Open House Meeting Report

The Indiana Borough Comprehensive Plan Open House well held on March 19, 2008 from 4:00-7:00 pm in the Borough Building. Officially, 53 people signed in, but actual attendance was closer to 70. The stated purpose of the meeting was to share some of the information collected during the comprehensive plan update process, promote discussion about some proposed plans, and identify additional issues that were important to citizens. In each of these three respects, the Open House was a success. In discussing these three purposes of the open house, it is important to note, this was not meant to be a scientific survey of opinion. As input at the open house is collected through a series of conversations, the results are somewhat subjective. The survey results which will be posted later represent a more representative sample of opinion.

Information Sharing: Citizens are intuitively aware of many of the major problems, such as population loss and declining retail trade, One citizen saw it as a linked trends wherein, as the Borough loses people, it cannot support businesses. Some understood the concern that this decline will challenge the ability of local government to provide consistent public services without raising taxes. Others saw a link between the problem of population loss and the growth of off-campus student housing. These persons stated that they know of people who left the community because of various problems living near students whose behavior ruined the neighborhood. One man stated that he believed regional loss of jobs was probably the largest factor in local demographic decline.

In spite of these problems, the vast majority of residents in attendance are happy with the community, and somewhat optimistic about its future. A number of young families were presented who had made a conscious choice to live in the Borough due to it small town atmosphere and pedestrian accessibility.

Citizen Response To Sketch Plan Concepts: There was an interesting range of opinions. When the subject of supporting some form of retirement housing came up, there was universal support for the concept. There was very widespread support for any ideas to either limit the geographic extent of student housing in the Borough, or curb the more outrageous behavior of students. In terms of business development, there was less consensus. While most people would like to see more business, some are concerned that new business would later community character. For example, one member of the community stated that re-use of older buildings would be fine; he would hate to see these buildings torn down and replaced by strip malls. Another stated that large parking lots were inappropriate in the area of downtown. Yet other voices expressed the explicit need for more public parking, and even offered locations. Another resident was very adamant that the best commercial development opportunity would be one Philadelphia Street West, where there is currently little commercial development.

Among the three ideas posted on the idea board (incorporating as a third class city, land value tax, and form base code), the most support seems to be for the re-incorporation of the Borough as a Third Class City. While several residents asked about potential negative consequences of this, most thought it would be worth exploring. There was some reservation of the potential for a land value tax to negatively effect existing businesses, even while benefiting resident homeowners. Form based codes, as presented, brought the most concern. Residents are concerned that a complete shift to from based codes would jeopardize the stability of residential neighborhoods. There was support for the idea of better design standards, but consensus seemed that it should not result in more commercial development or student housing in every residential neighborhood.

Additional Issues Important To Citizens: Citizens came with many broad and particular concerns that had not been previously discussed. These are listed below (in no particular order)

Two citizens are very concerned about localized flooding on Marsh Run. This was the only idea formally added to the sketch plan board.

Three separate citizens were concerned about the removal of street trees, or the condition of street trees in various residential neighborhoods. One older lady stated, that the loss of trees along her street left the neighborhood looking devastated.

Condition of sidewalks was also raised, again in various locations. The importance of this issue seems to be related to the fact that many people consciously choose to live in the Borough because they can also choose to walk.

Two separate attendees were concerned about improving the network of access for bicycles.

One person raised the issue of source water protection. Though the water supply is outside the Borough, they are concerned that development in White Township would create pollution that would make the reservoir unsafe.

A woman expressed a concern about code enforcement of rental properties, which she would like to see as strictly enforced as possible.

In conclusion, it again is important to note that these comments should not be construed as a valid reflection of the opinions of the whole community. However, the result of these conversations, in concert with the survey results, can provide a basis for issues that the Comprehensive Plan should address.