HomeMy Public PortalAboutNATURAL FEATURES AND LANDSCAPE INFORMATION GATHERING
Natural FeaLures and Landscape
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NATURAL FEATURES AND LANDSCAPE
The city of Greencastle as it is today has limited open spaces with park
potential. There are however several small, privately-owned lots of land
scattered throughout the city that could be used for small neighborhood recreation
areas. If the city annexes the proposed areas this would increase the amount
of surplus land available. One proposed area contains Big Walnut Creek which
could be developed into a passive recreation area.
If the city decided to develop a recreation facility in the Big Walnut Creek
area the problem of water pollution would have to be investigated. Currently
many areas immediately adjacent to Greencastle rely on the septic tank to
dispose of wastewater. Unfortunately, Greencastle's soil is unsuited for this
equipment. The high watertable moves the untreated sewage rapidly into the
groundwater system to pollute wells and bodies of water such as the lake at
Greencastle's Jaycees Park. The citizens must be willing to pay the cost of
cleaning up and keeping clean the finite water resources.
The surface features of Greencastle are characterized by some hilly areas,
steep sloping lands in the drainage ways and the more level glacial plains.
Soils data suggest that lands with 10 to 12% slopes may cause problems. The
standard slope used to separate prime building land from marginal land is 15%.
Generally, the change in elevations in the planning area are gradual so that
there are no broad areas of marginal land, although the Big Walnut River
Valley displays an abundance of relief. The areas in the northwestern quadrant
of the planning area and those in the southwest quadrant are areas of steep
slope or areas where the topography is etched out in a network of numerous
short gullies and ravines which terminate into sinkholes into which surface
water drains. This type of topography could limit the type and amount of
development that may take place in those areas. However this does leave several
plots of vacant land situated on the more level glacial plains making them
candidates for development.
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INFORMATION GATHERING
Man-Made Features
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MAN-MADE FEATURES
Greencastle, as the county seat, is the largest population center in
Putnam County. The government buildings of Greencastle and Putnam County are
centrally located on or within one block of the Court House Square. Several
retail stores are also located on the square. IBM, which had been Putnam
County's major employer announced it's departure from Greencastle in 1986. Since
then a great deal of development has been going on in Greencastle. The loss
of jobs has already been replaced by new industries. The majority of these
industries have located in the same area where IBM was situated. The Greencastle
Development Center (GDC) which was instrumental (along with city officials) in,
bringing these new industries into town recently announced that by December
1992 an additional 1,000 to 1,500 new jobs would be going on line in Greencastle.
All of this new growth in the city has brought a demand for more housing.
In Greencastle, most housing comes from 3 post-war building booms. About
60% of the housing units are 30 years or older. There are 10 subdivisions in
the city that were built after World War II. There are also 8 condominium
units in town and 250 apartments in the immediate vicinity. The GDC along
with their prediction of 1,000 to 1,500 new jobs, has also estimated that a total
of 305 new living units will be necessary in Greencastle. The Greencastle
PLanning Commission has already announced 4 new projects that are being
proposed for the city. The first project is a 260 home subdivision whose
developers have already put a down payment on the land. They have also
been granted a rezoning request by the city council. The other projects include:
a 95 lot development located off the east side of U.S. 231, an apartment complex
with up to 96 units on the northeast side of the city, and a 10 lot development
north of the city in one of the proposed annexation areas. The City Planning
Commission is aware that the new explosion of growth will also bring some
problems. One of these problem areas is the fact that Robe Ann Park located
just east of 231 on the south side of the city will no longer be sufficient for
the city. In an ordinance that was just recently passed by both the Planning
Commission and the City Council, . developers are asked to set aside land for
possible use as a park, a school, a fire substation etc. . . or to pay a
corresponding fee. Even if the developers do not provide park grounds the city
is supportive of the park board's attempts to provide more park land for Green-
castle.
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Robe Ann Park is located in the southeast part of town. It is on the edge
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of a residential area and is bordered on one side by a highway. Realistically
the park is only in walking distance for a small percentage of Greencastle's
residents. It is however readily accessible by bicycle or by car.
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