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South Bend council approves annexation and two rezonings, clearing path for housing and a city lot cleanup
Summary
On Nov. 24 the South Bend Common Council voted unanimously to pass an annexation ordinance for land on Willis and Dunn Streets and to adopt two zoning changes: rezoning at 1011 Howard St. to permit four single-family homes and zoning an unzoned city parcel at 725 W. LaSalle to Urban Neighborhood 1. All three measures passed on third reading with 8–0 roll-call votes.
The South Bend Common Council on Nov. 24 passed three ordinances affecting city zoning and annexation, approving an annexation to support a proposed apartment development and two rezonings that officials said align parcels with surrounding neighborhoods.
Clerk Toronto read Bill 45-25 on third reading as an ordinance annexing multiple parcels in Clay Township and amending the zoning ordinance to bring the properties into city limits, a step staff said is needed to provide water and sewer for an approximately $116,000,000 apartment development proposed near Willis and Dunn Streets. After a motion for passage, the council voted by roll call 8–0 and President Lee declared 45-25 passed.
Later in the meeting the council took up Bill 69-25, a rezoning petition for 1011 Howard Street. Tim Stow, zoning specialist for the city of South Bend, told the council the applicant subdivided the site into four parcels and is seeking to rezone from Neighborhood Center (NC) to Urban Neighborhood 1 (U1) so the owner can build four single-family homes. Angela Smith of JPR & Associates, representing the University of Notre Dame, said the site had earlier been rezoned to allow a law clinic but the university now prefers single-family housing; she corrected staff that the new homes would face Francis Street. The council recorded an 8–0 roll-call vote to pass 69-25 on third reading.
Bill 73-25, which rezones a previously unzoned city-owned parcel at 725 West LaSalle Avenue to U1 as a right-of-way/cleanup action, was also adopted by an 8–0 vote. Tim Stow described the parcel as a leftover right-of-way that had not been zoned in prior work and said the rezoning aligns the lot with surrounding U1 parcels.
All three measures were recommended favorably by the Committee of the Whole earlier in the meeting and advanced with unanimous votes at third reading. There were no members of the public who signed up to speak for or against these items during the recorded public hearings.
Votes at a glance
- Bill 45-25 (annexation and zoning amendments for parcels in Clay Township): Passed, roll call 8–0. - Bill 69-25 (rezoning 1011 Howard St. from NC to U1 to allow four single-family homes): Passed, roll call 8–0. Applicant represented by Angela Smith of JPR & Associates on behalf of the University of Notre Dame. - Bill 73-25 (rezoning 725 W. LaSalle Ave. from unzoned to U1 as a right-of-way cleanup): Adopted, roll call 8–0.
What the council said and what happens next
Council members and staff described the measures as consistent with surrounding land uses: the annexation was presented as necessary to provide utilities for a large residential development, and the rezonings were presented as reconciling zoning with nearby blocks or enabling a return to single-family housing after an institutional use. The ordinances will take effect according to standard local procedures; the council did not record any amendments or conditions at the time of passage.
The meeting record shows no public speakers on these items during the public hearings; the zoning committee reports and staff presentations are the basis for the record of the council’s favorable recommendations and final votes.
Sources: Meeting transcript of the Nov. 24, 2025 South Bend Common Council meeting; staff presentations by Tim Stow; remarks by Angela Smith, JPR & Associates.
