By LARRY LANNAN
The Fishers City comprehensive plan is now five years old and is nearing the end of a review process. The document, called the 2040 Plan, has had online sessions for resident comments and the Fishers Plan Commission held a public hearing at Wednesday night’s monthly session
The major changes to the plan can be found at this link.
The revisions received a unanimous positive recommendation from the plan commission, with a few amendments made by Pete Peterson. He says the housing task force created by the plan should not have certain specific items for future actions because the task force members should decide which actions to study and recommend.
The items removed due to the amendment include:
- Organize an education effort on affordable housing including needs for various demographics, housing types, and city programs. Target messages to the general community as well as potential housing developers.
- Update the UDO to define a broader range of alternative housing types such as duplexes, triplexes, accessory dwelling units, garage apartments etc. and expand where these types are permitted.
- Identify feasible incentives to promote development of “Missing Middle Housing” types, affordable or workforce housing, as well as ADA and accessible housing units.
- In the development review process for new neighborhoods, encourage the integration of a variety of different types and price points of housing so that someone can afford to live in Fishers starting out and stay until retirement.
- Expand the matching grant program or establish separate grant programs to fund home repairs, including exterior repairs for owner occupied and rental properties; to developers to provide new affordable housing or to renovate existing housing that meets affordability criteria; and to retrofitting of existing housing for ADA or universal access.
The Fishers 2040 Plan now goes to the Fishers City Council for final approval June 21.