Comprehensive PlanJuly 2009

Town of Schererville

SCHERERVILLE TOWN COUNCIL SCHERERVILLE PLAN COMMISSION

Perry Ferrini, President Ward 5 William Jarvis, President

Hal Slager, Vice-President Ward 2 Kevin Bradley, Vice-PresidentJerry Tippy, Member Ward 1 Jeffrey Huet, Secretary

Rob Guetzloff, Member Ward 3 Joseph Kruzan, MemberTom Schmitt, Member Ward 4 Paul Panczuk, Member

Eric McMullen, MemberJanice Malinowski, Clerk-Treasurer John Novacich, Member

Robert Volkmann, Town Manager Edmund Malinowski,Planning and Building Administrator

David Austgen, Town Attorney

Consultants:

The Arsh Group Inc.Planners, Landscape Architects, Development ConsultantsMerrillville, Indiana

(219)796-9050

Traffic Engineering Consultants P.C.South Bend, Indiana

(574)271-1002

OUR VISION

The vision for Schererville includes providingresidents with choices and options for housing,recreation, shopping, cultural and socialactivities and where the community is visuallyattractive and appealing.

It is the aspiration of the residents to wantSchererville to be a place where the localgovernment is fiscally responsible, yet attendsto the community’s needs for expanding servicesand maintaining its quality of life.

TABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1

1. Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 22. Legal Mandate ....................................................................................................................................... 33. Planning Process ................................................................................................................................... 34. Plan Organization ................................................................................................................................. 5

COMMUNITY PROFILE ............................................................................................................. 71. Area Context ........................................................................................................................................ 82. Governance Structure ......................................................................................................................... 83. History .................................................................................................................................................... 104. Social and Economic Profile ............................................................................................................... 11

EXISTING CONDITIONS ....................................................................................................... 191. Existing Land Use ................................................................................................................................. 202. Community Facilities ........................................................................................................................... 273. Transportation ...................................................................................................................................... 28

VISION ....................................................................................................................................... 331. Vision Statement .................................................................................................................................. 342. Plan Goals .............................................................................................................................................. 353. The Schererville Top 10 ...................................................................................................................... 36

FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................................................... 371. Issues and Opportunities .................................................................................................................... 382. Framework Plan ................................................................................................................................... 40

FUTURE LAND USE ................................................................................................................ 431. Land Use................................................................................................................................................. 462. Economic Development ..................................................................................................................... 493. Neighborhoods .................................................................................................................................... 514. Community Appearance ..................................................................................................................... 555. Culture ................................................................................................................................................... 586. Parks, Recreation, & Open Space ...................................................................................................... 597. Environment .......................................................................................................................................... 608. Infrastructure ......................................................................................................................................... 629. Zoning..................................................................................................................................................... 64

TRANSPORTATION ................................................................................................................ 651. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 662. Roadway Functional Classifications and Standards ....................................................................... 683. Thoroughfares ...................................................................................................................................... 704. Transit ..................................................................................................................................................... 785. Greenways - Pedestrian and Bikeways ............................................................................................ 79

SUBAREA PLANS .................................................................................................................... 811. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 822. US 30 (Lincoln Highway) Subarea ..................................................................................................... 823. US 41 (Indianapolis Boulevard) Subarea .......................................................................................... 934. Joliet Street (Downtown) Subarea ................................................................................................... 101

IMPLEMENTATION................................................................................................................ 111

EXHIBITS1. PLAN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS .............................................................................................................. 52. REGIONAL MAP ............................................................................................................................................ 83. TOWN MAP .................................................................................................................................................... 94. CENSUS TRACT MAP ................................................................................................................................. 145. EXISTING LAND USE ................................................................................................................................. 216. EXISTING PARKS AND SCHOOLS ......................................................................................................... 257. EXISTING TRANSPORTATION FEATURES .......................................................................................... 298. FRAMEWORK PLAN .................................................................................................................................. 429. FUTURE LAND USE ................................................................................................................... 44a (insert)10. TRANSPORTATION PLAN ....................................................................................................................... 6711. ROADWAY TREATMENTS ........................................................................................................................ 7512. SUBAREA OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................ 8313. US 30 SUBAREA EXISTING LAND USE ................................................................................................. 8514. US 30 SUBAREA ZONING ........................................................................................................................ 8715. US 30 SUBAREA PLAN ............................................................................................................................... 8916. US 41 SUBAREA EXISTING LAND USE ................................................................................................. 9417. US 41 SUBAREA ZONING ........................................................................................................................ 9518. US 41 SUBAREA PLAN ............................................................................................................................... 9919. DOWNTOWN SUBAREA EXISTING LAND USE ............................................................................10320. DOWNTOWN SUBAREA ZONING ...................................................................................................10521. DOWNTOWN SUBAREA PLAN .......................................................................................................... 107

TABLES1. SCHERERVILLE POPULATION CHANGE ............................................................................................. 112. POPULATION CHANGE COMPARISON ............................................................................................. 113. POPULATION GROWTH.......................................................................................................................... 124. POPULATION PROJECTIONS .................................................................................................................. 125. POPULATION PROJECTIONS AT BUILD-OUT ................................................................................... 136. AGE DISTRIBUTION................................................................................................................................... 147. AGE BY CENSUS TRACT ........................................................................................................................... 148. SCHOOL ENROLLMENT (2003-2008) ................................................................................................... 159. SCHOOL ENROLLMENT PROJECTION............................................................................................... 1510. HOUSING TYPE, 1980 - 2008 .................................................................................................................... 1611. HOUSING TENURE BY CENSUS TRACT .............................................................................................. 1612. HOUSING CONSTRUCTION, 2000-2008 ............................................................................................ 1613. HOME VALUES .............................................................................................................................................. 1614. MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME ....................................................................................................................... 1615. EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS ...................................................................................................................... 1716. OCCUPATIONAL SKILLS .......................................................................................................................... 1717. COMMUTER CHARACTERISTICS .......................................................................................................... 1718. LAND USE ACREAGES................................................................................................................................ 2019. EXISTING PARK FACILITY INVENTORY.............................................................................................. 2620. LEVEL OF SERVICE ANALYSIS: PARK ACREAGE ................................................................................. 2621. LEVEL OF SERVICE ANALYSIS: RECREATION FACILITIES ................................................................ 2622. LAND USE DESIGNATION....................................................................................................................... 45

REFERENCES:In development of this Comprehensive Plan, the Arsh Group has reviewed and utilized numerous sources of infor-mation, data and materials. The information obtained from these sources have been used throughout the report. Thefollowing list included some of these sources.

1. US Census Bureau, Decennial Census (2000) and 2007 Estimate of Population, Housing, andEconomic Data.

2. Lake Central Schools, Population and Enrollment Forecasts, 2007-2017, McKibben DemographicResearch. 2007

3. Lake Central School District, Student Enrollment, 2005-2009

4. Indiana Historic Sites and Structure Inventory, Lake County Interim Report, 1996, Historic Land-mark Foundation of Indiana.

5. Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors, Sold Homes Values in Schereville, 2005-2008

6. Indiana State Trails, Greenways and Bikeways Plan, 2006, Indiana Department of Natural Resources,and Indiana Department of Transportation.

7. Northwest Indiana Greenways and Blueways Plan, 2007 Northwestern Indiana Regional PlanningCommission (NIRPC) And The Openlands Project.

8. Northwest Indiana Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation Plan, 2005 Northwestern IndianaRegional Planning Commission (NIRPC)

9. Sprawl Index, Gary, Hammond Metro Area, Smart Growth America, 2008

10. Functional Class Map, Indiana Department of Transportation.

11. Schererville Comprehensive Plan Update, 2002, Wabash Scientific Inc.

12. Schererville Parks and Recreation Master Plan 2008, The Arsh Group Inc. Merrillville, Indiana

13. Town of Schererville, Planning and Building Department, Building Permits Report, 2005-2008

14. Daily Traffic Counts, Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC)

15. US Department of Labor, Employment Data, 2008.

16. Indiana Department of Workforce Development, Employment and Commuting Data.

17. Schererville Waste Water Facilities Plan, 2008, McDonough Associates