The DPS land use planning division is responsible primarily for planning for the ongoing growth and development of Allen Couny, the largest county in the State of Indiana. With 660 square miles of landscape, Allen County is home to the state's second largest city, eight incorporated areas, and over 100,000 suburban residents while also containing more productive farmland than most rural counties in the Hoosier State.
Those who are a part of the division's staff pursue these activites through support for the Allen County Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Apppeals. All activities of the two groups and the staff that supports them are governed by Title 36, Article 7, Chapter 4 of the Indiana Code. These are pursued in rural and suburban unicorporated Allen County as well as in the incorporated communities of Grabill, Huntertown, Monroeville, and Woodburn. These responsibilities take the form of requests for rezoning of land and review of subdivision plats and development plans for nonresidential development. They also deal with the special sites and projects that require individual review of the Board. The quality of life found in most suburban neighborhoods throughout Allen County is probably one of the most visible illustrations of the type and quality of work accomplished by the Plan Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals, and the DPS staff that supports them.
DPS land use planning division staff works directly with the citizens of the community in developing long-range growth policies. Recently adopted by the City of Fort Wayne, Allen County, and the communities of Grabill, Huntertown, Monroeville and Woodburn, the 2023 All In Allen Comprehensive Plan is the community's second county-wide land use and development plan. For more information about the All In Allen Comprehensive Plan, go to http://allinallen.org
As part of the Department of Planning Services and, thus, subject to its mission statement, the land use planning staff also participates directly in the responsiblities assigned to other divisions of the department. It does this by working closely with the economic development staff in the coordinating and planning for the location or expansion of industries in the community.