August 19, 2009 eNewsletter

Chester County Comprehensive Policy Plan
Draft for public comment — Closes September 4th, 2009

The draft update to Chester County's policy plan, Landscapes has been distributed for public review and comment. The comment period ends September 4, 2009 after which a “final draft” will be prepared.

The components of the draft update being submitted for public review and comments as prescribed by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (MPC), Act 247 can be found on the Landscapes2 website. In addition, a CD containing the draft components for public review has been distributed to all local municipalities, school districts in the County, and to adjacent counties in accordance with the MPC. An online copy of the CD containing the draft documents is also available. You can access any of the chapters to the plan through the document table of contents or by navigating through the topics in the website.

As part of the public review process, comments have been collected at local public meetings, by email and through the Landscapes2 website. The chart illustrates the proportion of comments collected by topic so far. Please take advantage of this opportunity to review the draft plan and offer any comments or suggestions you wish to have considered before September 4th. We invite you to periodically check the Landscapes2 website throughout the remainder of the public review process for any updates, additional information on comments and news about remaining Plan review activities.

Landscapes2 Related References

Chester County Conservation District Receives Federal Economic Stimulus Funding, a total of $2,172,084 for agriculture and urban stormwater best management practices through the federal economic stimulus funding.

Chester County School of Government. What is Chester County‘s responsibility when it comes to open space, transportation, your health and recreation, courts and justice, and emergency services? And what are the County‘s goals to provide the best services for its citizens?

Governor Rendell Announces Additional Recovery Transportation Projects Funded With Low Bid Savings. Chester County transportation projects receive $7.5M in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding.

DEP awards $357,000 in annual environmental education grants, $18,481 in Chester County. Pennsylvania’s students, teachers and community groups will be able to take field trips, study alternative energy, restore ponds and wetlands, and use worms to create compost with the help of 60 environmental education grants by the commonwealth to schools, colleges, county conservation districts and local non-profit organizations.

DEP seeks comment on new programs to increase energy efficiency and reduce costs. The Department of Environmental Protection seeks public comments on guidelines for a new grant offering under the new PA Green Energy Works! program, which is aimed at reducing energy costs for consumers, businesses and local governments. The program is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Delaware Basin Restoration Initiative Fund. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is pleased to announce funds through its Delaware Basin Habitat Restoration Initiative Fund, or HRIF. The purpose of the HRIF is two fold: 1) To develop a set of shared restoration priorities for a single ecological community in the 4-state Delaware River Basin Watershed and 2) To fund several riparian projects that demonstrate the highest potential for restoration and that demonstrate multiple conservation values associated with restoration of the Delaware River Basin.

Buy Fresh Buy Local — Local food guide introduces farms, farmers, County agencies and restaurants committed to strengthening Chester County’s food system. It includes approximately 80 producers divided into categories including: farm stands, farm stores, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operations, farmers’ markets, specialty products, and retail outlets within the County and maps their locations.

Planning Related References

Amtrak unveils refurbished railcar. Amtrak is using $19.3 million in stimulus money to refurbish 21 cars at its Beech Grove maintenance facility. The first one was completely redone in a matter of months. Federal stimulus money is helping put Amtrak back on track. Amtrak rolled out the first passenger railcar restored with money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Amtrak Partners with Google Transit to Offer Rail Travel as an Option for Trip Planning - Travelers may now use Google Transit — Google's public transportation trip planning function — to plan their journeys on Amtrak as five of the railroad's routes were recently added to the Google Transit system. The Amtrak/Google Transit partnership supports Amtrak's corporate goals to promote connectivity among transportation systems, provide passengers with a seamless transportation experience, and work with state partners to grow public transportation.

Wind Powered School District earning and learning with wind power.

Brookings MetroMonitor — The Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings has initiated the MetroMonitor, a quarterly, interactive barometer of the health of America’s 100 largest metropolitan economies. The monitor looks “beneath the hood” of national economic statistics to portray the diverse metropolitan trajectories of recession and recovery across the country.

Trains and Vans May Beat Taxis to the Airport. Getting to the airport used to be a fairly simple proposition — catch a taxi, even if it meant sitting in traffic on the way. But the number of options have grown, with direct trains and shared-ride services are cheaper and also more reliable.

Repower America opens an office in West Chester PA. The Southeastern office of Repower America opened its doors to an enthusiastic group of more than 60 well-wishers who turned out to find out more about getting involved in Repower Pennsylvania's work. The West Chester office is located at 203 S High Street, West Chester, PA.

Forbes In Pictures: America's Fastest-Dying Cities. The turmoil of the mortgage market granted a temporary reprieve from hearing about the woes of America's Rust Belt. That doesn't mean things are better. Despite a decade of national prosperity, the former manufacturing backbone of the U.S. is in rougher shape than ever, still searching for some way to replace its long-stilled smokestacks.

Philadelphia Million Solar Roofs. New tax credits are available to reduce the purchase cost of energy efficient products! A credit of up to $2000 is available for the purchase of photovoltaic and solar hot water system

E-Update 10thousandFriends of Pennsylvania Leading the way on Smart Growth. While the immediate crisis of paying state workers and continuing some essential services has been resolved, the state budget impasse continues. Whether you are a state worker, a vendor to the state, or depend upon a program that is threatened to be cut, we are all impacted. Ultimately a final budget will be passed but while everyone is focused on the matter at hand, there are other important legislative initiatives under consideration.

Upcoming Calendar of Events

24th Annual Mushroom Festival, Sept 12-13, 2009. A fun packed, 2 day event in historic Kennett Square. Celebrate the mushroom as well as the beauty, history and excitement of Southern Chester County with music, children’s rides and a variety of entertainment.

Rail~Volution 2009, Boston MA, October 29 - November 1st. Rail~Volution has always been about building livable communities with transit. But this year, given the supportive politics of the Obama administration and strong Congressional leadership, Rail~Volution moves to an entirely new level. President Obama understands how transportation investments help to shape and nurture our urban regions, while Transportation Secretary La Hood speaks freely and often about creating Livable Communities.

Congress for New Urbanism Atlanta:RX for Healthy Places, how community design can affect your health. Organized with assistance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CNU18 Atlanta, May 19 - 22, 2010 .

PA Department of Environmental Protection Calendar of Events