Plan Workshop Summary

The Town of Avon conducted the first of two public workshops on April 23, 2003 at the Avon Intermediate School to develop a vision plan for the Town.  The meeting was conducted by the consulting firm, Edwards and Kelcey in conjunction with the Town of Avon officials.  There were 29 residents in attendance including Steering Committee members.

Visioning is a technique used by planners to help a community see how it wants to be in the future.  By participating in the in Vision Workshop, the public was enabled to share their visions for Avon and describe their perceptions of its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT).

At the workshop, a SWOT analysis was conducted to determine what the major Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats are in Avon.  A visual preference survey was also conducted by viewing 56 different slides of various urban design areas including examples from Avon, Carmel, Indianapolis, Indiana and Mason, Ohio.  Visual topics included: residential, open space, accessory structures, pathways, business districts, commercial development, commercial parking, commercial streets, streetscapes, storm water, boulevards, sidewalks, institutional, parking, industrial landscape, overhead and underpasses.  A survey was distributed to each participant for ranking of each of the slides.  Each slide was ranked from Most preferred (5) to Least preferred (-5).  A summary of both the SWOT Analysis and Visual preference Survey are described in the following paragraphs.

Strengths

The majority of the participating group agreed that the top four strengths in Avon are:

  1. Avon’s Schools
  2. Avon has Good Parks and Quality of People living there
  3. Family Oriented Community
  4. Secure housing investment

The other strengths noted were:

§      Avon’s location and proximity to the rest of Indianapolis and I-465 is convenient and well placed

§      Avon has a convenient proximity to the Airport

§      Police and fire – Good Public Safety – Avon provides a strong sense of public safety and security through a prominent police and fire department.

Others agreed in small percentages that Avon provides a rural feeling, has good retail and dining establishments and provides affordable housing.

Weaknesses

 

Avon’s most noted weaknesses include its lack of political coordination, traffic and roadway issues and a lack of a Town Center.  The leading results indicate weaknesses in Avon are:

  1. Lack of Political Coordination
  2. The road infrastructure does not interface or there is a lack of continuity/presence in the roadway system
  3. Traffic Gridlock presents a huge problem
  4. No Town Center

Other noted weaknesses include:

§      Lack of Economic Development Planning/Business Park Employment Opportunities

§      Lack of Utility Control by the Town.

§      Lack of White Collar Jobs

Opportunities

The Town of Avon has numerous opportunities including:

  1. Utilizing its Developers for contributions to the community
  2. Annexation Opportunities
  3. Commercial Developments along the North South Corridors
  4. Political Coordination

Other opportunities include:

§      Code Developments deriving uniform standards for development

§      Utilizing niche skills of the community for Economic development

§      Planning for Growth – Assertive Town Government

§      Land availability for Industry and Park

§      Roadways that can be developed aesthetically.

Threats

Threats can be defined as factors which we have no or little control over.  These are usually obstacles that hinder or prevent good development or implementation of opportunities.  The threats identified in Avon are:

  1. Lack of Coordinated Control - Dependence on other Government Entities
  2. Quality of all types of development
  3. Annexation of Land by Adjoining Towns
  4. Lack of Funding or Money for the Town.

Other perceived threats are a Lack of White Collar Jobs and Commercial and Retail over saturation.  There is also a perception that Avon is not moving fast enough on its issues or towards addressing good development practices.

There is a perceived Lack of vision for Avon. Smaller threats include lack of coordination with state agencies planning for growth, a lack of recreation for teens, and crowded schools.

 

Visual Preference Survey

The results of the Visual Preference Survey are as follows:

Residential
  
Most Preferred
 Least Preferred
Open Space
  
Most Preferred
Least Preferred
Accessory Structures
Pathways
Least Preferred  
Most Preferred
Business District
Commercial Street
Most Preferred 
Least Preferred
Commercial Development
  
Most Preferred
  
 
Streetscape
  

Most Preferred
Least Preferred
Storm Water
  
Most Preferred   
Least Preferred
Boulevard
  
Most Preferred
  
 
Sidewalks
  
Most Preferred
Least Preferred
Institutional
  
Most Preferred
  
 
Commercial Parking
Parking
Most Preferred 
Least Preferred
Industrial
  
Least Preferred
  
 
Rural Landscape
  
Most Preferred