Planning Commission Announces VPP Awards

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Congratulations to the Phoenixville Region, Honey Brook Township, and West Brandywine Township on their new Vision Partnership Program (VPP) awards! The Phoenixville Region will be updating their comprehensive plan to cover West Pikeland Township, which has made the decision to join the Region. With the inclusion of West Pikeland, the Region is now planning across a significant portion of northeastern Chester County, including five townships and the Borough of Phoenixville.

Honey Brook Township and West Brandywine Township were awarded a VPP grant to develop a feasibility study for the Icedale Trail. The trail corridor would roughly parallel Route 322, connecting residential areas and recreation options, focusing on Icedale Lake and Icedale Meadows Park. Both projects are anticipated to kick-off in early 2020. Congratulations to these eight municipalities on their planning project awards!





Planning Commission Graphics Specialist Retires

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Polly Chalfant, a dedicated designer of many Planning Commission publications for over two decades, has retired from her county position. Polly celebrated her last day at the office on December 6. A native of Chester County, Polly instilled her love of the area into all her projects. The Planning Commission is very fortunate to have had her on staff and she will be missed.



Planning Tools for your Community

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The county’s municipalities are on the front line of smart growth trying to preserve their community character while responding to new development. The Planning Commission has a lot of resources to help, including our “planning toolbox” which provides eTools covering a wide array of planning topics from natural resources to economic development.



Join us for Trails, Trains and Traffic on Dec. 4th

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Join us for our Trails, Trains and Traffic event which will feature updates on the status of trail developments, upgrades to our regional rail stations, and major roadway/highway improvement projects. This event will also serve as a public meeting for our current Active Transportation Inventory project as staff will be presenting the initial results from our review of all of Chester County’s 73 municipalities. The meeting format will include an open house followed by brief presentations on each topic and wrapping with a Q&A session to address attendee questions. Register now!




First Housing Forum Held

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Putting a spotlight on policies for affordably-priced homes, new residential designs, and housing tools for municipalities, the County’s first annual housing forum, Creating A+ Homes, was held last week. Attended by approximately 70 representatives from municipalities, developers, realtors, consulting firms, community organizations, and others, the event was headlined by keynote speakers Ray D’Agostino, CEO of Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership and Brian Phillips, AIA, founding Principal of ISA. Ray D’Agostino shared stories of his experience in municipal government and with the Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership regarding creating homes that are affordable for a range of income levels, while Brian Phillips discussed the design and construction of different housing types, particularly smaller footprint homes.




Housing Authority of Chester County Executive Director Discusses Affordable Housing for Low Income Residents

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Residents of Chester County have a high quality of life, enjoying preserved open space, recreational amenities, and job and commercial service options. However, for many in the county, a barrier to a high quality of life is the high cost of homes.

Established in 1963, the Housing Authority of Chester County (HACC) works to provide low income residents with affordably priced housing options. Dale Gravett, Executive Director of HACC, attended the Chester County Planning Commission’s board meeting on November 13 and discussed HACC’s mission to provide, manage and develop quality affordable housing for individuals and families while promoting self-sufficiency and neighborhood revitalization.





View Updated Brandywine Battlefield Map and Learn about Future Study

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The 2010 Brandywine Battlefield Animated Map has been updated as part of a recent grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program. The update shows revised troop movements in the western portions of the battlefield based on the latest historical findings from Chester County Planning Commission’s phased battlefield strategic landscapes planning program. View the map.




Landscapes3 Earns More Recognition

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Landscapes3, Chester County’s updated comprehensive plan, was recognized by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) with the 2019 Award for Plans. The award was presented to Chester County at the APA annual conference on Oct. 21 in Reading, Berks County where other outstanding planning projects, planners, and public officials from across the state were recognized for achievements in planning. This was not the first time the Planning Commission received recognition for Landscapes3.



SEPTA Official Highlights Chester County Projects

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Elizabeth “Liz” Smith, assistant treasurer of strategic initiatives at Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), attended the Chester County Planning Commission’s board meeting on Oct. 9 and discussed the role of her public transportation agency and its partnership with the county.



Check out the Status of Transportation Projects

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County Planning Commission has updated its list on the status of Transportation Priority Projects. This list is updated every six months and includes highway and trail projects and public transportation. The status of the projects was last updated in August 2019.

Also, the Planning Commission updated the 2019-2022 Transportation Improvement Program after receiving input. View both updated lists.