At the November 2nd City Council meeting, a critical and important public hearing will be taking place regarding the future of zoning and development in West Lafayette.
From the notice:
Notice is hereby given that on the 2 day November 2026, at or about 6:30 p.m., the Common Council of the City of West Lafayette, Indiana will conduct a public hearing to receive public feedback and to review the Unified Zoning Ordinance and any zoning regulations and land development rules with the goal of increasing housing development in accordance with Ind. Code § 36-7-4.3-3.
The public hearing will take place at 222 North Chauncey Avenue, West Lafayette, Indiana.
The purpose of this public hearing is to evaluate the Unified Zoning Ordinance and any zoning regulations and land development rules and identify opportunities to increase housing development. As mandated by Ind. Code § 36-7-4.3-3, the Common Council of the City of West Lafayette, Indiana’s review will evaluate potential updates focused on nine factors:
- Providing for higher-density development of duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes in areas designated for single-family residential homes.
Constructing other housing types, including accessory dwelling units (ADUs), manufactured housing and modular housing. - Adaptive reuse of commercial buildings for residential use, such as allowing multifamily development in retail, office and light manufacturing zones.
- Increasing allowable floor area ratios (FAR) within multifamily residential areas.
- Waiving or eliminating regulations such as requirements for:
- garage size and placement;
- steeper roof pitch;
- minimum lot sizes and square footage;
- greater setbacks;
- off-street parking;
- design standards that restrict or prohibit the use of code-compliant building products;
- and property height limitations.
- Reviewing impact fee zones in coordination with the applicable zone advisory committee.
- Streamlining or shortening the processes and timelines, including through one
- Using property tax abatements to enable higher density and mixed income communities.
- Donating vacant land for affordable housing development.
This public hearing is intended to gather public comments from residents of the City of West Lafayette, business owners, and other community stakeholders. All members of the public will have an opportunity to be heard and are invited to attend this public hearing.
Members of the public who cannot attend or prefer to submit feedback in writing may send comments directly to the City Clerk at clerk@westlafayette.in.gov prior to the public hearing. Written submissions will be made part of the public record.
The public hearing information will be available on the City of West Lafayette’s website at https://www.westlafayette.in.gov/home and in accordance with applicable state law.