The Town of Schererville has experienced substantial growth in recent years. The Town was concerned about undesirable outcomes of unmanaged growth in the community. The Town retained the services the Arsh Group to develop a new Comprehensive Plan to guide its growth and development decisions. The Town also envisioned that the Plan will be fully supported by the residents, Plan Commission and the Town Council.

The planning process for the plan started with several workshops with the residents. With its boundaries almost fixed, Schererville’s decision about future growth and development was less about adding territory and more about qualitative aspects of the community. Therefore, the Comprehensive Plan tells less about where development must go and more about how development should shape the community.

The 2009 Comprehensive Plan sets a new vision for the Town by establishing several land use policies to reduce unmanaged growth. The Plan also puts in motion a series of smart growth initiatives aimed at changing the pattern of development in the Town, particularly along its major arterial roads. Third, the Plan preserves the old town neighborhood as a new downtown and social center of the community. Fourth, the Plan proposes several design guidelines and establishment of three overlay districts to guide future development.

The transportation element of the plan embraces transit oriented development, non-motorized transportation, and a series of other policies ranging from shared parking to mixed use development to create denser and more transit-friendly developments.