2003 Annual Report - Zoning & Annexation

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. t Zoning and Annexation Annual Committee Report for 2003 Date: December 4, 2003 To: The South Bend Common Council Office of the City Clerk From: Council Member Ervin Kuspa, Chairperson Zoning and Annexation Committee Pursuant to Section 2-10 (i) of the South Bend Municipal Code, I am pleased to file this Zoning and Annexation Annual Committee Report for 2003 which will highlight activities during the calendar year and set forth recommendations for discussion to improve the overall operations which affect land use decisions in the City of South Bend. The 2003 Zoning and Annexation Committee is composed of Council Members Roland Kelly who is the Vice-Chairperson, Council Member David Varner, Council Member Sean Coleman, and myself as Chairperson. This Committee is one of eleven standing committees of the South Bend Common Council which is charged with: "Overseeing the various activities related to the Board of Zoning Appeals, Area Plan Commission and the Historic Preservation Commission as well as all related matters addressing annexation and zoning". This year the Zoning and Annexation Committee met over twenty times, with all of the meeting minutes required under Indiana's Open Door Law being on file in the Office of the City Clerk. The majority of the items referred to Committee for review and recommendation to the full Council included proposed zoning use changes, annexations, and special exceptions. One of the primary activities of the Committee has been to oversee the proposed new zoning ordinance which is currently set for public hearing at the 2'regular Council meeting in January 2004. At the December 27, 2002 Zoning and Annexation Committee, Mr. Robert Sante,the Area. Plan Executive Director made the first presentation to the committee on the Steering Committee which began meeting in September of 2002. He noted that the Steering Committee would be addressing "policy issues" with the entire draft zoning ordinance being available on line at http://www.bakerdaniels.com/southbend.htm. Areas which I believe should be highlighted for improvement include: 1. Receiving an overview from Community and Economic Development,perhaps at the first meeting in February of each year of the anticipated annexations for the ensuing calendar year. 2. Working with the Area Plan Commission so that the Council and City Clerk's Office