The Chesterton Advisory Plan Commission gets its first opportunity Thursday to comment on a final draft of the updated town comprehensive plan.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the town hall, 790 Broadway.

Town manager Bernie Doyle said Tuesday that Plan Commission members will be getting their copies this week. A steering committee and the town attorney had been reviewing the final draft prior to forwarding it to the Plan Commission.

Doyle said he hopes a copy of the final draft will be made available to the public online at some point.

He also noted that the updates, which include an extended economic development section and downtown overlay as part of the revision, will be combined with the original and still-current 2004 comprehensive plan.

Since initiating the comp-plan udpate in September, consultants with Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. have met with the steering committee and affected stakeholders, and have sought public input.

The Plan Commission may opt to set a formal public hearing on the plan revisions for Jan. 21. A recommendation regarding final adoption will be made to the Town Council for final action.

According to Doyle, “We have a solid looking draft update that I’m pleased with while being close to remaining on target.”

The commission’s review of the comprehensive plan is Thursday’s last order of business. Prior to it members will discuss sign-ordinance proposals from business owners who want to use perpendicular blade signage, wayfinding signage appropriately placed in the public right-of-way, sandwich-board signs located so as not to impede pedestrian traffic, and certain window signage.

Bringing the sign request is Chesterton/Duneland Chamber of Commerce executive director Heather Ennis representing the business owners, not the chamber itself.

Also on the agenda is The Village at Pope’s Farm in Chesterton, an 81-acre residential/commercial project proposed for the southwest corner of Indiana 49 and County Road 950N by Village Communities LLC developer Cliff Fleming.

He provides the commission with monthly Pope’s Farm updates. The project is in its pre-conceptual phase.

Fleming is inviting willing stakeholders within the area bounded by Indiana 49, U.S. 6, Meridian Road and the Indiana Toll Road jointly to develop a master plan employing conservation-design principles to coordinate future growth spurred by planned construction next year of a new Community Health Systems Porter hospital at the northwest corner of U.S. 6 and Indiana 49.

The commission agenda also allows for public comment from the audience on listed items or other matters as the meeting begins.

Posted 12/15/2009