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Northern Tier Coalition of Townships
Susquehanna County, PA
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Coalition
Members
Apolacon Twp..
Bridgewater Twp.
Choconut Twp.
Forest Lake Twp.
Franklin Twp.
Jessup Twp.
Liberty Twp.
Middletown Twp.
Rush Twp.
Silver Lake Twp
Friendsville
Little Meadows
Montrose
DEVELOPING A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
The comprehensive planning process, and the land use regulations that activate the plan’s provisions, are the most powerful tools communities can use to determine how they want to shape future growth. The process is a lengthy one; however, the document, maps, and ordinances that result from the process can have a dramatic effect on the long term rural quality of life of the Northern Tier Coalition’s residents. This section of the booklet is simply a quick primer for the steps in the development of the comprehensive plan and how this process may be modified to accommodate the multi-municipal nature of the NTC. In the following section, various land use ordinances and strategies are discussed that may be helpful in addressing the conservation targets and threats previously identified.
What does a comprehensive plan do? A comprehensive plan serves as a tool to guide growth over the next 10 to 20 years. Drafting a plan provides a baseline to help the townships identify the important qualities in their communities and to write up goals and priorities on sustaining those qualities. A comprehensive plan establishes clear goals that will help decision-makers decide which land use planning tools will best satisfy the community goals. In addition, a comprehensive plan provides the basis for community leaders to project how much time, resources, and money will be needed to facilitate change. Although a solid platform for many subsequent planning efforts, the comprehensive plan is not a rigid form. Over time and through the evaluation process, goals and implementation strategies may change.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development, Office of Community Development, published a document to assist rural communities in writing a strategic plan, A Guide to Strategic Planning for Rural Communities. The process of writing a strategic plan for gearing up for the comprehensive plan process is outlined in Figure 6.2. Once the human, technical, and financial resources are available, the townships may begin the process of writing a comprehensive plan. Organizing a work plan for the comprehensive plan is the best way to ensure implementation (Figure 6.3). The work program allows the steering committee and all persons involved to accomplish goals along the way, recognize successes and failures, and set a timeframe for completion. Once the plan has become implemented, the county planning department and the regional planning agency can help the council draft zoning ordinances that will put the comprehensive plan into action. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also suggests designing an evaluation process with benchmarks to assess progress and to adjust comprehensive plans to meet changing political, social and environmental circumstances. They recommend seeing the comprehensive plan as an evolving loose-leaf notebook, rather than a hardcover book.
APPLICATION TO THE NORTHERN TIER COALITION
Under the comprehensive plan, rural areas in the NTC that support rural livelihoods, amenities and communities can be targeted for conservation, while other areas can be allocated for development. Figure 6.4 is an example of areas in the NTC that could targeted for conservation based on conservation priorities, related to bio-diversity and soil quality. Figure 6.5 is an example of areas in the NTC that could be allocated for future residential and other development based the location of infrastructure (paved roads, sewers, water) and current intensive human use (naturalistic-humanistic data asset.) Figure 6.6 is a blow-up of a key development area east of Montrose along 706 and down to South Montrose along 167, where public water and sewer currently exist or are proposed. Figure 6.7 is a blow-up of a key conservation area west of Montrose along 706 and the Wyalusing East Branch. Much of the map is based on inventory outlined in the previous sections of this report. This map is representation of the understanding of the Northern Tier Coalition supervisors’ goals projected back onto the landscape of the Coalition. It is the beginning of a vision, and should be subject of lengthy discussion and public debate that would be a part of the comprehensive planning process. The final version of this map would be a key component of the comprehensive plan.
IMPLEMENTING RURAL CONSERVATION STRATEGIES THROUGH LOCAL LAND USE ORDINANCES
The comprehensive planning process is designed to identify the priorities of the NTC communities for development and conservation. So, once the priorities are identified, how are the priorities implemented? Another important part of the comprehensive plan is the identification of tools and programs to protect the qualities and resources that the NTC communities hold most dear. These tools and programs rest primarily with ordinance language that provides the enforcement of the goals outlined in the comprehensive plan. This section outlines a number of types of ordinances, and programs that the NTC can use to respond to conservation planning issues and opportunities.
WRITING AND ADOPTING ORDINANCES
The multi-municipal nature of the NTC comprehensive planning process means that each municipality must adopt the ordinances used to guide growth individually. Jointly drafted or complementary ordinances can help municipalities plan and govern the development and redevelopment of entire regions. Zoning, site plan review, subdivision regulations, greenway designation, scenic byways, traditional neighborhood design and architectural design review (among many other conservation oriented ordinances) can all be included in ordinances that cross municipal boundaries. The advantages of these joint ordinances are many – the most significant being the ability for municipalities to work to control development that will indirectly, or in many cases, directly affect them.
Municipalities can work together to draft ordinances that are not necessarily identical, but complement a regional vision. Municipalities with rural resource concerns may decide not to pass ordinances that are the same as municipalities with more community open space concerns – but both can pass ordinances that encourage regional trail and other environmental corridor protections. Or, in other cases, where municipalities have similar land use patterns and goals for the future, identical ordinances assure a level of conformity that can help to preserve the character across similar jurisdictions. Additionally, complementary ordinances provide developers with similar standards and criteria for development proposals – which help to encourage economic development.
Once a comprehensive plan is complete, a variety of ordinances may be written and adopted in order to enforce the priorities set forth in the plan. Zoning ordinances in Pennsylvania can be mandated at the state, county, city or township level but are regulated at the local government level. Zoning regulates the allowable uses in an area, the number of buildings (dwelling units) allowed per acre, and the siting, height, and area owned by buildings (density allowance) in each district. Districts typically consist of five categories: residential, commercial, industrial, conservation, and agricultural. Today, however, more flexible and progressive land use and zoning ordinances are possible that allow communities additional flexibility in implementing their comprehensive plan. A number of model zoning ordinances are included in Appendix Two as a resource for implementing the following strategies. One word of caution when using model ordinances: the NTC communities should make sure that the model ordinance used is right for their community and should be modified as necessary.
Once a municipality adopts some sort of land use control it is important to ensure that the laws are enforced not only to maintain consistency for the sake of the fairness, but also so that they will withstand a legal challenge in court. Courts are normally highly deferential to local land use laws as long as the laws were arrived at in a clear, methodical, reasonable manner and the laws are enforced consistently and fairly. In most cases “the exercise of judgment by a zoning authority is not overturned unless it is shown to be arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.”