News release from the Allen County Commissioners:
Southwest Area Task Force Schedules First Meeting
(June 21, 2016) — The group charged with examining land use plans for the southwest portions of Allen County will gather for its first meeting this coming week.
The task force which was appointed by the Board of Commissioners will meet on Tuesday, June 28, at 2:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Omni Room (Room 045) of Citizens Square, 200 East Berry Street.
The eight-member task force will review the industrial, commercial and residential changes that have occurred throughout the Airport Expressway and southwest areas and then develop recommendations for updating and clarifying plans for those areas.
Other meetings of the group have been tentatively scheduled for July 26, August 23 and September 20. Times and locations have not been determined. A community meeting to hear from those living in the southwest and Airport Expressway areas is expected to be held sometime in the fall. A public hearing on any amendments proposed to Plan-It Allen and the zoning ordinance would take place before the Allen County Planning Commission in November, with final legislative adoption coming by the end of the year.
Those serving on the task force are:
- Ben Eisbart: one of the original members of the 1985 Southwest Plan Group and a former executive at Omni Source and SDI;
- Mike Glinski: General Motors Fort Wayne plant manager;
- Dr. Phil Downs: Superintendent of Southwest Allen County Schools;
- Ric Zehr: Northeastern Group who has helped develop subdivisions in the southwest area;
- Scott Hinderman: executive director of the Fort Wayne International Airport;
- Dan Avery: executive director of the Northeast Indiana Regional Coordinating Council;
- Pat Hess: attorney with Beckman Lawson and former planner with Allen County Department of Planning Services;
- Heather Drebenstedt: representing residents of the southwest area.