| American Planning AssociationIndiana ChapterMaking Great Communities Happen |
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Conference LocationBall State Alumni Center 2800 W. Bethel Ave. Muncie, IN 47304 Overnight RoomsCourtyard by Marriott Muncie at the Horizon Convention Center. 601 S. High St. Muncie, IN 47305 Rate: $139 plus applicable taxes RESERVE A ROOM
Call (888) 236-2427 (Must Identify as being with the group APA Indiana and provide date of conference) OR CLICK HERERooms will be released February 19. CONSENT TO USE IMAGES: By attending this event, you grant permission for photographs and video to be used by the APA Indiana for educational, marketing, and promotional purposes. |
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Thursday, March 12
6:00 PM | Pre-Conference Gathering
Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning, 306 S. Walnut St. Muncie
Hosted by the Department of Urban Planning, College of Architecture and Planning, Ball State University
**Agenda is subject to change**
Agenda | March 13
7:15 AM | Registration Opens - Exhibits Open - Continental breakfast |
8:00 am | Welcome & Opening SessionHoosiers & Housing: Aligning Supply and Stability | 1 CM From historically low inventory to rising home prices and rents, Indiana residents are facing mounting housing challenges. At the same time, demographic shifts such as aging in place, smaller households, and multigenerational living are colliding with housing regulations that still favor a limited range of housing types. Drawing on Indiana-specific data and examples, the session explores how housing supply, affordability, accessibility, and stability interact—and how local policy choices shape outcomes across cities, towns, and rural communities. Participants will gain clarity on key housing terminology, examine the legacy of exclusionary practices that continue to influence housing access, and better understand the drivers of housing instability among Indiana renters. The session highlights practical steps local governments and community leaders can take, including zoning and land-use reform, accessibility strategies, tenant protections, and community ownership models—while navigating state policy constraints. Topics: Housing Policy, Land Uses and Activities, Residential Land Use Deborah Myerson, AICP, Founder and Principal of Myerson Consulting |
9:15 am | Break |
9:25 am | Equity Without the E-Word? Advancing Transportation Access in Shifting Political Climates | 1 CM
EQUITY Transportation project selection in Indiana increasingly requires agencies to demonstrate objective, repeatable decision logic even when priorities differ across urban, suburban, and rural contexts and when there is no dedicated funding category for “equity” initiatives. Equity Without the E-Word? Fair Transportation Access in Shifting Political Climates provides a technical, implementation-oriented approach for planners, consultants, MPO staff, and INDOT partners to quantify and defend prioritized project areas and activities using standard planning and programming concepts: performance measures, benefit–cost logic, and transparent scoring criteria. Technical content will include an example workflow for developing a prioritization model and then applying a transparent, multi-factor scoring approach to prioritize actions. Indiana communities routinely face the same core question in project selection and policy: how do we prioritize investments fairly when needs vary by place and by people. From sidewalk gaps and transit access in growing metros to long-distance trips to healthcare, limited broadband, and volunteer-driver dependence in rural areas, this session reframes the conversation around measurable goals such as access to essential services, safety risk reduction, cost effectiveness, and system reliability. The session defines “equity” as fair prioritization (consistent, transparent, repeatable, and explainable decision logic) and broadens the discussion of “who is left out” beyond standard demographic categories to include non-drivers such as youth/minors, older adults, people with disabilities, zero-car households, and cost-burdened households, using health and recreation access as a widely understood entry point. The session includes brief interactive prompts to tailor discussion to different community contexts and experience levels. The session focuses on how Indiana communities can structure prioritization frameworks for both capital projects (roads, bridges, safety countermeasures, trails/active transportation, transit capital) and policy actions (complete streets implementation, sidewalk infill programs, development standards, parking reforms, and ADA transition plan actions) in ways that are measurable and politically durable. A focused case discussion from the City of Westfield will illustrate a “transportation spine” approach that highlights how shared-use trails (including facilities that accommodate golf cart traffic) supported by small connectors and gap-filling projects that unlock access to daily needs. Attendees will leave with transferable ways to quantify “who benefits” and “who is left out” without labeling it as equity. Attendees will learn how to define project benefits in terms of accessibility and connectivity outputs (e.g., destinations reachable within a travel-time threshold by mode), safety risk and exposure (e.g., KSI risk, conflict locations, corridor speed context), state of good repair and reliability, and cost burden / trip feasibility. Special attention is given to rural applications where distance-to-care, limited broadband for app-based services, and volunteer-driver models require the same framework with different indicators/thresholds, and where staff capacity and match/maintenance constraints shape what is feasible. The session concludes with documentation, implementation, and communication practices to help agencies maintain defensible prioritization methods across shifting political climates including embedding access outcomes in standards and routine programs and a quick plan/code “roadblock audit”. Topics: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Planning Methods and Tools, Transportation Kate Múspell, AICP, Transportation Planner at Lochmueller Group Caleb Ernest, AICP, Long-Range Planning Manager, City of Westfield, Indiana | Transit Network Design Basics | 2 CM Prairieville is an interactive workshop exploring the trade-offs of designing a transit system. This two-hour workshop fills a critical gap in professional training by giving planners a grasp of how transit networks and services work, so that they can form more confident and resilient opinions about transit proposals in their own work. It offers a fun, hands-on way of learning what makes an effective transit network, and what those insights mean. Prairieville is an activity that game-ifies transit planning to explain tradeoffs planners must make when designing a transit network. Session continues at the 10:40 AM Block. Topics: Land Uses and Activities, Planning Methods and Tools, Transportation Sean Northup, Deputy Director of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization Jen Higginbotham, AICP, Principal Planner for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization | Transportation Public Involvement from Initial Planning and Environmental to Construction | 1 CM LAW Communications is key when planning a complex roadway project. The current Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) Clear Path 465 Project has been in the works since mid-2010s. This project is located in Central Indiana and is the third busiest interchange in Indiana. The project team brought along the public during the initial planning to the environmental phase to communicating during construction (final year of a five year project). APA members will learn about the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process which includes public involvement (PI) as a major piece. Learn about that process and lessons learned, likewise some of the lessons learned in communicating to the public during construction. The presentation will discuss the NEPA process and the integration of PI as well as the challenges of integrating PI during the pandemic. Topics: Community Engagement, Infrastructure, Law, Transportation Alexander Lee (Alex), AICP, Principal Environmental Planner, Parsons Corporation Cedric Diefenbaugh, Senior Planner, Parsons Corporation |
10:25 am | Break |
10:40 am | Embedded Planning - The Future of Planning Practice is Here | 1 CM EQUITY Embedded Planning represents an emerging shift in modern planning praxis - moving planners from project-based engagement toward sustained, relationship-driven practice embedded in communities and neighborhoods. This session explores how the City of Fort Wayne has incorporated this approach, developed by Jonathan Pacheco Bell, by establishing a dedicated municipal department focused on implementing and practicing the Embedded Planning ethos. This session will include municipal planners from Fort Wayne and Michigan City and examine how Embedded Planning is reshaping professional roles, ethical responsibilities, and power dynamics in local decision-making. Attendees of the session will gain a practical understanding of how this model can support more equitable and resilient grounded outcomes. Topics: Community Engagement, Planning History and Theory, Planning Methods and Tools Dr. Dominique Edwards, Planning Director for Michigan City, Indiana Michael Terronez, Neighborhood Planner for the City of Fort Wayne’s Department of Neighborhoods Dan Baisden, Director, Department of Neighborhoods for the City of Fort Wayne. Lauren Shank, MURP, Neighborhood Planner with the City of Fort Wayne's Department of Neighborhoods |
Transit Network Design Basics - CONTINUED
Prairieville is an interactive workshop exploring the trade-offs of designing a transit system. This two-hour workshop fills a critical gap in professional training by giving planners a grasp of how transit networks and services work, so that they can form more confident and resilient opinions about transit proposals in their own work. It offers a fun, hands-on way of learning what makes an effective transit network, and what those insights mean. Prairieville is an activity that game-ifies transit planning to explain tradeoffs planners must make when designing a transit network. Topics: Land Uses and Activities, Planning Methods and Tools, Transportation Sean Northup, Deputy Director of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization Jen Higginbotham, Principal Planner for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization |
From Referendum to Reality: Planning After Town–Township Consolidation | 1 CM
This session will explore the transformative process of local government consolidation, specifically focusing on two successful town and township mergers enabled by the Government Modernization Act (GMA) of 2006. The Town of Zionsville (Boone County) was one of the state's earliest successes, initiating consolidation with the unincorporated portions of Eagle and Union Townships in 2010, and later merging with unincorporated Perry Township in 2014. In 2024, the Town of Sheridan and Adams Township (Hamilton County) approved a consolidation plan that took effect January 1, 2025, providing a very recent perspective on the challenges and opportunities related to planning after a government merger. The GMA legislation granted local government units, including counties, cities, towns, and townships, the authority to pursue consolidation via public referendum. It spurred several efforts across the state, some resulting in successful mergers, others rejected, and some failing to reach the ballot. This session will provide an overview of the statutory requirements and process and examine case studies in Zionsville and Sheridan. Both communities have successfully navigated the consolidation process and are completing updates to their comprehensive plans. Topics: Community Engagement, Government, Plans Mike Dale, AICP, Director of Planning & Building for the Town of Zionsville Jennifer Miller, AICP, Director of Planning and Development for the Town of Sheridan Adam Peaper, AICP, Senior Project Manager for HWC Engineering. |
11:40 am | Lunch |
1:10 pm | Future 3: Regional Safety Collaboration to Vision Zero | 1 CM Explore how the City of Rushville spearheaded a multi-county collaboration to develop a corridor-wide safety plan for State Route 3. Learn how SS4A funding, Vision Zero principles, and bypass alternatives shaped a data-driven strategy—despite the absence of an MPO or shared regional planning framework. This session highlights how local leadership, safety and operational analysis, and stakeholder coordination converged to address high-injury corridors and deliver actionable safety priorities across disconnected communities. Topics: Community Engagement, Infrastructure, Transportation Cheryl Franks, PE, PTOE, AICP, Traffic Engineering & Planning Division Manager at Lochmueller Group Mattie Hunter, AICP, Transportation Planner at Lochmueller Group |
Tips and Tricks! How to Survive Your First Year in the Workforce | 1 CM
Whether you are a student landing your first job straight out of college, an Urban Planner changing roles within the workforce, or a professional entering into Urban Planning for the first time, we have you covered! This session is just for you! As Ball State graduates from CAP, we know the unknown can be intimidating, especially for planning students. Lots of questions could enter your mind leaving you stressed and anxious. What will my first job be like? Will I actually be able to help the community or clients? Should I advocate for Urban Planning? Can I make an impact? What if I don’t do anything design-related or graphic generating? Will I actually use any of my education in the workforce? Can my skills cut it out there? Will I make a difference? Should I become AICP right away or wait? If any of these questions, or similar questions, have ever invaded your thoughts then you are not alone. We have been there too and are ready to help you navigate these uncertainties. Our goal is to provide some comfort from our shared experiences in Urban Planning careers. We will also give tips on what to expect when entering the workforce or a new job/role and tricks to help you maintain optimistic career goals. From sticking to what we know from our education to being bold and advocating for the community and the client, we will help answer questions that might be plaguing your conscious. Change can be scary, but staying confident in what you know about Urban Planning and our design profession can help sustain you throughout your first year in the workforce. Sure, we can provide direction on what to expect, but we will also step through how to preserve your fresh ambition for good planning. Come with questions you have been dying to receive some sort of guidance on. After all, us planners have to stick together! Topics: Career Development, Planning Methods and Tools, Public Services Caleb Ernest, AICP, Planner for the City of Westfield Weston Rogers, Community Development, Senior Planner, for the City of Westfield | AICP Training Interested in pursuing AICP certification? Learn about the value of certification, APA’s One Path to AICP, key dates for the next certification window, resources for studying for the exam, and more! |
2:10 pm | Break |
2:20 pm | Planning for Safety: A Planner's Role in Crime Prevention | 1 CM EQUITY From urban centers to rural towns, communities across Indiana face public safety challenges that require innovative, planning-driven solutions. This session highlights a multi-year pilot using planning and design strategies informed by Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), which cut crime by 43% along a high-crime corridor. Attendees will gain practical cross-training in CPTED fundamentals, learning how smart design can enhance safety, strengthen community connections, and equip planners to lead equity-focused interventions. Through an interactive segment, participants will explore opportunities to apply CPTED principles or assess how their projects influence community safety. Speakers include municipal planners and the Chief of Police, and independent academic analysis will be referenced to highlight outcomes and best practices. Attendees will leave with actionable, equity focused strategies to improve public safety in communities of any size or context. Topics: Community Revitalization, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Urban Design Megan Grable, Urban Planner with the Department of Neighborhoods in Fort Wayne Scott Caudill, Chief of Police, City of Fort Wayne Nathan Schall, AICP, Principal Land Use Planner for Allen County | A Legal Review of Rights-of-Way and Easements in Indiana | 1 CM LAW A review of the laws and practices regarding how rights-of-way and easements are treated in Indiana. Going beyond the basic definition of right-of-way, this session will discuss the types of rights-of-way established in state statute, how easements can differ, and how the bundle of property rights varies with each. Additionally, practical points in dealing with establishing and vacating rights-of-way and easements and communicating them to the public will be discussed using theoretical and real-world examples. Topics: Law, Real Estate Development, Transportation Nathan Bilger, AICP, Planning Director for Columbia City/Whitley County Robert Ehereman Jeff Banning, PE | What could the Future of this Site be? What we Learned by Running a Student Design Competition with a Community Ideas Poll and Open Voting | 1 CM When a state university and a real estate developer deadlocked on a portion of a 90-million-dollar revitalization plan for a commercial district adjacent to the campus, the University leadership sought fresh ideas and energy to generate proposals for the future of an abandoned branch bank building site in the middle of the commercial district. The “ECAP Village Site 4 Student Design Competition” was launched and held from August to November 2025 in four stages. First, the ideas poll garnered over 800 responses, including ideas, concerns, and insights into the future of the property. Students shared the poll with a diverse demography through online and direct engagement. Second, the design competition had over 50 entries from student teams representing four allied disciplines in environmental design and planning. Third, the design poll asked the community and the world to choose their preferred designs based on three physical exhibits mounted on display and an online gallery of design posters. Fourth, the community jury panel heard oral and visual presentations from a group of chosen finalists. The results are now informing a design and development RFP and direction for the site. In summary, this form of community outreach brought together stakeholders in philanthropy, university leadership, real estate developers, design and planning educators, students, local business owners, alumni, and neighborhood residents in a healthy, open, fruitful, and democratic dialogue about the future of the commercial district. Topics: Community Engagement, Planning Methods and Tools, Urban Design Lohren Deeg, ASAI, Associate Professor of Urban Planning Dr. Teresa Jeter, Assistant Teaching Professor of Urban Planning Brooke Wagner, Candidate, Bachelor of Urban Planning and Development and Political Science / Lilly Scholar |
3:20 pm | Break |
3:30 pm | From PEOPLE to Plans, to Progress | 1 CM EQUITY Adopted in 2024, the Historic Northeast 2035 Plan is a 10-year strategic neighborhood plan for three neighborhoods northeast of Downtown Fort Wayne. This session will talk about the process and experiences that embedded planning had on engagement, the document itself, and the implementation phase of this plan. Topics: Community Engagement, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Planning Methods and Tools, Plans Michael Terronez, Neighborhood Planner for the City of Fort Wayne’s Department of Neighborhoods Dan Baisden, Director, Department of Neighborhoods for the City of Fort Wayne. Nathan Law, AICP, City of Fort Wayne’s Community Development Division in the Planning & Policy Department | Planning Impacts of Tax Reforms | 1 CM Recently adopted tax reforms will have a significant impact on local planning departments and processes due to the projected loss of local tax revenue. How are planning departments across the state adapting to these changes? Indiana Planning members will be asked to participate in an on-line survey in January to collect data on the subject. The results of this survey will be presented along with a panel discussion of local municipal planning directors. We hope that this session will provide valuable ideas for planners on how to effectively manage their local planning processes with ever more restricted local revenues. Topics: Government, Plans, Public Services
Crystal Welsh, AICP, Planning Group Director for Abonmarche Consultants Shawn Klein, AICP, Executive Director of the St. Joseph County Area Plan Commission Mike Huber, Development Services Director, City of Elkhart Retha Hicks, Director, Economic Development and Planning, City of Angola
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4:30 pm | End of Conference - Safe travels home! |
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