Stay Tuned for Details on Vision Partnership Program

The Chester County Planning Commission anticipates applications for the first round of Vision Partnership Program (VPP) cash grants for 2019 will be accepted from mid-May until the end of June. This program provides funds to municipalities for comprehensive plans, ordinance updates, or planning studies to implement Landscapes3, Chester County’s comprehensive plan.

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Forum Focuses on Current Planning Issues in Chester County

About 50 professional planners and municipal officials from the local area recently attended the Chester County Planning Commission’s fall 2018 Planners’ Forum to learn about current issues, including long-term planning at Longwood Gardens, understanding the Certified Local Government Program for historic preservation, and wayfinding signage for Chester County.  Continue Reading →

Chester County Municipalities Move Forward with Future Plans

Congratulations to the Chester County municipalities that are moving forward with plans that will help their communities thrive.

Malvern Borough recently completed a Multimodal Transportation Study that evaluated existing issues in the borough and identified ways to improve the transportation network. Primary concerns were pedestrian travel issues, regional multimodal connections, cut-through traffic, and safety for all transportation modes. Continue Reading →

Regional Planning Agency Releases Video about Long-Range Plan

Did you know Chester County is expected to be the fastest growing county in southeastern Pennsylvania in the next 30 years? In fact, there will be 146,000 new residents and 88,000 more jobs in Chester County in the next 30 years, according to Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) estimates. The DVRPC highlighted these facts and other regional trends and forecasts in “Connections 2045 Plan for Greater Philadelphia,” a long-range plan for the region’s future. Continue Reading →

Second Round of Vision Partnership Program Grants Opens

The second round of the Vision Partnership Program (VPP) planning grants for 2018 opened today (June 25). Through VPP, Chester County municipalities are eligible for funds to assist their communities with comprehensive planning, ordinance updates, and other studies. The 2018 VPP Grant Manual and application materials are available online. Pre-application meetings are strongly encouraged, and can be scheduled by contacting Chester County Planning Commission Planning Services Director Susan Elks at selks@chesco.org. The deadline to apply is Aug. 15. Learn more about the VPP process, as well as projects funded previously through the program.

Planning Commission to Host Commercial Landscapes Symposium

The Chester County Planning Commission will be hosting a Commercial Landscapes Symposium from 4 p.m.-6 p.m. June 7 at the Penn State Great Valley campus. The planning series focuses on trends and potential strategies to address changes in retail centers, office parks, transit centers, and old industrial properties around the county.

The featured speaker will be James Cook, the Americas Director of Retail Research at Jones Lang Lasalle, who will discuss the future of commercial real estate in Chester County and the Philadelphia region. There also will be a panel discussion with experts. Click here to register for the event. 

Exploring Housing Trends in Chester County

If home is where the heart is, the heart of Chester County housing these days is multifamily homes, particularly apartments.

There were nearly 3,000 multifamily units proposed in 2016, which was an increase of approximately 1,000 since 2015. In particular, there was a drastic increase in the apartment development proposals over the past year. There were 2,231 apartment units proposed in 2016 compared to 1,150 in 2015.  Continue Reading →