Land Use Committee

Thursday, November 5, 2020 at 10:30 a.m.

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Agenda

1.0 Call to Order by Chairman

Greg Stinson

2.0 Minutes of August 6, 2020 (pp. 1-2)

For Discussion or Corrections Only

3.0 Review of NOFA Applications

3.1 New Roadways click HERE

3.2 Planning 2020 click HERE

4.0 The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday January 7, 2021 at 10:30 am

5.0 Adjournment

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6100 Southport Road

Portage, Indiana 46368

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LAND USE COMMITTEE MEETING

NIRPC Virtual Meeting

August 6, 2020

Minutes

This meeting was convened as an electronic meeting, pursuant to Governor Holcomb’s Executive

Order 20-04 and 20-09, extended by Executive Order 20-39. All persons were meeting remotely on a

Google Meet platform that allowed for real time interaction and supported the public’s ability to

observe and record the proceedings. When the agenda item was provided for public comment, this

was supported as well. A roll call was taken to motion and approve the agenda items.

Greg Stinson called the meeting to order at 10:34 a.m. with a roll call. In attendance were George

Topoll, Kevin Breitzke, Richard Morris, and Kathryn Vallis.

NIRPC staff present were Eman Ibrahim, James Winters, Candice Eklund, Kevin Polette, Gabrielle

Biciunas, Ty Warner, and Flor Baum.

The minutes of the March 5, 2020 meeting were approved on motion by Richard Morris and second

by George Topoll. A roll call was taken, and the committee voted unanimously to approve.

James Winters presented on the plans for the upcoming Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA);

general information and Quality of Place application. The NOFA will be open to receive applications

from September 11th to October 21st. Similar to last year, a workshop will be conducted on

September 29th to discuss any questions regarding the application. NIRPC staff will also be

available for one-on-one assistance. Between November through February, the topical committees

will review the applications. The Technical Planning Committee will meet February 9th to award the

projects. In April, the TIP is expected to be adopted with all the new projects at the Commission

Meeting. There will be two STC-related program applications: 1) New Roadways, and 2) Roadway

Improvements. Generally, the applications are similar to the Past NOFA but the changes are noted.

● In the previous NOFA application, funds were set aside for risk. Now, funds will be set aside

for future PE and ROW.

● Question 13A of the programming rules covers group 1, in which $250K per year will be set

aside for PE and ROW. Question 13B of the programming rules covers group 2, in which

$70K per year will be set aside for PE and ROW.

● Any project exceeding $6 million and cannot be broken into phases shall be deemed a

Transformative Project. It will be reviewed separately from the other NOFA projects by the

TPC.

● All LPA's are to provide uninflated funding requests. NIRPC staff will put together a matrix

and inflate all funding according to historical spending.

● Currently, there is no Federal Transportation Highway bill, therefore the funding overview

amounts have not changed.

● Planning and Transit Oriented Development (TOD) have their own category.

● The New Roadways section will continue to be reviewed by STC. However, the Land Use

Committee will also give input.

● The General Project Information section will be populated with all the risk. This includes, but

is not limited to railroad involvement, ROW needs and type, Regional significance, and NEPA

documentation.

● Lastly, the LPAs will submit all project applications and supporting materials through a

Google Form. This has a couple benefits:

○ A notification will be sent to Charles and the LPA and will include what was

submitted.

○ The project's general information will be accessible to the public on a Google

spreadsheet after October 21st.

The Land Use Committee (LUC) will be reviewing the Quality of Place application and the Planning

application. Charles Bradsky has received draft language from Eman to be entered into the

application questions of the NOFA regarding what percentage of school-aged children are being

driven to school. The data will be tracked by either a community or by census, but not by a specific

street. Most of our data questions will have a source listed. Eman noted that the Transit Orientated

Development Program (TOD) has been added as a stand-alone category that will include funding for

planning and implementation.

Eman Ibrahim presented on NIRPC Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Update. As part of the

implementation of the 2050 Plan, it was recommended to have a TOD project for the station area

within the area. The main goal is to bring vitality and livability to transit station areas by developing a

TOD typology for every station area to create a framework for future enhancements based on their

attributes. The TOD map areas are divided into 3 categories. The TOD I focus is on the urban core

and/or downtown area where the grid system is prominent. TOD II focuses on suburban communities

where the grid system is less. TOD III focuses on the commuter community where there is minimal,

to no grid system. Walk scores and bike scores were also taken into consideration to help NIRPC

staff define what improvements are needed. Housing units per acre and density of housing were

measured to evaluate the stations. The TOD score has five categories to evaluate and score

readiness of the selected 16 station areas throughout the region. Three categories will identify how

to invest in a TOD area and what type of investment should communities apply for. Projects

requesting TOD funding must be located within the 16 TOD eligible area. Funding grants will include

planning and implementation.

Eman presented on the E-Commerce Project Update which is part of the 2050 Plan implementation.

e-commerce directly impacts the transportation network, projecting a 40% expansion in urban freight

by 2050. Urban logistics of transportation will be impacted with further expansion of e-commerce,

changing roadway system use and needs. Land use and retail will also be impacted by e-Commerce

in The Region. Large retail stores are being vacated and these vacant retail spaces need a plan to

be repurposed. However, E-commerce is also a good opportunity for job increase and to improve the

economy. Northwestern Indiana is within the 100-mile radius of the nearest regional fulfillment

market. The Region also has a freight hub and interstate system that links east to west. Examples of

repurposed retail space were presented. The committee is mindful that retail space is usually rented

and the building space either needs to be sold or subsidized. Data was collected to capture e-

commerce accessibility. NIRPC staff defined criteria to develop a potential location for an e-

commerce facility. This includes proximity to airports, railroad stations, and manufacturing hubs.

Additional criteria encompass utilities availability, as well as locations of minimum environmental

impact.

There were no community updates.

The next meeting of the Land Use Committee will be on November 5, 2020 at 10:30 a.m.

Hearing no other business, on motion by George Topoll and second by Kevin Breitzke, the meeting

adjourned at 12:00 p.m.