Revisiting the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction of Culver (Part 1)
I’ve written about the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction and the Extraterritorial Boundary here before. You can search the site and come up with a handful of blog posts from the past on this. As a member of the Culver Comprehensive Plan Committee, I lobbied for language that Culver should consider expanding their extraterritorial planning boundary to the 2 mile limit allowed by State Statute. (The language from the draft plan is to the right.) To me, this is a totally reasonable premise for several reasons: 1) Culver already has extraterritorial jurisdiction, just not out the allowable 2 miles. Obviously, it’s something the town has seen value in and has maintained. 2) Culver has annexed land, expanding the boundary of the town without any additional expansion of extraterritorial jurisdiction in those directions. 3) Marshall County is currently considering a county-wide sewer system. Sewer access is one of the main incentives for annexation. 4) The Comprehensive Plan, is just that… a plan. The name of this one is Destination 2040. Is it truly unreasonable to consider planning for the area surrounding Culver sometime over the next 16 years!?
The illustration to the right if from an old blog post. It shows the zoning boundary in 2013. The circle around the outside of that shows the approximate location of the 2 mile area Culver could have requested at that time. Since that time, the planning area was reduced and the annexed area was increased. The reason for the reduction in the planning area was the inflexibility of the County’s GIS system and the way Building Permits were issued. This resulted in a negotiation between Marshall County and Culver to change the boundary to follow parcel lines. For the most part, parcels with split zoning per this map were moved completely into Marshall County jurisdiction or Culver jurisdiction following whichever controlled the greater percentage at that time. While I understood the problem, I lobbied that spit parcels should have gone 100% to Culver as they were all within the 2 mile radius. I was a bit frustrated that the split parcel owners weren’t even asked if they might want to be part of Culver’s Planning Jurisdiction.
The illustration to the right shows the new zoning boundary as of 2024. This also shows the new annexation lines accounting for The Dunes, the Executive Storage facilities and Culver Meadows. The majority of the area outside of Culver proper is zoned S-1 (More on that later), with a L-1 districts around the lakes and the occasional C-2 and PUD zonings. There would be very little difference in the 2 mile potential area, since the annexations that have occurred are to the west and south where Culver would be limited by the county line. (I think… There maybe options to cross county lines with the blessing of the adjacent county, but that so far outside the bounds of feasibility at this point, that it’s not worth researching.) What isn’t clear in this map, is that part of what was done during the parcel swap was to add an A-1 Agriculture District to Culver’s Zoning Ordinance. The County’s A-1 District and Culver’s A-1 District are nearly identical, by design. The GIS doesn’t even recognize a difference and shows them with the same designation and color.
At some time during the 30 day review period for the Destination 2040 Comprehensive Plan draft, some people read into it, not only the intent to actively pursue planning and zoning expansion, but by some interpretations to pursue annexation of this area. On top of that, in some cases it was construed as an additional 2 miles on top of the current extraterritorial jurisdiction, spreading the planning area even further. The rumors spread and grew. The Culver Town Council held a meeting to discuss this on April 9th. I tried to attend the meeting, but the council chambers were woefully too small for the group that wanted to be heard, so not wanting to stand in the corridor or outside the door, I left. After an extensive discussion with the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee last week, the original paragraph from the draft (above) was left intact, but the following was added at the end to further clarify the current intent: “At present, The Town of Culver does not have plans to extend its zoning limits. Any future consideration of extending the town’s zoning authority will be done through a partnership between the Town, Union Township, and Marshall County.”
The irony of how this played out is amusing to me. In a nut shell, those outside the town limits do not want to be in the planning area, because they do not have a vote for the elected officials that would make the decisions, and therefore, no influence on what is decided. Yet they appealed to those same elected officials, that they didn’t vote for, and influenced their decision at the expense of those elected officials’ actual constituents. Kinda makes my head spin… Ha!
As always, kudos to those who step up to take the slings and arrows. It sounds like that meeting was rough. I appreciate that they took a step back to consider the language rather than running with a snap decision based on the ire at the meeting. There are also plans to create an advisory committee and have some discussions with landowners in the extraterritorial planning jurisdiction, both the area in it now and the potential expansion area.
The important thing to remember here, that seems to have been lost in the heat of the moment, is that this is a plan… A plan with a 16 year horizon… The things in here are designed to give direction, but it is not set in stone. In regards to expanding the planning jurisdiction, it says, “Opportunities to expand the current extraterritorial planning boundary to its full allowable two mile radius should be explored whenever they arise, and particularly, whenever access to the town infrastructure and resources in the unincorporated areas, contiguous to Culver’s town limits is considered.” Nothing about that says to do it tomorrow. It just means be aware and cognizant of opportunities.
This has gotten long, so I’m ending it here. I will follow up with Part 2 to discuss what inclusion in Culver’s planning jurisdiction could mean to those not in it now. (Spoiler Alert, there are some positives.)
Inflation Allegory
I just heard another sound bite with President (and candidate) Biden touting his administration’s success in bringing inflation down. The 2019 inflation rate was 1.81%, a decrease of 0.63% from 2018. The inflation rate for 2020 was 1.23%, despite or because of Covid. The 2021 inflation rate was 4.7%. The inflation rate for 2022 was 8.0%. The inflation rate for 2023 was 3.4%. As of today, the 12 month rate of inflation is 3.5%… While there is no denying that going from 8.0% to 3.5% is better, it does not make the 8.0% rate (that occurred two years after he took office) go away.
So, here’s my favorite explanatory allegory… explained in pounds. Fat pounds, not British pounds…
Lets say your heathy weight is 160 lb. You’ve maintained that weight for years, but at your annual check-up in 2021, your doctor notes, “You’ve put on 4.7 lb. You need to keep an eye on that.” You note it. You watch your weight, but at your 2022 check-up, your Doctor’s not happy. “You’ve put on another 8 lb since your last visit. Here’s some diet and exercise suggestions to get this under control.” You make an effort. You weigh yourself before going to your 2023 check-up. You’ve gained another 3.4 lb. What do you think the chances are that the Doctor congratulates you on ONLY gaining another 3.4 lb? Hmmmm… Zilch. Nada. Not gonna happen. He’s going to tell you to get your ass to the gym and get a lock for the refrigerator because in the last three years, you’ve gained 4.7 + 8.0 + 3.4 = 16.1 pounds! You now weigh 176 lb!
Inflation accumulates in a similar matter. Even at the Fed’s target 2.0%, that means things are 2% more expensive every year, so what costs $1.00 this year would cost $1.02 next year and $1.04 the next year.
Inflation is equivalent to a regressive tax, as in the less net worth you have, the harder you’re hit by it. If you have $10 to your name and inflation is 8%, you have to spend it for whatever you can afford at the inflated rate. If you have $1,000,000, your spending money is affected in the same way, but inflation increases the value of your house, stock portfolio and provides a higher interest rate for you at the bank. All the things you have when you’re worth $1,000,000 that you didn’t have when you were worth $10. Makes it damn hard to get from $10 to $1,000,000!
Plymouth Streetscapes
I attended a meeting last Tuesday night at The Rees where there was discussion of possible renovations to the downtown streetscape. They were mainly looking at the area from the railroad viaduct on the south end to Jefferson Street on the north end. Updating the streetscape is one of the initiatives of City of Plymouth‘s new Mayor, Robert Listenberger. Several concepts were presented and there was time for public input on those concepts. There was also the opportunity to put forth other ideas. There was a fairly diverse crowd of around 50 people there for the presentation.
The last streetscape was created around 40 years ago. Many aspects of downtown Plymouth have changed since then, not least of which include the turnover in businesses and the shift towards making the downtown more of an entertainment district. This began with the Wild Rose Moon and has continued with River Park Square, The Rees and the new Yellow River Brewery planned just south of The Rees. A fairly recent State Law allows for the creation of districts like this which would make it easier to have street festivals. The main change here would be the ability to have “open container” alcohol use throughout the district. Right now, alcohol served outside of licensed venues can only be done in “beer gardens”, which usually amount to snow fence pens containing those who choose to imbibe.
As always the parking issue was front and center. Very few people there would say there was too much parking downtown, and most were very concerned about reducing the number of street spaces. Some were concerned that new development downtown was being encouraged without adding parking. The counterpoint to that are two traffic studies that have been completed, one by Andrews University and one by MACOG. MACOG’s is the most recent, which showed a surplus of 500+ spaces. Shopkeepers were mainly concerned about the number of street parking spaces directly adjacent to their business.
Several interesting concept drawings were presented showing various traffic calming measures for Michigan Street. There were also opportunities to provide additional green space along the sidewalks, outdoor dining for restaurant patrons and overall improved traffic controls. There was a lot of initial skepticism, but some minds were won over with the possibilities that could be unlocked.
There was also a concept changing the first block of Garro Street west of Michigan Street to an intermittent street festival site. This section is currently used this way, but with saw horse barricades. The revised concept would enhance this, with decorative pavement patterns and decorative removable bollards. The Garro Street enhancement received nearly 100% positive feedback.
A major stumbling block remains, with this area of Michigan Street existing as an extension of S.R. 17, thus the R.O.W. belongs to the State of Indiana. Any negotiation would require accommodations between INDOT and Plymouth. This would include any changes to curbs, sidewalks, speed limits and traffic control measures such as stop lights. That brought up a side conversation of relocating S.R. 17. The consensus was that it made the most sense to relocate it to Pine Road, but I had to bring up the Culver’s Sycamore Road initiative. (Previously mentioned in a post here.)
The conversation was similar to what has been discussed in Culver (Previously mentioned in a post here.) with some of the same conflicting arguments. Culver’s Town Council somewhat surprised the downtown merchants with the street improvements. They won a grant for the work that they really didn’t expect to get. They didn’t do their standard education ahead of the project, leading some to feel left out of the loop. In this case, Plymouth seems to be taking the correct tact, by gathering input before the project proceeds too far into planning.
I think the goals are laudable and I hope Mayor Listenberger is successful with the revitalization changes he would like to make. He is approaching it as a businessman, which gives him more empathy in why the change will be hard, but ultimately will be a change for the better. I look forward to more discussion on how this can be moved forward.
Destination 2040 – Culver Comprehensive Plan
After almost two years of work by local volunteers through various committees with the help of MACOG, the final draft of the new comprehensive plan is available for review here.
A community’s Comprehensive Plan should be revised every 5-10 years. I had advocated for the plan to be revised sooner (I thought Culver’s 2020 Vision had a nice ring to it!), since we completed many of the goals of the previous 2014 Comp Plan through the Stellar Communities funding. Unfortunately, like many other things, Covid stopped early progress on this.
It is generally the responsibility of the Plan Commission to create a new Comp Plan, but in this case, the Culver Plan Commission delegated this to the fledgling Culver Crossroads group. With the help of MACOG, Culver Crossroads held multiple meetings, public events and other opinion gathering methods to take the pulse of the community and set goals for the future. I’ve participated in this from the start and I believe the new plan captures a lot of vision needed for the future of Culver.
Once the document is finalized, the work needs to continue. The plan is worthless sitting on a shelf. It needs to be revisited often by all branches of Culver government so that its goals can be implemented and its guidance can be observed in the decision making process. Since it was created by the citizens, it should be respected as the new direction for Culver.
This is your last chance to be one of those citizens giving final input before it goes to the Plan Commission and Town Council for adoption. Even if it’s just catching a spelling error or punctuation error, let MACOG know, so this is the best document it can be. This will be our plan for the next 10 years and the face of Culver when new developers, businesses and residents consider locating in Culver.
Our Customers Say…
MacKenzie Ledley - Executive Director, Pulaski County Public Library
Vast Wasteland
May 13, 2024
Kevin Berger
Commentary, Marshall County, Personal
Community
I was fortunate enough to be invited to the 50th anniversary celebration of PBS station WNIT Friday evening. There was an interesting mix of patrons and board members. I did my best Mr. Rogers impression and there were others emulating their favorite characters from shows like Downton Abbey. Elmo and Cookie Monster made appearances as well as one Miss Piggy!
Several times Newton Minow was quoted. Minow laid down his famous challenge to TV executives on May 9, 1961, in a speech to the National Association of Broadcasters, urging them to sit down and watch their station for a full day, “without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit-and-loss sheet or rating book to distract you.” “I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland,” he told them. “You will see a procession of game shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, Western bad men, Western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence and cartoons. And, endlessly, commercials — many screaming, cajoling and offending.” – PBS News Hour
in those early days of television, there were only the big three with the occasional local independent stations scattered in. (I grew up able to catch WGN out of Chicago on a good day, so Bozo’s Circus with Bob Bell and Frazier Thomas was in my viewing rotation along with Garfield Goose and the Roller Derby.) Mr. Minow was no doubt chagrined that while his admonishment took root in some areas, including the creation of PBS, in other ways the vast wasteland just grew vaster…
It was interesting to hear the discussion of PBS’s future, both nationally and locally. There is no doubt that they have a lot of quality programming, but with the choices available, how do they compete? There are stations that appear to have been created to directly challenge them, such as Discovery and TLC (The Learning Channel), but they have slipped into more salacious fair, i.e. “Naked and Afraid” (XL!) and “Dr. Pimple Popper“. How does a local station like WNIT compete?
The interesting quandary is how to produce local content that might be saleable to a larger audience. For example, this weekend I watched part of a local WNIT documentary, “A Legacy Of Memories: Silver Beach Amusement Park“. It’s one that I have watched (parts) before and found it interesting. But that interest was because it’s this area’s history. Would I have watched a similar program about a similar subject in New Jersey? Maybe. Probably not though. So how does this become marketable? I know this was not as expensive to make as one of Ken Burns‘ documentaries, but there is still a significant expense. If there’s no way to recoup that from licensing to other broadcasters, can they afford to do that on a long term basis?
There were a lot of smart people in the room Friday. That bodes well for finding solutions to these quandaries. PBS doesn’t look like it did 50 years ago when WNIT started out with a single channel without 24 hour transmission. Today it has 5 channels, all with 24 hours of content. Who knows what the next 50 years will bring, but there’s no doubt they’re still stiving to make a dent in Newt’s vast wasteland.
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