NSA Crane Compatible Land Use

Directed by Barry M Rubin, PhD

Naval Support Activity Crane, (NSA Crane), the nation’s third largest naval base, is located in rural, southern Indiana. It engages in technological, logistical, and munitions missions with little impact on the surrounding area due to its sparse population and limited traffic. It is an economic engine of prosperity, supplying jobs to more than 5,000 workers who reside in the five counties around the base. Currently, land use surrounding NSA Crane is largely agricultural and compatible, however the current extension of Interstate 69 (I-69) will expand economic opportunities further, encouraging land development and increasing noise, environmental issues and roadway congestion that can threaten the compatibility that currently exists between NSA Crane and the surrounding area.

To offer insight into compatible land development solutions, a team from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University spent one week identifying land parcels within a three-mile area along the western border of NSA Crane that are most likely to be developed and proposed solutions to promote compatible land use in these areas. The team utilized the land parcel database from the Department of Local Government Finance of the State of Indiana to categorize parcels. The proximity of a parcel to major roads, current occupancy status of a parcel and presence of utilities on a parcel were the three criteria used to label 2,500 parcels from “minimal” to “high” risk of incompatible development. Three county comprehensive plans were also consulted to map areas where planned development was being promoted. ArcGIS software was used to map the parcels, by risk level, according to the results of the data analysis. Mapping these parcels by risk yielded a prediction that development will likely occur at the I-69/US-231 interchange, along US-231 near the NSA Crane gates and around West Boggs Lake, near the south end of NSA Crane on US-231. Of these areas, development around the NSA Crane gates is of greatest concern to NSA Crane due to roadway congestion that could result as employees enter and exit the restricted area.