Morgan County Comprehensive Plan

1. Morgan County Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee Meeting September 20, 2018

2. Agenda • Introduction and Roles • Planning Process and Schedule • Demographic Profile Preview • Visioning Exercise/Overview of Previous Plans • Public Engagement • Next Steps

3. Introductions • Consultant Team • Kyle Lueken- HWC Engineering, 317-347-3663 ext. 218 klueken@hwcengineering.com • Amber Janzen- HWC Engineering, 765-336-4791 ajanzen@hwcengineering.com • Steering Committee

4. What is a Comprehensive Plan? • It is an official policy document • It describes the community’s vision for itself • It sets long-term goals and strategies for the community (10-20yrs) • It is a prerequisite to local planning and zoning

5. What is a Comprehensive Plan? • It helps identify what development is appropriate (and what is not), where it should go and how it relates the things that are around it • It addresses a broad variety of local issues such as: • Roads and infrastructure • Natural resources • Quality of place • Housing • Land use • Economic development • Public safety

6. What a Comprehensive Plan is NOT. • It is not legally binding planning and zoning law • It is not a checklist of everything that a community lacks • It will not spend significant time focusing on things that are unrealistic for your community

7. Why is this process important? • It prepares the community to achieve success when opportunities are presented • It can establish the goals and priorities to help leaders make good decisions • It is a tool of accountability

8. What is the Planning Process? • This vision and goals of this plan will rely heavily on public input and will be tailored to fit Morgan County’s needs. • When completed, this plan will serve as a living document that may need revised if community goals, desires and needs change over time.

9. What is the Planning Process? • The Morgan County Comprehensive plan process will: • Review and evaluate existing conditions • Engage the public with extensive public outreach • Identify the county’s vision and a set of actionable goals for the future • Identify possible alternatives for meeting your goals • Establish a process to evaluate the success of the plan

10. Plan Schedule

11. Demographic Overview • Understanding demographics combined with stakeholder, steering committee and public feedback is useful for making informed decisions and crafting policies catered to Morgan County. • Demographic snapshot • Population: 70,252 • Median Age: 41.6 • Median Income: $60,094 • Poverty rate: 12.5% • Comparative analysis: Johnson and Hendricks County

12. Demographic Overview

13. Demographic Overview

14. Demographic Overview: Significant Trends

15. Demographic Overview

16. Commuting Patterns • The majority of workers (60.3%) are commuting away from Morgan County • Most commute to Marion and Johnson County, while some travel to Monroe County

17. Visioning Exercise • On the large 24x36 map, please place a sticker on the following general areas: • Mark the area(s) of Morgan County that you are PROUD OFwith a blue dot. • Mark the area(s) of Morgan County that you would like to CHANGE with a red dot. • Mark the area(s) of Morgan County that you think has the most FUTURE OPPORTUNITY with a yellow dot. • If an area has already been marked that you agree with, you may place another sticker overlapping it. If you disagree, you may also place a conflicting color dot sticker overlapping it. Please don’t completely cover other stickers so we can see where areas of conflict or agreement occur.

18. How would you describe Morgan County today? • How would you hope to describe Morgan County in 10 years? Visioning Exercise

19. Takeaways from Previous Plans • Protect and enhance natural resources as a quality of life measure • Ensure growth pressures from Marion County and build out of 1-69 are sustainable • Provide connectivity to and from major corridors • Establish appropriate land uses adjacent to major corridors that will benefit the community. • Protect prime agricultural land • Retain history and character of Morgan County

20. Input from County Fair

21. “Tell Us About Morgan County” • Issues: • The roads need better snow removal – residents often have to clear roads themselves • Road conditions are horrible • Crime and drug problems • Poor interstate connectivity • Lack of connection roads to 37/I-69 • No connection from 44 north to Greenwood without having to travel west • I-69 is cutting off Waverly Park • The waterway north of Waverly is not natural and limits future development in floodplains • West of Mooresville was originally a floodplain, but has been filled in • Need better access to Mooresville from I-70 without having to wind through town • Erosion is bad without retention ponds and White Lick Creek (east of Mooresville) isn’t enough retention • Opportunities: • Protect the trees/woodland areas • Create better connections throughout the county to 37/I-69 • Downtown Martinsville improvements are really nice/like the direction it’s headed

22. Input from County Fair

23. “In One Sentence How Do You Describe Morgan County Today?” • Changing • Nice, hilly terrain • Bucolic • Small, nice community • Diverse, a lot here • Friendly small town • Very pretty land and trees • Close to Indy and Bloomington, but offers the benefits of small town life • Plateaued but facing a new field of opportunity

24. Input from County Fair

25. “What Are Your Dreams for the Future in Morgan County?” • Dog Park • Crew Car Wash • Motorsports drag strip and dirt bike track • More choices in dining and shopping • Mountain biking trails • More trails along the White River and places to exercise • Recreation along the White River • Taking advantage of natural resources and having more accessible outdoor amenities • Better road connections • More development along the river to make it an attraction • Road improvements along route to Hendricks County • Large strip of commercial development like in Gatlinburg • Starbucks

26. Input from County Fair

27. “What is Culturally or Historically Significant to You?” • What are you PROUD of? • Parks in Mooresville • Shopping is good • Small towns in the county • Good schools • Schools are going in a good direction • Excited for I-69 • It’s perfect the way it is • Concert series • Close-knit communities • Waverly Park • Good mix of rural and city • Small towns, great people, close-knit

28. “What is Culturally or Historically Significant to You?” • What are you MISSING? • Local history museum • Restaurants • More respect for farmers • Higher-end restaurants (like Applebee’s) • More parks and fun things to do • More pride in non-sports activities at the schools • Inclusiveness – not to be considered an outsider • More private schools • Better restaurants in Mooresville • Dining choices other than pizza, burgers, or Mexican food • More bike trails • More activities for teenagers • Movie theater • Skate park • Better park for young kids/toddlers in Martinsville – no safe options currently • Involvement with the White River recreation master planning efforts being done by Marion and Hamilton counties (White River Vision Plan) • Programs for homeless youth and drug addiction

29. Public Engagement • Comprehensive Plan Website • Online Survey • Public Workshops • Interview Stakeholders

30. Next Steps • Distribute public survey • Establish next steering committee meeting • Date, time and Location • Establish Public Workshops • Date, time and locations • Stakeholder Interviews

31. QUESTIONS

32. Land Use

33. Natural Resources & Amenities

34. Prime Farmland

35. Functional Classifications

36. Kyle LuekenLandscape Architect HWC Engineeringklueken@hwcengineering.com CONTACT INFORMATION