A comprehensive plan is a document that outlines a community's goals for the future. These goals can focus on a variety of topics like land use development, transportation, community facilities, public spaces, local utilities, and more.

The goals of the Cedar Lake Vision 2040 Comprehensive Plan will be developed through a community engagement process that involves local leaders, stakeholders, businesses, and residents. Throughout this process, community members will identify the local issues and opportunities that will become the basis of the comprehensive plan.

Indiana state law (Indiana Code 36-7-4) requires a comprehensive plan to contain the following:

• Direction for future development and land use,
• Direction for future transportation infrastructure,
• and Direction for the development of community facilities, utilities, and public places.

Comprehensive plans can, and often do, go beyond these requirements to include objectives for other items. This allows the plans to be tailored to their community, and ensures that the Cedar Lake Vision 2040 Comprehensive Plan will meet the town's unique needs.

Please note that the comprehensive plan is a guide for local growth and future decision-making. The plan is not legally binding and does not act as law.

The comprehensive planning process has three phases:

• Phase #1: Visioning
• Phase #2: Strategic Planning
• Phase #3: Defining the Direction

In the first phase, Visioning, a variety of information is collected and analyzed to establish where Cedar Lake is today. This includes demographic, economic, and housing data, as well as the locations and conditions of physical infrastructure. Additionally, the first phase includes multiple public engagement events where community members can identify local issues and opportunities. This establishes where Cedar Lake wants to be in the future.

The second phase of the comprehensive planning process, Strategic Planning, will connect the data collected in Phase #1 to the future identified by residents at the public meeting. All of the collected information will be utilized to develop a vision for Cedar Lake's future. This vision will include a series of goals and objectives that will help the town obtain its future vision.

The third and final phase, Defining the Direction, includes the development of an action plan. The action plan is a roadmap that will outline how Cedar Lake can achieve the goals identified in Phase #2. To do so, it will present the town a list of action steps that provide a clear path forward into the community's future.

You can stay involved throughout the development of the Cedar Lake Vision 2040 Comprehensive Plan by attending the Open Houses, taking the online survey, or signing up for the email newsletter below.