Jasper Plan Commission Reviews Plans for New Housing and Redevelopment

At their last meeting, the Jasper Plan Commission considered plans that could influence how new housing and redevelopment initiatives shape the city’s future growth. 

The agenda primarily focused on several zoning and development proposals, public hearings, and ordinance updates affecting the Jasper community. The board welcomed new member Adam Bower, who will be replacing outgoing board Secretary Gerry Miller. Andy Smith was sworn in and sat in for Josh Premuda, and Ann Shappard was installed as the new secretary. 

A zoning request by Habitat for Humanity was approved to rezone a business property from B3 general to R2 single-family residential to enable home building. Habitat Construction Manager Jeremy Foxen said they acquired the property for future residential development. Concerns from the public were voiced, especially from residents adjacent to Dodge Street regarding traffic safety and parking. Dodge is not a through street, and cars are regularly parked along that street already, so there were questions about traffic generated by the increase of three homes. Habitat representatives committed to off-street parking to mitigate congestion. 

The board also approved a proposal by Cougar Properties LLC to rezone properties at1851 Newton Street and 1845 Newton Street from R2 residential a rezone several R2 residential parcels as B1 neighborhood business. This aligned zoning with the surrounding business properties and with their current use, as one property is already used as a commercial business. The Commission granted the primary approval of the major plat for the Evans Creek subdivision involving the creation of several new residential lots with utility and infrastructure plans. Also approved was a request for necessary waivers for private drive access for lots 1, 2, and 3. 

The Commission also approved Resolution JPC 2026-2, which amends the economic development plan to incorporate the Woodworks LLC redevelopment project. This initiative involves converting the old Indiana Furniture building into approximately 60-65 market-rate residential units and 50,000 square feet of flexible commercial space. The project was described as being impactful for the city’s revitalization and affordable housing goals and will be supplemented by significant state and local funding. 

Finally, the Commission reviewed proposed amendments to Jasper’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). These changes stem from recommendations by consultant Ink Codes to simplify and improve housing development processes. These deal primarily with reducing lot sizes, setbacks, and other zoning standards to address housing shortages, increase property tax revenue, and ensure sustainable development. The board emphasized the need to balance new housing initiatives with neighborhood character preservation. Members showed particular concern with reducing lot sizes for existing zoning. City Attorney Renee Kabrick suggested the possibility of creating new zones that would not affect the lot sizes of existing neighborhoods with prior zoning. A phased review process was planned for these amendments, with final adoption anticipated in December.  

For more information on these and other updates, visit jasperindiana.gov or JasperGov-Indiana on Facebook.


- By Drew Hasselbring