Planning & Community Resources

The Planning and Community Resources Team engages the public and convenes groups with diverse opinions to develop and implement strategies for neighborhoods, commercial areas, and underutilized land in the city. The team creates short and long term plans and policies that promote distinct character and a sense of place for the community. The team also conducts research and analysis of local, regional and national planning issues and advises other City departments and partner agencies on land use and zoning topics.

Vibrant Places Grant

Vibrant Places is a matching grant program that provides up to a 50% reimbursement for qualifying exterior enhancements to commercial, mixed-use, and industrial buildings. Detailed information and a pre-application form may be found HERE.

Neighborhood Plans

A plan is a guide for making decisions about what kind of is appropriate, how resources should be allocated, and how issues residents, business and property owners are concerned about should be addressed. A plan is a statement of what a neighborhood wants to achieve, and it provides a strategy to reach those goals. Neighborhood residents will use the plan to gain an understanding of planning initiatives in the short, medium, and long terms. Public officials and community leaders will use the plan to direct funding and to make decisions on zoning and land use issues. Planners and City staff will use the plan to understand key issues important to the area and as a guide to implementing priority projects and initiatives.

Interact with the current neighborhood planning process at Together South Bend, the City’s online engagement website.

New Homes Initiatives

The City of South Bend has begun a multi-faceted effort to support the construction of new residential housing units within the city. South Bend’s goal is to support a thriving housing market that offers appealing neighborhoods with diverse housing choices, including available affordable housing inventory. The City wishes to ensure well-designed, infill housing on vacant land in the City’s neighborhoods which will increase the marketability of those neighborhoods. Learn more about the programs to spur new housing development HERE.