In cooperation with:

Lake, LaPorte and Porter Counties - Lake and Porter

County Plan Commissions are working with POWER on

natural resource protection, septic issues, and a Smart

Growth Initiative Project in collaboration with the

Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission. A

series of workshops have been developed to help

address the regional growth issues and their impact on

the Lake Michigan shoreline and surrounding farmland in

these counties.

Tippecanoe County – Planning with POWER has been

working closely with the Tippecanoe Soil and Water

Conservation District on protection of natural resources

and is helping the District’s Rural and Urban Study

Committees look at future land use impacts on natural

resources. POWER has worked with the Wildcat Creek

Watershed Alliance on land use issues affecting several

watersheds in the Tippecanoe County region. The

POWER program has presented programming and

expertise to the Wildcat Foundation on several

occasions addressing land use and water quality issues.

Elkhart County - Planning with POWER has

held several meetings to discuss natural

resource protection and to help initiate a

comprehensive land use plan update. The

POWER project is also working with several

watershed projects in the county to help them

incorporate the results and findings into the

land use planning goals for the future.

Hendricks County - Local leadership

organized a Planning with POWER Advisory

Committee that meets monthly and advised the

Plan Commission on incorporating natural

resource protection into the comprehensive

planning process. This group is helping update

and revise the subdivision control ordinances,

as well as developing a conservation design

subdivision ordinance for the Hendricks County

Plan Commission.

Dearborn County - Planning with POWER

has worked with both the City of Aurora and

Dearborn County on incorporating natural

resource protection into long range land use

planning effort. The POWER program helped

organize a Hillside Development Workshop for

local officials and is presently working with the

County Plan Director and the Steering

Committee to incorporate natural resource

protection into the recently updated county

comprehensive land use plan.

Floyd & Harrison Counties - Planning with POWER helped

organize a Planning with POWER committee which meets to

address natural resource and farmland protection and water

quality concerns in future land use planning. Septics, hillside

development, and sensitive natural areas were identified as

critical issues for these counties.

LaGrange County - Planning with POWER has

initiated an ongoing project with LaGrange

County Soil and Water Conservation District

involving the Little Elkhart River Watershed

project and is working to incorporate natural

resources protection strategies into the long-

term land use planning process. Several

Planning with POWER programs have been

presented to the public on these issues.

For additional information, contact:

Robert McCormick, Planning with POWER Coordinator

Telephone: 765-494-3627, Email: rmmcormi@purdue.edu

Vanderburgh County - Planning With POWER helped the

Vanderburgh Soil and Water District organize a multi-county Smart

Growth and the Protection of Natural Resources Workshop. An

ongoing Smart Growth and Protection of Natural Resources

committee was organized and meets monthly to address land use

issues, smart growth, and natural resource protection in the

Vanderburgh and Evansville metro area. This group partners with

Sustainable Evansville which has a similar mission addressing

sustainable land use in the region.

Porter County - Planning With POWER has helped Porter

County with the development and adoption of an open

space, or conservation subdivision, ordinance requiring all

major subdivisions to preserve a minimum of 15% open

space, and up to 50% open space in sensitive areas.

POWER received a national smart growth technical

assistance grant to work with the Porter County Plan

Commission to develop a traditional neighborhood design

manual and an ordinance update. These TND ordinances

will allow and encourage mixed use, compact, and

walkable developments near urban areas, and can also be

utilized in the nearby transit-oriented design development

in Portage in combination with the South Shore Commuter

Line for travel into the Chicago Metro Area.

Ohio County - Planning With POWER is

helping the Ohio County Comprehensive

Plan Steering Committee to incorporate

natural resource protection into the

comprehensive long range land use plan

for Ohio County. The POWER Program is

bringing Purdue Soil Scientists and health

officials together to address septic and

sewer issues affecting water and natural

resources in Ohio County

Monroe and Brown Counties - Planning

With POWER has been partnering with the

Bean Blossom Creek Watershed Planning

process to address natural resource

protection and land use issues. Several

programs were presented in Brown and

Monroe Counties on land use issues. On-

site septic issues are being addressed by

Purdue Soil Scientists. POWER has worked

with the Monroe County Plan Director on

Conservation Design development

strategies and several other natural

resource protection issues.

Planning with POWER presents a

30 minute PowerPoint

presentation that introduces the 10 principles of smart growth and

how they are connected to a

community’s water quality,

natural resources, economic

development, and, ultimately, the quality of life.

Jasper County - Planning with POWER is

working closely with Jasper County

Commissioners and other local officials on a

Long Range Land Use Planning Committee and

with the Jasper County Soil and Water

Conservation District on a Water Quality

Awareness Project involving land use issues.

Available Publications

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