Advisory Plan Commission - Regular Meeting

like to call to order the uh meeting of the Charles Town Advisory Plan Commission for the 12th of January, 2026. Uh like to all rise and I to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Call Mr. Bergen here. Mr. Hester here. Mr. Goodlet

here. I'm talking about these people here. I'm going to get you and him. That what was your last name again? Hopage. Yeah, Mr. Hop here. Excuse Daisy Lucio and uh who else we miss? Ronnie Leven. Ronnie Levens they called in. Um

oh and Mary Clark I'm Tony Jackson the building commissioner. I'll sit in L the absence of Mr. Ble who is the president. First order of business is uh we have we do have four people. So we do have a uh quorum. Uh you have before you the uh a copy of the uh agenda on the tablets uh like a motion to approve the agenda to approve what they said. Okay. Yeah, I'll make the motion.

Motion by Mr. Her, second by Mr. Good. All in favor say I. I. Uh standing business uh you have the prior meeting minutes entertain a motion for approval of those minutes or any changes. I make that motion. Uh motion by Mr. Bergen, second by Mr. Hoff. All in favor say I. I. We have any public comment? Okay. Uh the new business. Let's go ahead and get the uh we have a comprehensive plan. We have a presentation here for that. Uh young lady would come in front of us.

Y as far as changing slides. Oh, let me say this first. This meeting is being live streamed by under production multimedia. So we always have to say that and this is we open up the public meeting for the uh comprehensive plan. the public hearing. Public hearing, excuse me.

All right. Uh my name is Bronte Merl and I'm a community planner with Taylor Seeker Williams Design Group. Uh we've been working since this last spring uh with the city of Charles Town uh to develop the comprehensive plan. Um so I'm going to talk to you all for about 10 minutes. Not going to try to talk your ear off, but just give you a highle overview of what's in the plan, how it was developed, and answer any questions that you all might have. Um so to do that, just go forward to the next slide. Um just want to talk about real quick what's um what we're going to be talking through. So um yeah, again just want to talk about the process, a few of the goals and strategies from the plan. We'll also talk briefly about the land use and transportation plans and then um some of the key points from the implementation piece, especially uh what's coming next, uh in the next year or so. Next slide, please. All right. Um, oh, looks like some of our headers have migrated around. Oh, no, you can go to the next slide. Um, so it that just sometimes happens with uh PowerPoint, but that's okay. Um, so just at a real high level, um, just want to talk about what a comprehensive plan is and what our focus has been over the last several months. Uh, so developing a comprehensive plan is really a collaborative process. Um, as we'll talk about here in a moment, we worked with a steering committee of local staff, elected officials, and uh, community members to really help guide this process. Um, and a comprehensive plan is intended to articulate the values of your community. Uh, we typically start with a few big questions, uh, which is where is Charles Town today? So, understanding demographics, economic conditions, the physical conditions of the community, where are you guys today, where are you heading? Um, so looking at projections uh for future population, uh, where does Charles Town want to go? So that's a lot of the community engagement piece, really understanding what you all as a community and um, as a

staff really see your future as a community and then how do we get there? Um, so what's what are those strategic elements to help get us there? Um, Indiana code really requires a few main things out of a comp plan. Uh the first one is that you have a statement of goals and objectives. Uh so what are we trying to achieve and how are we achieving it? Um you need to have a statement of policy for land use development. Um and then a statement of policy for public ways, public spaces, public lands, public structures, and public utilities. Um and then you can also have other optional elements. So um what's in a comprehensive plan can vary quite a bit between communities, but these core elements are always going to be there in the state of Indiana. Um, and for your host plan, we're really thinking about this as a lot of different issues are going into this. And really the goal with it is to help all of these different layers of your community, whether that's transportation, utilities, parks, land use, whatever it is, really making sure that when you layer them on top of each other, they all work together. Go to the next slide. Um, and so a comprehensive plan is really intended to be a legislative document. It's not a legally binding enforceable document. So if we say that our goal is to um develop you know a new park example uh that's not one of the specific recommendations but if we say it is to develop a park uh you are not now required as a city to now go and build that park. It's a guiding document that provides direction for the future but it is not a hard and fast commitment to make it happen. um because we know things always change, funding opportunities, uh community direction, whatever it is. Um it's an official policy statement for private development projects and community expenditures. Um it's a vision for your future and it's the foundation for land use decisions. So, it can help guide your resoning

decisions is one of the big things that'll play a part in uh when it comes to the land use plan. Next slide, please. All right. Oh, there we go. All right. Um, and so I just want to talk a little bit about the process that we went through for this project. Uh, so we got started in April of 2025. One of the first things we always do with these is we form a steering committee. Um, and so this had a real mix of different community members who helped guided us through the process. We met four times throughout the process. Um, at each meeting we would address new topics. So we started out really thinking about the vision. what is your big vision for Charles Town? Then kind of narrowing that down. So, our steering committee got to provide feedback on the goals and objectives, help us change those, draft those, really tailor those to your all's needs. Um, we worked with the steering committee on the land use plan and the transportation plan so that when we could then take those comments and take it back out for public review as well. Um, so we had two public meetings during this process, one again towards the beginning and one uh in October. Uh, and at both of these, we were really asking communities, community members for their input. Um, we don't typically just go and tell people what we're doing. We ask them what they want to see and what they need. Uh, and so we heard a lot about housing affordability. We heard a lot about traffic safety. I would say those are like two big issues we heard about. Um, we also heard about economic development issues as well. Um, we also did a public survey as we'll talk about here in a moment. You guys had a lot of involvement on your public survey. Um over 400 people participated, which is an amazing number for a community of your size. We have much larger communities that don't hit that number. So that was amazing. Um and then lastly, what I want to point out um is just through through this process, uh what we've really gotten to now is the adoption phase. Um so we recently developed the draft plan that the

steering committee was able to review. We made edits and then we have it back to you guys. Now um is that and that's the draft that you all have. Um if you go to the next slide, I do want to talk briefly about some of the community input that we received. So these are all highlights from uh the online survey. Uh and this is all in the plan document itself. So we had 559 total participants. Uh when we asked people about housing, we heard a mix of different answers, but really we saw that almost 60% of survey respondents felt like there needed to be more single family housing in the community. Uh 30% wanted to see more senior housing and assisted living and 23% wanted to see more patio homes. We asked people about a range of different housing types and these were the three that were leading. Um we asked people about needed transportation improvements. your leading one there is better maintenance and repairs on roads uh was one your top one. Um we also asked people about the most needed types of development overall. Um and your top one there was retail and dining uh also entertainment options and then protected open spaces and natural areas. Um so that's all summarized in the plan. There's also an appendix that does a deep dive into all the uh survey responses. So if you're someone who wants to dig through and read everything, you absolutely can do that as well. Um and if you'll go to the next slide, please. All right. Um and so I just want to talk through high level again some of our goals and strategies here. Uh so the plan document really has five main goals. Uh so each of these is really around a different topic. So the first one is public spaces and placemaking and that is to expand parks, public spaces, events and programming that bring people together. And so that will be then supported by a series of objectives which I'll talk about here in a moment. Goal number two is downtown which is to enhance downtown to

establish it as a key destination that defines Charles Town. Goal number three is housing. So expand housing options to meet the needs of a variety of households and people at all stages of life. Goal number four is connectivity. So enhance the transportation system to support safe, connected and efficient travel for automobiles and people. And then goal number five is economic development. So create a sound economic base for the city and attract users that support a high quality of life for their residents. Uh those are the five main goals. And if we go to the next slide, um you can see that each goal is supported by a strategy. So this is a graphic we included in the plan to help communicate some of this structure. So when you've got your five goals, uh really each one has a set of strategies, at least two, some of them have three or four, um but that help better define the specific things that we want to get done. So for example, under housing, we have strategy 3.2 that talks about prioritizing housing for seniors, workforce, and those with accessibility needs. Um and then we have two action steps underneath that. And so our action items or action steps are really those specific steps that can be taken to help get that strategy accomplished. Um so if you go to the next slide, um each of your strategies in this document are going to have uh all of that supporting action steps, about information, and then some partners and resources. Um so on the next slide, it just shows you real quick. Again, you get that about statement. um it gives you some background on the strategy and um really how it can be carried out. Um those details really vary depending on the strategy. Uh and then for the action steps on the next slide and again it calls out those specific steps that you can take and then I do want to call out um the partners and resources on the

next slide. Um, so for each of your strategies, uh, what we've really done is identify the agencies, maybe nonprofit partners, state level partners, whoever it is who are going to be involved in getting, um, each of these strategies completed. Uh, and for each of them, we've identified a lead. So, for example, if we're doing something with parks and public spaces, right, it makes sense that your, uh, board of public works might be involved there. Um, and so those would be some of your uh leading people and then you've got other agencies that are supporting them. So when we get into the implementation process, each department or agency really knows what they're in charge of and how to get the ball rolling. Um, we also then have a list of resources. Um, so what are some of those, you know, state level resources especially, um, that are going to help you get the job done as well. Um, let's go to the next slide. Okay. Awesome. Um, so I just want to talk through uh the future land use plan real quick. Um, so your future land use plan is providing a broad vision for land use throughout the community. Uh, this is different from your previous land use plan. We've made some changes with it. Um, the main things that I want to point out is um, how we've divided housing. Um, so we've really separated things into a low density, medium density, and high density residential. Um, so with low density being more of those single family plots, uh, in your more, you know, rural areas, um, you've got your medium density, which is single family with some of like the town homes and whatnot. And then you've got your high density, which still allow single family, but those are the also the areas that are more appropriate for things like apartment buildings. Um, so really showing us where those different densities of housing are. Um, and then we've defined uh two different types of mixed use. So you've got your downtown mixed use. Um, and then you've got your

suburban mixeduse. So, your downtown mixed use can be very much you've got, you know, ground floor, uh, you know, retail over top of that, housing or offices, whereas your suburban mixed use can be that, but it could also be, say, uh, an office next door to a restaurant. Um, so it can come in a different form. Um, so your future land use plan is really going to help guide some of your decision- making. So, when you've got that reszoning in front of you, um you're trying to decide whether or not it's consistent with community needs, this is one of those five things uh that the state uh recommends that you consider um is that future land use plan. Uh so, that's there. And then on the next slide, we have our future transportation plan, which really identifies the transportation projects that are a priority for you all over the next 20 years. Uh so this identifies um a series of different roadway improvements mainly corridors that need safety um in capacity improvements and then corridors that need safety and access management. Um in addition to that we've identified intersections that we heard from community members and steering committee members as being high priority intersections for safety improvements. Um and then we also have gateways as well. So areas where you guys want to uh continue to work on some of that signage and decorative elements that are going to help communicate to people that they've entered Charles Town. So those are the main elements of the transportation plan. Um but I can take any questions that you all have about that as well. Um and then last I just want to talk through the plan implementation with you all. Uh so really we see uh the plan being implemented really in four phases. And you can go to the next slide. Awesome. Thank you. Um, and so with that, we've uh really taken all of your action steps that are for each strategy and then organized them into a series of phases for which ones are going to get completed first uh and following. So in

our immediate phase, which is 2026, we've got 12 of your action steps. Uh in your short term, we've got uh we've got 13. Midterm, which is 2031 to 35, we've got seven. And then your long-term, which is 2036 and beyond, we've got just one action stuff. So, it might be like, wow, why do we have so many uh in 2026? And we'll talk about that. It's mostly uh your zoning pieces that you'll be handling with the UDO here soon. Um and then we've also got a phase for ongoing. Um and so ongoing are just some of those more maintenance things, more of those routine things that need to be done on a regular basis. Um, and so if you go to the next slide, I do just want to talk through some of our more immediate action steps. So these are the things for 2026. The first few of them are not zoning related. Um, so these are determine if a Main Street organization would benefit programming and business support. We had a lot of talk with steering committee members about the need for a Main Street program. Um, but there's also a lot of discussion about whether it makes sense in Charles Town's context. So um this is just there as kind of one of those first things is really to explore the need and benefit of that. Uh the next one here is uh to construct phase one of the commons identified in the Charles Town Square vision plan. And then the third one here is to support the use of locally publicized uh sorry yeah of local locally publicized state incentives through um the IHCDA and or IEDC um or targeted local incent incentives. Um and then on the next slide we really have those zoning pieces. So those are seven of them and then there are two more on the next slide as well. Um I'm not going to read through these in a ton of detail just cuz it would take quite a minute. Um but I do want to point out a few things. So this is really about updating regulations to require uh new developments for adequate transitions

between densities. So how are we thinking about screening and buffering what types of land uses are compatible with one another? Um and thinking about incentivizing uh your tree canopy um looking at regulations for parks, open spaces, and amenities within larger developments. Um, and then I'll also point out that we're really, um, also looking at accessory dwelling units um, and thinking about how we can diversify housing types uh, to meet different income needs while really conforming to your all's, you know, current character as well. Um, so there are a lot of things there really with these action steps. Again, this is not a hard and fast commitment to make each of these things included in the zoning uh your UDO as you update it, but it does mean that as your new steering committee for the UDO sits down, uh that these are all topics that are going to be high on their list to consider and talk through and see how they get included into the updated zoning. All right. And then those are the other two as well. Um the last thing, great. The last thing I want to point out um is just that the plan document ends with two key pieces. The first one is plan and maintenance. So really thinking about how you come back in every year, every couple of years, whatever it is to update it. Uh sometimes we have communities that sit down with a committee every year and says what do we what did we get complete? What are we still working on? What do we want to add to our list of things to get done? Um so you can definitely do something like that and continue to amend it as you go. These are very much intended to be living documents to be updated as you have uh your needs change. Um and then the last note is that we do have a list of some resources um to um that weren't specifically attached to a certain action step but can still be useful as you go about implementation. Um so that's everything I've got for you all. I'm happy to take any questions you've got about the plan as well.

Do you have any questions from the board? I have a question. Yeah, go for it. What's a UDL? It's a unified development ordinance. So, really, uh, what that is is it's taking your zoning ordinance, your subdivision controls, basically all of those land use, uh, regulations, and it's putting it all in one document. We call it the zoning code. Yeah. But they we got a zoning code and has a subdivision right behind it. So, we're just taking all that, putting it together. Yeah. It's it's really just technical jargon, but it's really just compiling our document. All right. I just I just have some questions about some of the things that I'm looking through this. Yes.

Uh and and may is this the time to be asking questions about this thing or do you want me to send emails about questions I got about this or question? Oh, you're right. Um on page 18, this is talking about population change. Yep. From 2013 to 2023, Jeffersonville grows by grew by 107%. figure it doubled in size in those 10 years.

It's well you have to think about population and annexation. Um so if they grow their boundaries that contributes to it. I am but I am going there right now page 18. Um I can go check back that number for you and shoot an email as well. Um okay. I just as sales that just seemed a little interesting to me. Yeah, I can go back and check that one and confirm that for you though. I think Jeffersonville took some of Udica, didn't they? Well, Sersburg is also 66% where Charleston was 5%. So, just those numbers just jump.

Well, and and I'll also note that like this the way the census data works. So, when we started the project, the most recent data we could get a hold of was 2023. Um, and I know you all have really started to see your growth kind of in the last couple years. So, I suspect the the 2024 numbers are being released at the end of this month. I suspect some of those numbers are going to start to change and those percentages are really going to shift over the next couple years as more data is released. Okay, another question. And I'm just these are things that jumped out

this is the time to do it. Median household income 2023. Trump had the highest median income of all Carville just that yes that is the data um that we collected. I I know that that was a point of conversation. Um one of the conversations we had was I know you guys had a neighborhood um that recently had a lot a lot of people moved out of it. Um, and so that's going to affect it a bit is just like the loss of that population on some of your income. Um, but again, that's a number I can go back and check and confirm for you. If it is, it is. If that's the number, that's the number. It just it just seemed like

maybe it's just stereotypical, but I always thought of trust being one of the lesser economic. Yeah, I would say when you get into a larger community like Jeffersonville, you're just going to have a wider range of economic diversity. So your h your households are just generally going to vary more whereas you guys I think you know maybe lost some of those lower income residents and so that's probably why your median household income is showing up so high. It's great. It is. Uh, another one that's jumped out at me I thought was a great thing is Charleston had unemployment rate of in 2023 of 2.6%. Wow, that's great. That's pretty good. Yeah.

All right. Now, I got a couple of I think these are just more of um things typos or maybe some things changed. Yeah. Um, State Road 3 connects to Interstate 265 to the south. State Row 3 does not connect to 265. You are correct. We'll check what page you have on 32. Page 32. All right. That does not connect there. I'm going to get that note down. All right. All right. Then what else you got? On page I'm sorry. I don't need to be this person. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Of course, dude. Go for it.

On page 36, we no longer have a Jonathan Jennings or a Pleasant Ridge Elementary School. Okay. So, just Charleston Elementary. It's combined. And then that was one where I think we were writing this right before that transition happened. So, we can just go in and make that note. Yeah. That's it. Now, you now you always like for me to drive something up and give it to the mayor. She's a teacher also. Sorry. I didn't mean to. Uh, no. This is exactly what it is for. No worries at all. I did actually have a question about uh TIFFs on page 42

just uh the tax increment financing. Just could you explain that a little bit to me? Yes. So in in very simple terms, so if you say you've got an area of town that you want to see improved and you've got a lot of development going on or the potential for a lot of development, um you are then going to take you're going to form a tiff district and basically what that allows you to do is take all of the projected property tax increase, say like it's for the next 20 years, all of the property tax increase that you get from that is then going to be focused specifically those dollars into improvements for that district.

Okay. So that's like setting up a basically an account just for Charles Town and only we have access. Well, it wouldn't be Charles Town itself. It's really a more specific area. So the way it's been used in Eur more recently is, you know, been with River Ridge. Um and so it's been really focused on Eurustrial Development, but people do it for downtowns as well. You designate a boundary of land within the city and you say, "All right, if this was $100,000 worth of land and the 20 years, if it increases in value, that money that you get assessed from that assess value, that money only goes back in that set boundary you've got. It doesn't go to the whole city." Thank you.

Yeah. And then any public comment questions we'll we'll close a public hearing on the uh comprehensive plan. So I'd like to entertain a motion for approval of this. What would happen is we make the recommendation to the council just like everything else. It'll be you know approve approval disapproval or no recommendation at all. So I entertain a motion from the board.

I'll make a motion to uh make this approval with the changes that have been asked to be changed. I'll second it. Motion by Mr. Hester, a second by Mr. Gilland. All in favor? I motion carries. All right. So, the next thing we have is I don't know if we want to recommend we just don't we hold off to appointing officers to the next meeting. So, we're missing three people. Yeah, we're missing seven. Yeah. In case you want to throw them under the bus. I know. That's why he uh we can do that. Yeah, we we're missing three.

And then I'll I'll save the uh approval minutes. The meeting dates are pretty much the same. So, I'll hold off on that. So don't have any other business. Entertain a motion to adjurnn. We can stay here. Motion toot makes a motion second by Mr. Ash. All in favor say I. Motion carries.