After deciding the current zoning ordinances were out of date, Carroll County Area Plan Commission (APC) realized the time had come for the county to update the comprehensive land-use plan. According to county zoning administrator Dale Huffer, the last time Carroll County engineered a plan was in 1988.

Huffer described the charge before the group as a joint effort between APC and the county Economic Development Corporation (EDC). The two groups decided to share the consultant’s cost.

Representatives from county council, commissioners, APC and EDC were appointed in November. The committee met for the first time Thursday morning. Discussion centered on the scope of their mission, community impact, and when to hire an outside consultant to assist with the process.

“The whole thing must be a vision of where we want to go,” committee member Jerry Hendress said. “We must look at all aspects of the community.”

“The more we decide, the more the overall cost can be controlled,” Huffer stressed.

“I don’t want consultants directing us,” Hendress said. “I want us to direct them.”

“The more public input we can get, the better off we are,” Huffer added.

Committee member Carol Dickman said it was important to know how other counties manage potential growth. Huffer was directed to obtain comprehensive plans from other counties and distribute them to committee members before the next meeting. He reported there are 13 Indiana counties that have no zoning plans.

“What we’re trying to do here will affect our tax base,” Hendress pointed out. “We are looking out for the future. I want to be proactive rather than reactive.”

“We need to encourage smaller businesses to the county by not allowing county zoning to stand in the way,” Huffer said.

“If you can’t talk about the future and where we’re going,” member Bret Hanaway said, “you won’t have economic development.”

Hanaway said incoming companies want to talk to communities that have a plan. He likened the process to a stream of water as “taking the path of least resistance.”

Committee member Tom Hessler said he wanted to produce a document to be used as a guide for the future. He said it would be important for future community leaders to refer to it as a guide.

Stating the group must do a thoughtful and complete job Hendress said, “We are sealing our own fate now. We need a better roadmap.”

The next meeting will be in March on a Wednesday at 7:30 a.m., but no actual date was set.