CED Annexation Policy Plan 1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Although not meant to be an exhaustive listing, noted below are several trends that can be identified as having contributed to development beyond the City limits. • The increasing mobility of the population has resulted in not only having the ability to seek jobs in other localities, but also having the ability to live in areas not serviced by public transportation; • the liberal extension of sewer and water service beyond the City limits has allowed opportunities for high -density projects in the unincorporated areas, such as apartments and planned unit developments; • the availability of large and numerous tracts of developable land beyond the City limits has provided the opportunity for housing additions able to accommodate the newer and larger contemporary homes; • the general suitability of the underlying soils for private well and septic systems, and the liberal standards of the state law governing such systems, has contributed to the encouragement of development without the necessity of central sewer and water facilities; • the development requirements of the County are generally considered less rigorous than those of South Bend. County developments are not required to install sidewalks, street lights, sewer and water lines or fire hydrants; and, • there is no County -wide growth management plan. Such a plan would recognize the costs of haphazard land development and provide for timely improvements to the infrastructure required to support land develop- ment, such as improvernent to the transportation network and the methodology to pay for it. Up to and through the 1950s, working, living, shopping and entertainment pursuits used to occur within the defined limits of the City. It was essentially the exception to do any of those activities beyond those limits. Now, the opposite is true. It would not be unusual for an individual to work in South Bend, live in the unincorporated area of the County and shop within the City limits of Mishawaka. Commercial and residential growth has been occurring along the City's periphery for years, with some properties being annexed and others not. A quick look at a City map shows a municipal boundary that appears to ramble and to be arbitrary in nature. This meandering boundary winds its way through the built environment often resulting in an inequity of taxation and service availability between neighboring properties having no clearly identifiable difference. 4