Town of Roanoke Comprehensive Plan Information
Roanoke Comprehensive Plan
The Roanoke Comprehensive Plan is an opportunity for everyone interested in the future of Roanoke to share their ideas and insight. The community-driven plan will address the town’s goals and objectives on a range of topics over the next 5-10 years and recommend strategies for achieving those goals and objectives.
Please click on this link to download the Roanoke Comprehensive Plan Draft.
What is a Comprehensive Plan?
A comprehensive plan is a foundational policy document for local governments. It establishes a framework to guide public and private decisions about future growth, development, preservation, and change, in order to meet social, economic, and environmental goals, within a municipality or county over a designated planning horizon.
The state of Indiana allows communities to adopt a comprehensive plan “for the promotion of public health, safety, morals, convenience, order, or the general welfare and for the sake of efficiency and economy in the process of development.”
Indiana Code 36-7-4-502 states that a comprehensive plan must include the following elements:
1. A statement of objectives for the future development of the jurisdiction.
2. A statement of policy for the land use development of the jurisdiction.
3. A statement of policy for the development of public ways, public places, public lands, public structures, and public utilities.
The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs has additional requirements for comprehensive plans. OCRA comprehensive plan requirements can be found at https://www.in.gov/ocra/cdbg/files/Comprehensive_Plan_MPR_2020.pdf.
Roanoke is developing its comprehensive plan to meet OCRA requirements so that the town may have a better opportunity when applying for federal funding distributed by OCRA.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why does Roanoke need to update its comprehensive plan?
The town’s current comprehensive plan is out of date. Conditions continue to change significantly over time and a new plan will reflect those changes and better prepare the town for the future. A new plan will also put the town in a better position when applying for certain types of funding distributed by OCRA and other entities.
- What are the next steps in the development of the comprehensive plan?
Once survey responses have been compiled and reviewed a comprehensive plan draft will be submitted to the town. A public forum will then be scheduled where representatives from Region 3-A Development and Regional Planning Commission will be available to provide information about the plan and answer questions to any interested citizens.
Residents and others interested in the future of Roanoke will have multiple opportunities to provide input on the plan. The Roanoke Comprehensive Plan Goals & Objectives Survey will be available until July 31, 2022. There is a link to the digital survey on this page. Survey responses will be analyzed, and the results will inform which goals and objectives will remain in the plan, which will be changed, and which will be removed.
The plan will then need to be approved by both the Town Plan Commission and Town Council prior to becoming effective. Both of these approvals must occur at public hearings, providing the public with additional opportunities to comment on the plan.
- I have questions about the plan? Who should I contact?
If you have questions about the plan, please contact Matt Brinkman, Executive Director with Region 3-A Development and Regional Planning Commission, at mbrinkman@region3a.org or 260-347-4714.