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About
About NIRPC
The Northwestern
Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) is a
multi-purpose, sub-state, area-wide planning agency. NIRPC was originally established as the
Lake-Porter County Regional Transportation and
Planning Commission in 1965, pursuant to State-enabling legislation. An amendment to this
legislation in 1973 provided the Commission with
its current name and allowed for the addition of
new member counties. Under this
provision, La Porte County joined NIRPC in 1979.
In 1996 the
legislation was again amended to provide a seat on
the Commission for all of the mayors in the three
county region. The legislation was again
amended in 2003 to provide for representation of
all 41 cities and towns in the Tri-County area,
and to specify that representatives must be
elected officials. The legislation under
which the Commission operates is contained within
Indiana Code Title 36, Article VII, Chapter 7.
NIRPC
operates as a cooperative of local governments
within the Tri-County area. It is
currently comprised of fifty-three members.
In addition to the municipal appointments, the
County Councils, Boards of Commissioners, and
County Surveyors
appoint one member each, as does the
Governor. The Commission or the
Executive Board meets monthly. NIRPC's
meetings are open to the public and there is a
place on every agenda for public comment.
The Commission's
planning area is strategically located at the
southern tip of Lake Michigan and represents an
integral part of the greater Chicago metropolitan
area. The Commission's planning area is
comprised of the three participating counties of
Lake, Porter and La Porte, located in the
northwestern corner
of the State of Indiana. It consists of
741,468 people (2000 Census) and covers 1,520
square miles. There are forty-one cities and
towns and forty-four townships within the NIRPC
planning area.
One of the most
important designations NIRPC has received is that
of Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for
northwestern Indiana. MPO's are
responsible, together with state departments of
transportation and public transit operators, for
carrying out the transportation planning process
for urbanized areas.
Northwest Indiana is
a diverse and dynamic region whose complexities
are reflected in the regional transportation
system. The NIRPC planning area includes arguably
some of the most strategic and critical links in
the national transportation system. These factors
combine to make the role of MPO for northwestern
Indiana extraordinarily challenging.
In addition to
planning responsibilities in the environmental and
community development areas NIRPC provides staff
services for several "partner agencies".
Housed in the NIRPC offices are the Little Calumet
River Basin Development Commission and the
Kankakee River Basin Commission. NIRPC also
houses the offices of the Regional Bus Authority,
which grew out of the Lake-Porter Counties
Regional Transportation Authority initially
staffed by NIRPC.
For
information on the availability of this statement
in alternate format contact bpetroskey@nirpc.org.
List of NIRPC Commissioners
Full and Executive Board
Meeting Minutes
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