OLEY TOWNSHIP and ALSACE TOWNSHIP Berks
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OLEY TOWNSHIP AND ALSACE TOWNSHIP Berks County, Pennsylvania JOINT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN The Alsace Township Board of Supervisors adopted this Comprehensive Plan on December 15, 1999. Oley Townshipkwwhdep. $e&. -bGWe\& sJ qb150,-:> c,Ap4 3:~uCd 13 %SOZ ? # Urban Research & Development Corporation Bethlehem, Pennsylvania I I CONTENTS I INTRODUCTION ................................. Thevision ............................................................. 1 I ThePlan ............................................................... 1 I BACKGROUNDREPORTS ................................................... 3 Regional Location ....................................................... 3 I Historical Ongins ........................................................ 4 Population. Housing and Employment ....................................... 7 I NaturalFeatures ........................................................ 18 Existing Land Use ...................................................... 39 Community Facilities and Services .......................................... 47 I Local Government ...................................................... 54 Parks and Recreation .................................................... 57 Land Use Policies In the Region ........................................... 60 I Transportation ......................................................... 66 Summary of Assets and Constraints ........................................ 71 I THE PLAN FOR THE FUTURE ............................................... 73 I GoalsandObjectives .................................................... 73 Plan Interrelationships ................................................... 75 Timing ............................................................... 76 I Future Land Use and Housing ............................................. 77 Environmental Conservation .............................................. 86 Agricultural Preservation ................................................. 91 I Historic Preservation .................................................... 93 Transportation ......................................................... 94 I Community Services and Facilities ......................................... 97 Economic Development .................................................. 99 I EnergyConservation ................................................... 102 I THE ACTIONPROGRAM .................................................. 103 Implementing This Comprehensive Plan .................................... 106 Planning Commission Role .............................................. 107 I GovemingBodyRole .................................................. 108 Fundingsources ....................................................... 109 I I I CONTENTS (Cont.) PAGE I I Regional Location .......................................................... 3 Historic Landmarks of the Oley Valley .......................................... 6 Geology ................................................................. 21 i Topography .............................................................. 23 Hydrology .............................................................. -27 AgriculturalSoils .......................................................... 31 I Soil Suitability for On-Lot Septic Systems ...................................... 33 Woodlands and Unique Natural Features ....................................... 37 I Agricultural Preservation .................................................... 41 ExistingLandUse ......................................................... 45 Public Water and Sewer Service Areas ......................................... 49 1 Adjacent Zoning ........................................................... 61 Roadway Classification ..................................................... 69 FutureLandUse ........................................................... 79 1 Agricultural Zoning and Lot Averaging ......................................... 84 Neotraditional Zoning and Village Zoning ...................................... 85 1 TABLES I 1- TotalPopulation ...................................................... 7 2- RegionalPopulation ................................................... 8 3- Population Density .................................................... 9 1 4- PopulationbyAge ................................................... 10 5- Population Projections ................................................. 11 6- Gender ............................................................ 12 1 7- Average Persons per Household ........................................ 12 8- IncomeandPoverty .................................................. 13 1 9- Total Housing Units .................................................. 13 10 . Housing Type ....................................................... 14 11 . Housing Tenure and Vacancy .......................................... 15 1 12 . Year Housing Built ................................................... 15 13 . Employment by Sector ................................................ 16 14 . Employment by Industry .............................................. 17 1 15 . Total Enrollment .................................................... 52 16 . OperatingFundRevenues ............................................. 55 17 . Operating Fund Expenditures .......................................... 56 1 18 . Zoning Adjacent to Oley Township and Alsace Township .................... 63 19 . Summary of Recommended Future Land Use Areas ......................... 81 20 . Guidelines for Protecting Important Natural Features ........................ 86 1 21 . Highway Functional Classifications and Recommended Design Features ........95 22 . Summary of Recommendations ........................................ 103 23 . Fundingsources .................................................... 109 1 I INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION THE VISION The Oley Township/Alsace Townshp Joint Comprehensive Plan is a vision for the future of a unique rural landscape. The plan shows how Oley and Alsace residents can continue preserving the best features of their community by avoiding unplanned growth and promoting only desirable changes in the area’s current land use pattern. Growth in the Oley/Alsace area should be concentrated in and around existing developed areas. Prime agricultural soils should be preserved for farming. The vital environmental functions and limitations of steep slopes, woodlands, floodprone lands and other natural areas should be respected. New homes in the Oley/Alsace area should be sited on the most suitable portions of a tract of land. Open space preservation within new developments should be maximized. Sewage treatment should be engineered to maintain public health and protect local water quality -without spurring rapid growth. Oley and Alsace should encourage new commerce and industry that is well planned, environmentally safe and properly located. Where feasible, businesses along major roads such as Route 73 and Route 12 (Pricetown Road), should use common entrances and exits to improve traffic safety/circulation and help prevent commercial strip development. In both residential and non-residential areas, people should exercise care in using historic structures. Commercial signs should complement, not detract from, the local environment, particularly in the area’s historic villages. In cooperation with others, Oley and Alsace will continue to promote safe roads, fire protection and emergency services. Quality education, recreation and cultural enrichment should also remain important priorities in the two townships. THEPLAN The Oley Township/Alsace Township Joint Comprehensive Plan has three major parts: The Backa-ound Reports summarize existing conditions and trends in the Oley/Alsace area. The Plan For the Future contains the goals, recommendations and policies on future conservation and development in the two municipalities. The Action Program summarizes the primary actions Oley and Alsace can take to put the plan into practice. The plan’s real value will be in evaluating proposed actions. Local officials, business leaders and other residents should only support proposals for future change that are consistent with the visions outlined above and that help carry out this plan. THEOLEY TOWNSHIP/&SACE TOWNSHIP JOINT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 1 'I I I I I BACKGROUND REPORTS I u I I I I I I I BACKGROUND REPORTS Past and current trends in the following areas will continue to affect the future conservation and development of Oley and Alsace Townships: 0 Regional Location 0 Community Facilities and Services Historical Origins 0 Local Government Population, Housing and Employment 0 Parks and Recreation Natural Features 0 Transportation 0 Existing Land Use 0 Land Use and Zoning Policies in the Region REGIONALLOCATION Oley and Alsace lie to the east of Reading, the county seat of Berks County. Pricetown Road, which connects the Pricetown and Fleetwood areas with Reading, is the major road through Alsace. Oley is traversed by both Route 662 and Route 73, which join to form a bypass around Oley Village. Heading eastward, these two state highways then separate with Route 73 heading directly east to Boyertown (on the Berks/Montgomery County line) and Route 662 traveling southeast to U.S. 422 near Pottstown. Regional growth pressures are affecting the Oley/Alsace area from several directions. From the east, suburbanization is spreading through Montgomery County and Chester County from Phila- delphia along the Schuylkill River corridor.