What does the future hold for Mooresville, Indiana?

MOORESVILLE — Residents gathered at the Mooresville High School Thursday evening to learn more about the town's new comprehensive plan and what it could have in store for the community.

The Pioneer Pavillion classroom at the Mooresville High School served as the venue for the first open house workshop. The event was held by HWC Engineering, the company the town is partnering with to provide technical assistance throughout the comprehensive planning process. The planning process is called "Spark Mooresville."

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The workshop provided citizens with the chance to meet members of the team working on the project, including Project Manager Adam Peaper. The public was also encouraged to discuss what they would like to see included in the plan. Community feedback is vital to the process of crafting the comprehensive plan as the town wants it to reflect the values and priorities of community members.

The project team consists of Cory Whitesell, who works as the director of landscape architecture and planning at HWC Engineering. Whitesell is also collaborating with the city of Martinsville as it looks to update its comprehensive plan after five years. Other team members include Project Manager Adam Peaper, Planner Genevieve Zircher and Traffic Engineer Amanda Johnson.

The town's current comprehensive plan has not been updated since 2009.

A key facet of the plan is striking a balance between preserving the small-town charm that so many Mooresville residents appreciate while maximizing the town's full economic potential.

"The question is, does Mooresville want to grow? And if so, on what terms or what does good growth and development look like for Mooresville?" Project Manager Adam Peaper said. "Because that is a very community-specific question. Desired growth or good growth can mean different things for different towns or cities."

Peaper explained that several communities surrounding Mooresville are experiencing exponential growth. As this growth continues, Mooresville could face transportation system issues and other growth pressures.

"A number of the communities around Mooresville have been growing to different degrees. When we look at Plainfield or go further east to Greenwood or Avon, it is substantial growth," Peaper said. "But even some of the smaller communities closer like Monrovia or Bargersville have also experienced significantly higher growth rates. Mooresville over the last 20 years has been pretty consistent population-wise, with a little increase and little decrease. So we're trying to understand why that has been."

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So Peaper and his team are trying to comprehend these potential changes and how Mooresville can be better prepared so the town is thriving on a communal and economic basis.

"Knowing that these other communities are growing and are likely to continue to grow, in addition to I-69 and improvements to the east. Plainfield is interested in another I-70 interchange to the north and west," Peaper said. "What is that going to mean for growth pressures in the area? And how proactive does Mooresville want to be in trying to plan for and guide that or be reactive and say we're happy with our current town limits."

What is a comprehensive plan?

The policy document is intended to serve as a useful guide the town, elected officials and local businesses can consult when making investment-related decisions in the community. These types of decisions center on land use, infrastructure and community development. The plan also focuses on ways of improving quality of life, adding more housing options and exploring the potential impact of natural resources.

Peaper said the purpose of the plan is to aid the town as it strives to manage expected growth that is projected to enter the surrounding areas throughout the next decade.

"A comprehensive plan is a long-range guide for development, redevelopment and investment in the community," Peaper said.

Peaper emphasized that he and his team want the adopted plan to incorporate the perspectives of local business owners and residents.

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"We want it to have an outward facing component for residents, property owners, business owners, development and community so that they understand the kind of thought and desired direction," he said. "Obviously that desired direction should be reflective of the community, current residents and their interests. That's why we put an emphasis on community engagement and have things like the project website and the online survey that is open right now."

Once the town finalizes its comprehensive plan, it is important to note that it is not legally binding. Standards established by the plan are realized by adopting or amending local zoning and subdivision ordinances.

Planning process

In addition to the in-person public workshop, the HWC team will also be interviewing stakeholders within the community and compiling a public participation report. Over the course of the next three months, the project team will conduct a traffic analysis and four separate meetings of the steering committee will occur. Initial plans will be drafted before further revisions are applied at a future time.

The process will shift into its final phase of the plan review starting in January before eventually adopting the final plan in May. The steering committee will also meet two more times between January and May. Peaper confirmed the project is still on course to be ready and approved by the end of May.

The final iteration of the draft plan must be approved by the Mooresville Plan Commission. If the commission recommends approval of the plan, then the final decision rests with the city council.

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Peaper and his team are looking for more public engagement as the planning process develops.

"We'll continue community outreach and engagement efforts as we develop preliminary recommendations to get confirmation that we're on the right track and then move into the draft plan," Peaper said. "And again, go back and present that before we would move into any formal adoption process."

Mooresville residents are invited to participate in the process by completing an online workshop, taking the community survey and using the interactive map. All of these features can be found online at www.planmooresville.com

This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Mooresville Comprehensive Plan: residents learn about future vision