Valparaiso — The Valparaiso Plan Commission on Tuesday launched a year‑plus process to update the city's comprehensive plan and Unified Development Ordinance, hearing a presentation from consulting firm Hauser Levine and taking commissioners through a workshop to identify local priorities.

"Really what it is is a foundation for decision making," Jack Carswell of Hauser Levine told commissioners as he described the comprehensive plan’s role in setting policy and guiding future zoning and development. Carswell said the team will produce an existing‑conditions memo, lead a visioning workshop and coordinate an updated UDO to translate policy into regulatory "shall" statements.

Commissioners used worksheets to list local concerns and later ranked the issues. The consultants reported that the two most frequently prioritized items were managing growth and maintaining quality of life; high housing costs and preserving green space also ranked near the top. Other recurring topics included downtown parking demand, streamlining overlay districts, transportation connectivity and university sustainability.

Participants proposed specific projects and actions to address those concerns, including building a new senior center, creating incentives for adaptive reuse of older buildings, expanding parks on the west side, preparing shovel‑ready commercial parcels and exploring middle‑housing and affordable housing options. Commissioners also called for completing active‑transportation connections and improving walking and biking routes.

The meeting included several legal and process notes. In response to a question about regulating short‑term rentals, the Chair said, "We do have a state statute to that kind of guides what we can and can't do with that," indicating limits on local regulatory options.

Hauser Levine outlined the schedule as roughly a 12‑month timeline for the comprehensive plan and a roughly 12–14 month process for the UDO, with overlapping tasks. The team said outreach will include an online community questionnaire, an interactive mapping tool (map.social), stakeholder interviews, business and community workshops in January, and eight focus groups during the early phase of the project.

Consultants asked commissioners to share ideas for additional stakeholders; staff and consultants said they will post outreach materials and project documents to a project website. The meeting closed after scheduling discussion about January follow‑up visits and a formal motion to adjourn, which passed by voice vote.

What happens next: Hauser Levine will synthesize the evening’s feedback into an existing‑conditions memo and finalize outreach materials; the firm expects to return to Valparaiso for workshops and focus groups in January.