Why is it called the Regional Center Plan?
For a variety of reasons, but mostly because it is a plan for the center of the Central Indiana region.  It functions as a Downtown for the city of Indianapolis, but also contains many regional and even statewide functions including state government, regional medical facilities, convention, cultural, and sporting facilities, and educational venues.  Its not just a plan for Downtown...its a plan for how Downtown can continue to serve as the center of a large region.

Is the Regional Center Plan the Same as Regional Center Zoning?
No.  The Regional Center Plan is a policy guide for decisions that happen in the Downtown area.  It is used as a guide in Regional Center Zoning.  Regional Center Zoning is an overlay district on most of Downtown and a portion of North Meridian Street that imposes a greater level of design review than zoning in other areas of the city.  The two also have slightly different geographies.

Who was Involved in the Development of the Plan?
The Regional Center Plan 2020 engaged over 1,000 community residents in one way or another.  The bulk of the plan was developed through a six-month, seven-committee process through which over 300 stakeholders and residents were actively involved. 

There are Some Cool Images in the Plan Document...When Will They Be Built?
You're probably referring to some of the graphics from the urban design workshops.  These workshops were conducted at the beginning of the planning process in order to brainstorm ideas for the future of several portions of Downtown.  While some are indeed very cool, they probably won't ever be built.  The workshops served to get the creative juices flowing and to get people to "think outside the box."  They are included in the report to illustrate overall concepts and visions for what Downtown could be like in the future.  They are not included as proposals or recommendations.  On the other hand, if you want to turn a vision into reality, contact us and we'll be happy to work with you!

The Plan Says This but (the City, this Business, this Organization) Did This!
The Regional Center Plan is a policy guideline for public and private decisions.  It is not law and while under certain circumstances law requires that the plan be consulted (as in the case of rezoning cases), a vast majority of the content does not hold substantial legal weight.  Its purpose is to get a vision for what Downtown could be like in the future, and to achieve enough support and buy-in that the thousands of people who make Downtown what it is can coordinate their decisions and maximize the overall impact on the area.  Sometimes people don't buy into the vision and that is their democratic right.  Other times things change.  New challenges or opportunities arise that were not contemplated in the development of the plan.  And sometimes the plan does not provide clear direction when applied to a specific situation.  So on a case-by-case basis, there will be projects or activities that probably do contradict plan recommendations.  But overall the plan guides an overall bold vision for where Downtown will be in the future.
 

If you have questions regarding Regional Center Zoning Review or other questions related to regulations and procedures about developing in Downtown, contact the Division of Planning at (317) 327-5155 or at aable@indygov.org.

If you have questions regarding what's happening or planned for Downtown, including residential and commercial development and special events, or need maps and parking information, contact Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. at (317) 237-2222 or at www.indydt.com.

For technical issues related to this website, contact the webmaster at web@indyrc2020.org.

You can also refer to our Contact Us page for additional contact information.
 

Where'd the Old Website Go?
The old website was designed to facilitate the planning process and not to showcase the planning product.  Most of the old site can be found in the process archives section.  Most of the discussions from the discussion forums have been moved into the current discussion forum system.  And all of the urban design workshop results, committee process documentation, and library of information is still in the archives.  This information is not updated, however.  We've done our best to update the most demanded information, such as aerial photography, in our learn and discuss section.
 

I Can't Get a PDF File to Open
If your computer appears to stall while opening a PDF through your browser, its probably just taking a long time to download the file.  An alternative is to right-click on the PDF link and choose "Save Target As" or "Save File As."  This will allow you to save the file to your desktop or other location on your computer and see a typical download progress window.  After the file is saved, you can open it without having to wait on the web. 

When I Print a PDF File the Page is Blank
The most common cause of this problem is you are choosing to print from the "File" menu of your browser as you would of any typical webpage.  When a PDF file loads in your browser window, a special toolbar will also load at the top of the window.  In this toolbar will be a printer icon.  Use the print icon in this special toolbar to print the PDF.

The PDF File Won't Fit on Letter Sized Paper
The various documents on this website come in many different sizes, including the main Regional Center Plan document which is sized at 11 inches square.  When you choose to print a PDF document, you can place a checkmark on the "Fit to Page" option on the main print window.  This will shrink the document to fit onto your printer's paper. 
 

While registration is currently not required, it allows you to have a username and password, some personalization, and allow you to receive email notifications when people reply to your postings if you want. 

For detailed help on how to use the discussion forum system, click here.