One of the primary planning issues facing small rural communities today is balancing the need of economic growth with the preservation of local character and natural resources. Faced with increasing development pressures, these communities often are unequipped from a planning and ordinance standpoint to deal with accelerated demands for subdivision approval, infrastructure planning, and other legal issues that come with development. This can lead not only to loss of local and natural character, but also to long term community debt as small municipalities are obligated or agree to install infrastructure that the tax on the new construction will not pay for. This report examines the town of Pendleton, Indiana, and focuses on local character, historic, and natural resources to form the basis for future land use recommendations. The primary steps in this process are; 1) a contextual (visual) analysis of Pendleton and its surrounding area to identify the different neighborhoods, landmarks, nodes, edges, and circulation patterns based upon visual criteria, 2) analysis of Pendleton's zoning ordinances and land use controls, 3) determination of potential physical and fiscal impacts of development of available land according to existing zoning, and 4) development of future long term land use recommendations in the planning format of a comprehensive plan. / Department of Landscape Architecture