The plan commission performs a wide variety of functions related to community planning and land use development.  Formal roles are outlined in state statutes and local ordinances while informal roles evolve as a result of the nature of the plan commission’s work.  There are five general roles:

Community Planning

One of the primary roles of the plan commission is to prepare community plans and recommend their adoption to the governing body. Important roles for the plan commission include overseeing the development of a request for proposals for professional planning services; designing the planning process; developing a community vision; reviewing community data and trends; developing goals and objectives; and recommending policies, programs and tools to implement the plan.

Plan Implementation

The plan commission plays an important role in the adoption and administration of zoning ordinances, land division ordinances, development standards and other related plan implementation tools. While adoption of these tools is a legislative function reserved by state law for the local governing body, the commission’s role is nonetheless important. The plan commission may be involved in drafting and reviewing ordinances or amendments, public airing of proposals, and making recommendations to the governing body.

Public Participation and Education

The plan commission may be asked to take the lead role in involving the public in developing community plans and implementing programs or ordinances. A well-designed public participation process will identify affected parties, provide meaningful opportunities for public involvement, and ensure that as many points of view as possible are expressed throughout the process. While involving the public may add significant time, expense, and other challenges to the process, it can also help the community to identify issues of concern, assess the impacts of a proposal on various parties, and garner political support leading to adoption of the plan or ordinance.

Development Review

In communities that are experiencing growth and change, the plan commission often spends a majority of its time reviewing specific land development proposals. Requests for zoning amendments, conditional use permits, and subdivision plats appear frequently on the municipal plan commission agenda. Plan commissions may also be involved in other types of development review including but not limited to site plan review, planned unit development review, historic preservation review, and design review.

Referrals and Advisory Recommendations

The plan commission reviews a wide variety of matters referred to it. The Role of the Plan Commission contains a list of items that must be referred to the plan commission before the decision-making body may take action. In most cases, the plan commission is given thirty days to review these matters. If a report is not submitted by the plan commission within that time period, the decision-making body may proceed without it. Failure to refer one of these items to the plan commission may result in a court voiding the action. In addition to the items outlined in this table, the governing body may refer any other matter to the plan commission that it deems appropriate. These referrals may be outlined in a local ordinance or determined on a case-by-case basis.

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Watch: Who Does What

An overview of local government structure and role of various land use decision-makers

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