DAUPHIN COUNTY COM?Rehenslve PLAN AUGUST 18,1992
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DAUPHIN COUNTY COM?REHENSlVE PLAN AUGUST 18,1992 / I I DAUPHIN COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AUGUST 18,1992’ VOLUME II: PLAN AND IMPLEMENTATION DAUPHIN COUNTY PLANNING COMMlSSlON STAFF - 1992 Dauphin County Veterans Memorial Building 112 Market St., 7th Floor Harrisburg, PA 17101 -201 5 Telephone: (717) 234-2639 Executive Director ............................................. James R. Zeiters, AlCP Associate Director ............................................. James W. Szymborski, AlCP Staff Planner Ill ................................................. David F. Royer Timothy P. Reardon, AlCP Omar A. Syed Jeff Kelly Staff Planner II .................................................. Michael D. Rimer Rosemary Kosiek Michael Boyer Staff Planner I ................................................... Randall L. Heilman Christina Fackler Joseph Price Planning Technician 111 ...................................... George E. Hubley Planning Technician II ....................................... Louise L. Stewart Administrative Coordinator ................................ Patty L. Buggy Secretary .......................................................... Chris Keefer Legal Counsel ................................................... Thomas D. Caldwell, Jr. COST - $25.00 I I 1 I I DAUPHIN COUNTY - 1992 I Board of Commissioners Russell Sheaffer, Chairman I Sally Klein Anthony Petrucci 1 Planning Commission Dorthy Ross - Chairman Donald Horner - Vice-chairman I Barry Nazar - Secretary William Chianos - Treasurer Charles Leedecker 1 Norman Kennard John Orr I I 1 I I I I I I I I DAUPHIN COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN I TABLE OF CONTENTS PHASE I I Chapter 1 - Introduction Chapter 2 - History of Dauphin County Chapter 3 - Natural Environment I Chapter 4 - Population/Socio-economic Chapter 5 - Economic Base Chapter 6 - Existing Land Use Chapter 7 - Housing I Chapter 8 - Transportation Chapter 9 - Existing Community Facilities and Services 1 Chapter 10 - Administration and Finances PHASE I1 I Chapter 11 - Goals and Objectives Chapter 12 - Future Land Use Plan Chapter 13 - Transportation Plan Chapter 14 - Community Facilities a Chapter 15 - Housing Plan Chapter 16 - Plan Administration and Implementation I I I I 1 I I I I 1 BASIC STUDIES I CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION I THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING Planning is an organized process that enables managers, I elected officials, planning commission members and others to define their community’s goals and objectives, set their priorities, and seek solutions to long-term issues. Participation in the planning process enables communities to monitor, analyze, and react I effectively to change within each individual community and the county as a whole. The established planning mechanisms such as zoning ordinances, subdivision and land ordinances, official maps, 1 and comprehensive plans can be used to guide future growth and development in the community. The Comprehensive Plan, a valuable planning tool, is broad in scope, examining physical, social and I economic features that mesh to make the county of today, while seeking to apply this knowledge to the future. THE PURPOSE OF THE PLAN I The Dauphin County Comprehensive Plan is a policy guide that encourages orderly development in promoting the health, safety, 1 convenience, and general welfare of its citizens. The Plan formalizes the County’s goals and objectives and serves as a blueprint for the establishment of action oriented programs focusing on the growth and development of the County. It offers an I orderly plan to support and manage the homes, businesses, schools, churches, industries, and government services that occupy the variety of land use patterns. The Plan comprehensively outlines I both the current and desired municipal character, and also delineates the economic development measures of the County. Once adopted, the Plan offers a framework for continual review and 1 revision of its elements, as necessary. THE PROCESS OF THE PLAN I The Comprehensive Plan is more accurately defined as a continuous process rather than as a document. Planning is a process of rationally evaluating and determining appropriate future 1 actions through a sequence of choices. To produce an accurate, useful Plan, the County should obtain essential community information that describes the existing environment, develop a plan that encourages the most acceptable future development, 1 prepare a schedule for a capital improvement program, and then implement and monitor these activities. I Planning is often a process of problem solving. After the problems have been diagnosed, goals and planning standards can be stated, alternative solutions can be considered, feasibility I analyses can be performed, and then the accepted policies can be implemented and evaluated. Public participation through surveys 1-1 I I I and public meetings are important in all phases of the development I of the Plan. Even though this Plan is a fluid process and may be modified I from time to time, it represents crucial decisions that are important to the welfare of the people. It embodies vital decisions of the population that the County may opt to accommodate, and the standards by which the County will be developed. It ~I mandates which land use types will be developed, where they will be located, and how they will be connected through the lines of communication and a circulation system. Decisions on the preservation of open space throughout the County are also included in the Comprehensive Plan. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PLAN Three major steps are involved in the preparation of the Comprehensive Plan. First, the collecting of all essential information relating to the people and the land; second; after careful and thorough analysis of this information, the development of plans will encourage the most appropriate future development of the County while maintaining existing property values and seeking ways to provide necessary municipal facilities and services; and third; upon completion of the planning process involves putting these planning recommendations into proper action programs. This is accomplishedthroughthe adoption of official municipal maps and through the annual preparation and adoption of a capital improvement program. The Comprehensive Plan is divided into three plan elements. Phase I - Basic Studies, introduces the Introduction, History, Natural Environment, Population/Socio-Economic Profile, Economic Base, Existing Land Use, Transportation and Circulation, Housing, Community Facilities and Utilities, and County Administration and Finances. Phase I1 - The Plan Development, includes Community Development Goals, Future Land Use Plan, Transportation Plan, Community Facilities Plan, and Housing. Phase I11 - Implementation, Consists of the Capital Improvement Program and Administration. LEGISLATIVE AND LEGAL BASE FOR THE PLAN In the 1926 Euclid, Ohio vs Ambler Realty case, the United States Supreme Court established the precedent of allowing a community to direct its own development and growth. The justices declared that the town of Euclid, Ohio could indeed determine which land uses would be allowed within its political jurisdiction. Since that initial case, the courts have repeatedly upheld the right of a community to exercise a police power in legislating regulations governing the use of the land, within certain constraints. The legislative authority for Pennsylvania local governments to plan for and manage development within their boundaries emanates from the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended. This enabling legislation lists the 1-2 planning tools available to communities to accomplish these goals. The primary method to protect and provide for the best interest of citizens is through adoption of a zoning ordinance. This should be supplemented by adoption of other supportive codes and ordinances such as a building code, housing code, subdivision and land development ordinance, and comprehensive plan. Upon adoption of a comprehensive plan by the County, Act 247 requires that municipalities submit for recommendations to the county planning agency any adoption, amendment, or repeal of an official map, subdivision and land development ordinance or a planned residential development ordinance. This ensures that the Dauphin County Planning Commission may provide recommendations relating to the location, opening, vacation, extension, widening, narrowing or enlargement of any street, public ground or watercourse and the location, erection, demolition or sale of any public structures located within Dauphin County. 1-3 I I CHAPTER 2 HISTORY i HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT An examination of the names of townships, municipalities, and I streets located within Dauphin County reveals the names of the courageous, tenacious men and women that left their homes in Philadelphia, West Chester, France, England, and Ireland to forge . I a new life in a pristine land. The first group of settlers, the French Huguenots such as Letort and Chartier, pushed through the frontier until they reached the Susquehanna River and the Indian Village of Peixtan. The original residents of Peixtan, the nomadic I Lenni Lenape Indians, received these pioneers and served as guides for the newcomers as they searched for animal pelts. I Survival in the harsh, rugged frontier demanded perseverance from those daring enough to surmount its daily challenges. The Scotch-Irish, colonists that possessed these attributes, migrated from Ulster, Ireland to the disputed Pennsylvania-Maryland border 1 and then to the areas along the Susquehanna