Mercer County Regional Planning Commission, Hermitage, Pennsylvania

 

Mercer County's Comprehensive Plan
Implementation

Click here to view the County Comprehensive Plan Update Draft NEW
November 2005

The Mercer County Comprehensive Plan is being implemented! It is not collecting dust on a shelf. The county is undertaking new initiatives, funding programs and other community improvement tools. Each year, MCRPC prepares an Annual Action Plan, adopted by the Mercer County Board of Commissioners, which lists initiatives the county is committed to implement.

Initiatives, programs & tools

Partnerships

It is acknowledged that MCRPC and the county have only partial ability to implement the Comprehensive Plan. Municipalities have authority in community development and infrastructure projects, zoning, other regulations and taxation. Independently governed and financed agencies play lead roles in economic development, housing, agriculture, etc.

Therefore, municipalities and agencies should be recruited as partners in implementing the plan. They should be asked to support plan implementation voluntarily and cooperatively, and be encouraged to do the things they do best in support of county plan vision and objectives.

Achievements to date

  • 43 of 48 municipalities endorsed the county plan and signed a livable communities partnership certificate agreeing to help implement the plan.

  • 10 countywide community/economic development agencies endorsed the plan's vision and policy objectives.

  • Working partnerships are in place with Penn-Northwest Development Corporation (county's lead economic development organization) for an integrated planning and economic development effort and with the Mercer County Housing Authority for new affordable housing initiatives.

Strategy 1000

MCRPC and Penn-Northwest Development Corporation are jointly involved in Strategy 1000, an effort to achieve one of the plan's land use objectives – 1,000 acres of economic development in the coming ten years with an emphasis on brownfield reuse. Strategy 1000 involves identifying priority economic development sites, then developing or redeveloping the sites via a variety of creative initiatives and partnerships with local industrial development corporations.

Achievements to date

  • Priority sites identified – Brownfield: Broadway South (SVIDC, former Sharon Steel, Farrell); Broadway North (SVIDC, former National Castings, Sharon); Caparo Steel excess property (Caparo Steel, 200+ acres, Farrell); NE quad I-80 Mercer interchange (private owner, quarry operation in closure, East Lackawannock) – Greenfield: Reynolds East Business Park (Greenville-Reynolds Development Corp., Delaware); Hermitage Technical Park (private owner, east of PA 18 south, Hermitage); Leali property (private owner, near I-80, Shenango); Sunray property (private owner, near PA 60/PA 318 interchange, Shenango).

  • Broadway Renaissance – A major effort by SVIDC (Shenango Valley Industrial Development Corp.) in its initial stages to redevelop the top 3 brownfield sites and revitalize the entire Broadway corridor.

  • Keystone Opportunity Zone – Mercer County sought and did receive designation of 891 acres in the Shenango Valley as a tax-free Keystone Opportunity Zone. The focal points of the zone are the top 3 brownfield sites plus 84 brownfield acres owned by the City of Farrell (former Sharon Steel property) in Hermitage.

Education & marketing

Widespread public involvement is important in implementing the county plan. As the public understands and supports the plan, it will more willingly make private decisions (buying a home, starting a business, etc.) which support the vision and objectives.

MCRPC should develop education/marketing materials including a flyer, slide program, display, web page and school teaching kits.

Achievements to date

  • A display, web page and low-budget flyer were developed.

Planning roundtables

MCRPC should stage public meetings routinely in future years to review what is being done or not done to implement the plan, revisit plan objectives and promote the vision for livable communities.

Achievements to date

  • Roundtables were held in the fall of 1997 and are targeted again for the fall of 1999.

Model zoning districts

Mercer County zoning ordinances are weak in several subject areas deemed to be priorities in the county plan – rural zoning, village zoning, existing urban neighborhood zoning and interchange zoning. Model zoning districts should be developed containing provisions in harmony with the livable communities vision and objectives.

Achievements to date

  • Model districts for each of the four above-described subjects are completed and available for use.

Livable communities indicators

MCRPC should develop a series of measures to help determine if the plan is being successfully implemented and if community livability is improving. Statistics are available for income, unemployment, housing conditions, industrial development land absorption, crime rates, etc. A year-to-year examination can help measure the county's progress and identify areas of need.

State & federal grant assistance

MCRPC should actively seek grant assistance for projects designed to implement the county plan. Primary among these programs are:

  • Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) – the county and larger municipalities receive annual entitlements for a variety of activities benefiting low-moderate income persons.

  • PA DCED funding programs – a variety of planning and community/economic development programs from the PA Department of Community & Economic Development.

  • PA Keystone program – a variety of recreation and open space development programs from the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Project reviews

MCRPC is afforded the opportunity, in accord with several state & federal laws, to review grant applications, project proposals, and development plans submitted by municipalities, agencies or developers. The purpose of the review is to ensure that such proposals and plans conform to the county comprehensive plan. MCRPC should take its review role seriously and uphold the vision and objectives of the county plan. It should represent and be accountable to the broad public interest that created the plan.

 

 

Mercer County Regional Planning Commission
2491 Highland Road, Hermitage, PA 16148
mail@mcrpc.com    www.mcrpc.com

 

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