Zoning audit finds Dubois County’s older neighborhoods outperform newer subdivisions on tax value

Dubois Strong Economic Development Corporation and planning firm IncCodes have released the initial findings from a comprehensive zoning audit of Jasper, Huntingburg and Ferdinand, the next step in a zoning modernization effort the county announced earlier this year.

The review examined existing zoning standards, comprehensive plans, infrastructure and local development patterns to understand how current regulations align with each community’s goals for housing, growth and long-term investment.

The review compared “tax value per acre” — a measure of assessed property value relative to the amount of land it sits on — in traditional, older neighborhoods against newer suburban-style development in each of the three communities. In every case, the historic blocks outperformed their suburban counterparts, while also fitting more homes onto less land.

In Jasper, a 1909-era neighborhood block generated a tax value of roughly $1.04 million per acre, compared to about $670,000 per acre for a suburban comparison block — a gap of about 1.6 times. The historic block packed 7.7 units per acre onto lots of 3,000 to 7,000 square feet with 50- to 70-foot frontages, while the suburban block managed 2.6 units per acre on 16,000- to 18,000-square-foot lots.

Huntingburg showed a similar, if less pronounced, pattern. A 1921 historic block produced about $607,000 per acre versus roughly $473,000 for a suburban block nearby — about 1.3 times more. The historic block’s density, 4.2 units per acre, was more than double the suburban block’s 1.8 units per acre, on lots roughly a third the size.

Ferdinand’s 1927 historic block came in at about $914,000 per acre against $565,000 for its suburban comparison, or 1.6 times more — matching Jasper’s ratio. The report notes that Ferdinand’s current zoning requires 100 feet of frontage per lot, while the high-value historic block it studied averages closer to 33 to 88 feet. At the town’s present standards, a block that size could legally be split into only two lots today, versus the far higher number that exists there now.

A recurring theme in the audit is that the very neighborhoods producing the strongest tax returns in each city could not legally be built under current zoning rules. IncCodes’ comparison of existing lot sizes against each jurisdiction’s zoning ordinance found that R-1, R-2 and R-3 districts in Jasper, Huntingburg and Ferdinand all carry minimum lot sizes and frontage requirements substantially larger than the lots in the high-performing historic blocks the firm studied.

“The important thing about these findings is that they are local,” Dubois Strong Executive Director Colten Pipenger said in a statement. “We are looking at development patterns that already work in Dubois County and asking whether our current codes make it easier or harder to create more housing, investment, and opportunity in a way that fits our communities.”

The findings build on the 2023 Dubois County Housing Study, which identified a shortage of attainable housing, high infrastructure costs and restrictive zoning as barriers to new development and recommended reviewing local zoning and subdivision codes with an eye toward reducing minimum lot sizes where infrastructure already exists.

The audit also lines up with goals already on the books locally. Huntingburg’s comprehensive plan calls for infill development and more housing variety, and Ferdinand’s Flourishing Ferdinand Comprehensive Plan calls for a broader range of housing types, higher densities and updated zoning regulations.

Jasper’s draft comprehensive plan, still in progress as of July 2026, proposes an “Urban Residential” land-use category described in the draft as covering “traditional walkable neighborhoods closer to downtown, with grid-style streets and a mix of single-family homes, duplexes, and small multifamily residences that represent Jasper’s historic development pattern.” Public comments collected on the draft flagged a tension between that goal and a stated community preference for “low density living,” which planners noted works against the city’s stated affordability and growth goals.

The project now moves into a “stress testing” phase, where IncCodes will run existing zoning regulations against real-world development scenarios to identify practical barriers, ahead of model code recommendations the firm says will focus on clarity, predictability and flexibility.

Dubois Strong said it will continue working with officials and residents in Jasper, Huntingburg and Ferdinand throughout the process. The audit is funded through Grow Dubois County, the Dubois County Community Foundation and the Regional Opportunities Initiative.

The full initial findings report and project updates are available at http://www.duboisstrong.com/inccodes.