Flora confidence for their future.

Morristown, IN

Unified Development Ordinance

The Town of Morristown struggled for over two years to update its zoning ordinance on its own, with the Plan Commission meeting twice a month trying to find a path forward. HWC and Civic Blueprint were retained to break the impasse through a streamlined, focused approach. Just 106 days after the initial kickoff meeting, the Town Council unanimously approved the new Unified Development Ordinance. Based on this successful collaboration, the Town retained HWC to provide ongoing planning and zoning administration support.

Lebanon, IN

Unified Development Ordinance

In one of the fastest growing areas of Indiana, and with a Unified Development Ordinance approaching 16 years of use, the City of Lebanon recognized the need to update its standards to address its transition from an urban-rural community to part of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Area. This pressure was compounded by the announcement of a $2.1 billion investment by Eli Lilly and Company in two new manufacturing facilities, bringing 500 new jobs to the community. The Lebanon Unified Development Ordinance helped to streamline City processes, update zoning districts and appropriate uses, and protect areas of the City with unique character, such as downtown Lebanon. The City is better prepared to manage growth and development as they transition into this new era.