Legal Notice Requirements

This material is presented for informational purposes only. Herron-Morton Place holds no liability for inaccuracies that may be contained herein. Individuals are urged to contact the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission for complete guidelines as may apply to your project.

A legal notice is a document that informs property owners surrounding a project area about a pending application that will be presented at a public hearing. For a pending Certificate of Appropriateness application or Rezoning/Variance application that is scheduled for a public hearing, the applicant is required to contact all property owners within 660 feet or two property owners deep from the property line, whichever is lesser. Notice must also be given by the applicant to neighborhood organizations whose boundaries include the property within 100 feet of the subject property. Names and addresses of such organizations are available from the IHPC office.

What are your Responsibilities?

The Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission staff is responsible for:

  • Publishing notice of an upcoming hearing in the newspaper at least ten days prior to a public hearing (Commission or Hearing Officer). Hearing notice will be in the Indianapolis Star/News on Saturdays only.
    Providing all other postings and notices required by
  • Providing all other postings and notices required by the Indiana Open Door Law.

The applicant is responsible for:

  • Preparing a notice letter describing the substance of the application (IHPC staff can provide a form letter to fill in).
  • Sending notice to surrounding property owners and neighborhood organizations.
  • Submitting a signed and notarized affidavit of notice to the IHPC office prior to the hearing.

Type of Notice

The required notice may be a personal letter from the applicant or a letter written on the standard form available from the IHPC office. In either case, the applicant must provide the following information:

  • The application number
  • Substance of the application
  • Location of work to be done
  • Time and place the application will be heard
  • Statement that the file may be examined in the office of the Commission.

Note: There are different requirements for notification on zoning and variance cases.

Getting the Names of Affected Property Owners

  1. Go to the Center Township Assessor's office in room 1301 in the City-County Building (If your property is not in Center Township, go to the appropriate Township Assessor's office.)
  2. As you enter the room, the wall on the left contains a large map of Marion County. This map is divided into numerical quadrants. Within each quadrant are smaller divisions which are also numbered. Find the address of the site where work is to be done and write down both the quadrant and division numbers.
  3. The quadrant number refers to the books that are on top of the cabinets in the room. Find the corresponding book and look up the division number. This should be a map of lots in your neighborhood. Find your lot.
  4. On it will be a number in a hexagonal symbol. This is the hex number.
  5. Next look for dimensions of the lots in the area. Typically the measurements are only distinguished on a few lots, but are consistent throughout the neighborhood. Determine which lots are within the notice range.
  6. Write down the hex numbers of those lots in the notice range.
  7. Go to the property card catalog file located beside the Marion County wall map. The property cards are filed by Quadrant-division-hex number. The cards will have a series of names, each of which is dated. You will send notice to the most recent name. (Remember to check the back of the card.)

Note: The number of names you need could be as few as ten or as many as sixty. It is possible to purchase the names pre-printed on mailing labels. However, it is recommended that you check the labels for accuracy. You are ultimately responsible for providing proper notice. See an Assessor employee for details on purchasing labels.

How and When to Send Notices

Notices must be sent to surrounding property owners at least fifteen days prior to the date of an administrative hearing and at least twenty-three days prior to the date of a commission hearing. They may be delivered to surrounding property owners by hand (remember to deliver to the property owner, not necessarily the occupant), by mail, or by FAX.

Affidavit of Notice

The applicant or his representative must furnish evidence of compliance with the above notice requirements by filing with the IHPC staff a notarized statement to that effect. This statement must list the names and addresses of property owners and neighborhood organizations to whom notice was given. A copy of the letter sent to surrounding property owners should be attached. This notarized statement must be filed with the Commission prior to the case being heard at a public hearing.

Applicants are responsible for providing adequate notice to surrounding property owners and neighborhood organizations and are responsible for any errors in providing notice. Applications without completed affidavits will not be heard at a hearing. If proper notice has not been given to surrounding property owners and neighborhood organizations, the Commission or Hearing Officer may continue the case to a later date to allow time for the un-notified parties to prepare for the hearing.