Monrovia, IN

Unified Development Ordinance

Following the completion of a Comprehensive Plan update led by HWC, the first update in 24 years, the Town also embarked on updating its Zoning and Subdivision Control Ordinances.

HWC helped combine Monrovia’s Zoning and Subdivision Control Ordinances into a single Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). The UDO simplified the previous ordinances into a more accessible and user-friendly format while consolidating zoning districts in Town from 24 to 16.

In addition to the UDO, an overlay district was created for the SR 39 corridor to provide architectural and site design guidance for developments along this route, which serves as the main entry and gateway into Monrovia.

Lastly, a new digital zoning map was created based on the future land use map from the comprehensive plan and corresponding to the zoning district changes developed as part of the UDO.

Tipton, IN

Unified Development Ordinance

Desiring more autonomy over development decisions, the City of Tipton chose to fully separate zoning administration from Tipton County. As part of this effort, the City recognized the need to update and modernize its 20+ year-old zoning, subdivision, and flood ordinances. The City turned to HWC Engineering to lead the update. HWC further assisted the City by providing on-call planning services to serve as staff during the launch of the new department.

Madison County, IN

Residential Architectural Standards

Madison County turned to HWC and Civic Blueprint to provide single-family residential architectural standards for its existing zoning ordinance. Through discussions with the County about the importance of streetscape diversity and quality architectural design, different approaches were presented to the County. Once the approach was confirmed, standards were drafted with many photos and graphics to clearly explain the County’s vision. The approved standards were formatted to integrate seamlessly into the County’s existing land use regulations.

Boone County, IN

Energy Overlay

Boone County has seen significant development interest in recent years, from major LEAP development to potential large-scale utility energy projects. Seeing this high development pressure and hearing rising concerns from its residents, the County leadership proactively enacted a temporary moratorium on large-scale renewable energy projects until standards could be enacted.

The County selected HWC Engineering to develop a set of custom zoning and development standards that would respect its rural farming heritage, protect its prime farmland and natural resources, and ensure that energy production is safe. The HWC team worked closely with the Steering Committee to create this set of standards on a very short turnaround. The standards include a custom-made map of Prime Agricultural Land and were designed to blend with the existing zoning ordinance. The community was strongly in favor of these new standards and referred to them as the “gold standard” for energy production and storage development during adoption meetings.

Putnam County, IN

Unified Development Ordinance

After rejecting a zoning overhaul a decade earlier, HWC Engineering was retained to help Putnam County replace its 1992 ordinances. HWC began the effort by creating a digital, parcel-based zoning map from a hand-drawn map that lacked parcel lines and was subsequently difficult to administer and enforce. After formal adoption of the existing zoning map, the work began to translate the goals and recommendations of its new Comprehensive Plan into development regulations while improving flexibility for the County’s communities. In recognition of this achievement, Putnam County received the 2024 Local Government Cooperation Award from the Association of Indiana Counties.