Frequently Asked Questions

What is City Plan?
Why choose the name City Plan?
Who will work on City Plan?
How will City Plan be developed?
Who will use City Plan?
When will the City Plan process begin and end?
Why is citizen participation important in the City Plan process?
Why is this the right time to work on City Plan?

What is City Plan?
City Plan is South Bend's first comprehensive plan in over 40 years. The process to develop City Plan is currently underway. Once adopted, City Plan will the defining document for growth in South Bend for the next twenty years.

Why choose the name City Plan?
The name City Plan was chosen for two specific reasons. First, the word ‘City’ refers to the community as a whole, public and private, the people and the built environment. Second, it refers to the city government and its elected officials and employees. City Plan combines both and reflects a network of partnerships, people, organizations and institutions working together toward common goals.

Who will work on City Plan?
The Division of Community Development part of the Department of Community and Economic Development is responsible for managing the City Plan process.

How will City Plan be developed?
The planning process from the very beginning calls for and invites participation from the entire South Bend community.

Refer to the Planning Process link for detail on how the plan will be developed.

Who will use City Plan?
City Plan will be used by a wide number of people in the community. For example:

City Government
It will be a guide for decision-making and for the allocation of resources within the
City budget.

Business
City Plan will provide a vision for South Bend and list strategies on how it plans to achieve its broad goals. This will directly effect zoning, policy, infrastructure and other regulations. The plan will provide a direction for economic growth and how it should be promoted. It will provide information on what kind of businesses are in demand and where they are encouraged to locate.

Real Estate
City Plan will effect and guide development. It will provide a direction for the use of land in South Bend. This affects zoning and regulations connected to zoning districts. During Rezoning and Special Use Permits requests, City Plan will be consulted on what issues need to be addressed for new development in a certain part of the city.

Home Owners
City Plan will be an informational document for residents of the city. Strategies that are recommended by the City Plan Civic Alliance will be implemented in various phases and may have an impact on the physical fabric of neighborhoods.

These are just a few of the groups / people who will use City Plan but it will have value for everyone in some way.

When will the City Plan process begin and end?
The City Plan process has already begun, and will continue for the next 18 - 20 months. The first phase of City Plan involves the appointment of the City Plan Civic Alliance. The public process for City Plan will be initiated with An American City: Facing Challenges, Building a Future, a Guest Speaker Series that begins April 10, 2003 and runs through June 4, 2003. In the second phase, the Civic Alliance will meet with the community in numerous meetings over six or seven months. The third phase, which may require nine months, will involve writing the first draft of the document, presenting the draft to the community, incorporating the community’s feedback into a final draft, obtaining Mayor Luecke’s approval and presenting City Plan to the Common Council for adoption as a resolution.

Why is citizen participation important in the City Plan process?
City Plan will incorporate the will of the community in the look, feel and character of South Bend in the coming years. Those who live, work, shop and play in the city have a stake in the continuing success of South Bend as a community of choice. As a citizen of this community, you can participate and help guide a successful 21st Century City.

Why is this the right time to work on City Plan?
The South Bend – St. Joseph County Comprehensive Plan was recently adopted by both the County Council and the South Bend Common Council. This plan, which took several years to develop, looks forward and suggests where areas of future growth are expected, or ought, to go, and it establishes some policy guidelines – but primarily for the unincorporated portions of St. Joseph County.

In addition, over the past many years, the City of South Bend has prepared numerous small area plans, from neighborhood plans to commercial corridor plans to redevelopment plans, often using a community-based and consultant-driven process. These plans provide useful information to residents, investors, and business/property owners. Their only shortcoming is that they exist in a vacuum: the plans don't relate to each other, there is no larger framework to coordinate them, and no broader City strategy that projects a desirable future for South Bend.

City Plan will provide a bridge between the general concepts of the countywide Comprehensive Plan and the city’s more specific infrastructure, redevelopment, neighborhood and commercial corridor plans. City Plan will be a working document updated every five years to accommodate the constant challenges and opportunities faced by South Bend and its neighborhoods everyday. For these reasons - the recent adoption of the County’s comprehensive plan and the need for a citywide framework - make this the right time for City Plan.