Coffee Creek Center
Session: Zoning Outside the Box
April 16, 8:45 AM
Kevin Warren
Lake Erie Land Company
The Coffee Creek Center plan for Coffee Creek, Indiana, contains a series of mixed-use neighborhoods with a Conservancy District as a centerpiece. The presentation serves as a case study of how zoning can be changed for sustainable development.
This presentation looks at two aspects of the project: 1) the zoning process and the steps taken in the zoning documents to accomplish the plan and 2) at least a sense of the market and market response to the concepts.
Author and Copyright Information
Copyright 2002 by author
Kevin Warren
Kevin is the Director of Land Development and Marketing of Lake Erie Land Company. His work with Lake Erie Land Company began in 1992 as the public relations consultant at Sand Creek Country Club.
For five years prior to his work at Lake Erie Land Company, Kevin
was an associate editor and senior copywriter in the transportation
industry. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from
Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
Kevin is active in many civic and community projects and serves on
the boards of the Duneland School Foundation, the Coffee Creek Life
Center, Duneland Chamber of Commerce, The Center for Workforce Innovations
and the Duneland Economic Development Company. He is a founding board
member of the Coffee Creek Watershed Conservancy.
At Lake Erie Land Company, Kevin’s primary focus is on Coffee Creek Center. Coffee Creek Center is one of few development projects in the country that combine new urban design with environmental sustainability. The project provides for 3,000 residential units and 3 million square feet of office and retail use, integrated within pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods, as well as with an167-acre environmental corridor.
The environmental preserve within the project, called the Coffee Creek Watershed Preserve, is the centerpiece of the project. The preserve blends the restoration of wetlands, woodlands and prairies with community recreational space and innovative storm water infiltration technology. Community features within the preserve include more than 9 miles of trails, a pavilion, amphitheater, creek overlooks and bridges.
Kevin’s roles include defining the project and its initiatives through the Coffee Creek Design Code, as well as working closely with the Town of Chesterton to accomplish the appropriate zoning and variances for the project. Kevin’s responsibilities also include oversight of the sales process for the project.
Kevin has spoken at numerous conferences including annual meetings of the National Home Builders, the Urban Land Institute, and the NTBA’s New Urbanism and the New Economy conference on community planning, new urbanism, smart growth and the environment.