2006 Open Space Plan Upper Moreland Township Montgomery County, Pennsylvania UPPER MORELAND OPEN SPACE PLAN UPPER MORELAND OFFICIALS MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Michael J. Crilly, President Richard D. Booth, Vice-President Stacey E. Efkowitz James G. Hotchkiss, Jr. James Martin James McKenna Lisa Romaniello PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBERS William C. Seiberlich, Chairman Jonathan DeJonge, Vice President Theodore Abel Deirdre Barnes Jack Dunleavy, Jr. Greg Flynn Denis Hurley TOWNSHIP MANAGER David A. Dodies DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION Patrick T. Stasio Cover photo: Masons Mill Park Pictometry aerial photograph from Spring 2005 UPPER MORELAND OPEN SPACE PLAN Prepared by the Montgomery County Planning Commission Mar-06 2005 UPPER MORELAND OPEN SPACE PLAN UPPER MORELAND TOWNSHIP OPEN SPACE PLAN MARCH 2006 This report was partially funded by The Montgomery County Green Fields/Green Towns Program Montgomery County Planning Commission 2005 UPPER MORELAND OPEN SPACE PLAN ii 2005 UPPER MORELAND OPEN SPACE PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 COMMUNITY PROFILE 1 COMMUNITY CONTEXT 1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 2 REGIONAL SETTING 3 EXISTING LAND USE ANALYSIS 3 Residential 3 Commercial/Office 3 Industrial 3 Institutional 3 Parks/Recreation 3 Utilities 6 Conclusion 6 COMMUNITY DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS 6 Population 7 Population Projections 8 Household Types 8 Education 9 Age 9 Income 9 Special Needs Groups 9 Housing Types 11 Jobs Located in Municipality 11 Occupation 11 Employment Forecast 11 Major Employer in Municipality CHAPTER 2 GOALS & OBJECTIVES 15 THE 1996 OPEN SPACE AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE PLAN 17 AUDIT OF THE 1996 OPEN SPACE AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE PLAN 24 2005 OPEN SPACE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES iii 2005 UPPER MORELAND OPEN SPACE PLAN CHAPTER 3 EXISTING PROTECTED LAND 27 PERMANENTLY PROTECTED LAND 27 Municipal Open Space 28 TEMPORARILY PROTECTED LAND 28 Act 319 28 Act 515 31 Institutional CHAPTER 4 INVENTORY OF POTENTIALLY VULNERABLE RESOURCES 33 GEOLOGY 34 TOPOGRAPHY 34 Steep Slopes 35 SOILS 36 Alluvial Soils 36 Hydric Soils 36 SURFACE WATERS AND HYDROLOGY 36 Watersheds and Drainage Areas 37 Hydrology 38 Wetlands 38 VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE 38 Woodlands 39 SCENIC ROADS AND VISTAS 40 HISTORIC AND CULTURAL RESOURCES 41 Historic & Cultural Resources CHAPTER 5 POTENTIAL OPEN SPACE LINKAGES 44 STREAM CORRIDORS 46 UTILITY & ROAD CORRIDORS 47 OTHER LINKAGES 47 ACCESS & CONSERVATION EASEMENTS 48 CROSS COUNTY TRAIL 48 PENNYPACK TRAIL 49 POWERLINE TRAIL CHAPTER 6 ANALYSIS OF UNPROTECTED RESOURCES 50 COMPOSITE OF VULNERABLE RESOURCES 52 ANALYSIS 52 PRIORITIZATION OF AREAS FOR PRESERVATION 52 Natural Features, Scenic Views & Roadways 52 Private Recreation Facilities 53 Historic & Culturally Significant Properties 53 Institutional Properties CHAPTER 7 EVALUATION OF GROWTH AREAS 54 POPULATION, HOUSING, AND EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS 56 MUNICIPALITY’S FUTURE GROWTH AREAS CHAPTER 8 EVALUATION OF OPEN SPACE NEEDS 61 THE SELECTION OF A STANDARD 61 PARK TYPES 63 EXISTING PARKS AND FACILITIES 76 OPEN SPACE NEEDS iv 2005 UPPER MORELAND OPEN SPACE PLAN CHAPTER 9 EVALUATION OF COUNTY AND ABUTTING MUNICIPAL PLANS 78 COMPARISON TO MONTGOMERY COUNTY LAND USE PLAN AND OPEN SPACE PLAN 80 RELATION TO PLANS OF ABUTTING MUNICIPALITIES CHAPTER 10 RECOMMENDATIONS: PROJECTS, PROGRAMS & POLICIES 85 LANDS AND RESOURCES TO BE PROTECTED 86 SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS 86 Natural Resource Protection Regulations 87 ZONING BASED ON PERFORMANCE STANDARDS 88 PARKLAND & OPEN SPACE ACQUISITION & PRESERVATION 88 ACQUISITION 88 High Priority 88 Medium Priority 88 Low Priority 88 Other objectives CHAPTER 11 RECOMMENDATIONS: NON-ACQUISITION PROTECTION METHODS 91 UPDATE THE MUNICIPAL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 91 UPDATE ZONING & SUBDIVISION/LAND DEVELOPMENT CODES 92 NATURAL RESOURCE PROTECTION ORDINANCES 92 Floodplain 93 Stream Corridors 93 Wetlands 93 Steep Slopes 94 Woodlands 94 OPEN SPACE FEE IN LIEU CHAPTER 12 IMPLEMENTATION 95 BACKGROUND 102 TIME PHASING 102 Phase One (2006 through 2009) 103 Phase Two (2010 and beyond) v 2005 UPPER MORELAND OPEN SPACE PLAN vi 2005 UPPER MORELAND OPEN SPACE PLAN LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER 1 COMMUNITY PROFILE 2 Figure 1 Regional setting 4 Figure 2 Existing Land Use Map 5 Figure 3 Existing Land Use Comparison: 1995 and 2005 5 Figure 3a 2005 Existing Land Use Chart 7 Figure 4 Population Classification 7 Figure 5 Population Projection 8 Figure 6 Household Types 9 Figure 7 Education Level 10 Figure 8 Age Profile & Age/Sex Pyramid 10 Figure 9 Income Levels (1999$) 11 Figure 10 Special Needs Groups 12 Figure 11 Housing Types 12 Figure 12 Labor Force by Occupation 12 Figure 12a Labor Force by Occupation Chart 13 Figure 13 Employment Forecast 13 Figure 13a Employment Forecast Chart 13 Figure 14 Major Employers CHAPTER 3 EXISTING PROTECTED LAND 29 Figure 15 Existing Permanently Protected Lands 30 Figure 16 Existing Temporarily Protected Lands CHAPTER 4 INVENTORY OF POTENTIALLY VULNERABLE RESOURCES 34 Figure 17 Geology 35 Figure 18 Steep Slopes 36 Figure 19 Soils 37 Figure 20 Township Watersheds 38 Figure 21 Wetlands 39 Figure 22 Woodlands vii 2005 UPPER MORELAND OPEN SPACE PLAN 40 Figure 23 Historic & Cultural Resources 42 Figure 24 Scenic Roads & Trails CHAPTER 5 POTENTIAL OPEN SPACE LINKAGES 45 Figure 25 Township Linkages CHAPTER 6 ANALYSIS OF UNPROTECTED RESOURCES 51 Figure 26 Composite Natural Features CHAPTER 7 EVALUATION OF GROWTH AREAS 55 Figure 27 Population Projection 55 Figure 27a Population Projection Chart 55 Figure 28 Employment Forecast 55 Figure 28a Employment Forecast Chart 56 Figure 29 Housing Types 58 Figure 30 Township Growth Areas CHAPTER 8 EVALUATION OF OPEN SPACE NEEDS 62 Figure 31 Minimum Open Space Needs 64 Figure 32 Existing Public & Private Recreation Facilities 73 Figure 33 Park Locations & General Boundaries of the Neighborhood CHAPTER 10 RECOMMENDATIONS: AQUISITION 84 Figure 34 Proposed Open Space Preservation Map by Priority 85 Figure 34a Proposed Open Space Preservation Priority Chart viii UPPER MORELAND OPEN SPACE PLAN– INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION UPPER MORELAND’S 2006 OPEN SPACE PLAN GREEN FIELDS/GREEN TOWNS PROGRAM In 2003, a referendum to fund open space and green infrastructure projects was passed in Montgomery County. Through this program, subsequently adopted by the County, the funding that the voters en- dorsed is being provided to municipalities, private non-profit conservation organizations and the county to preserve more open space and enhance the livability of existing communities throughout the County. The initial County Open Space program was created 1993. At that time, Upper Moreland drafted it’s 1996 Open Space and Environmental Resource Protection Plan, which has served as a valuable guide to the Township’s open space activities for the past ten years. Under the new program, Upper Moreland is eligible to receive a total of $ 1.6 million for open space plan- ning and implementation between April 2004 and April 2008. This grant requires matching funds equal to twenty percent of project costs from the township. The County grants come with several conditions. The most important condition is that any land purchased with grant money must be permanently preserved as open space or for active recreation. Another condition is that Upper Moreland must complete and adopt an updated Open Space Plan. This plan must be approved by the County’s Open Space Board before grant money can be disbursed. A municipality may apply for emergency funding during the drafting of their updated plan. This was the case for Upper Moreland who had to act quickly in order to purchase two properties; Ramsey and Cardone Tracts (Figure 26) DEVELOPING AN OPEN as a community amenity, an extra, even a frill. Likewise, until recent years, most open space pres- SPACE PLAN ervation efforts were site-specific in their orienta- tion: develop a park here, protect a natural area “In the past, many communities assumed that there. Today, however, a growing number of open space was land that had simply not been communities are recognizing not just that green developed yet, because no one had filed a subdivi- space is a basic community necessity, but that it sion plan for it. Communities that planned for open space primarily thought about preserving * McMahon, Edward T. Green Infrastructure. Planning land for parks. And these parks were often viewed Commissioners Journal. Number 37, Winter 2000, p.4. ix UPPER MORELAND OPEN SPACE PLAN– INTRODUCTION should be planned and developed as an inte- THE OLD PLAN VS. THE grated system.*” This plan represents Upper More- land’s effort to create such a system. NEW PLAN The Upper Moreland Open Space Committee was Upper Moreland’s previous open space was vital formed according to the requirements of the in guiding the Township’s open space develop- Green Fields/Green Towns Program. Members ment. That plan mainly emphasized land acquisi- represented the Upper Moreland Planning Com- tion, historic preservation, and existing park im- mission, The Upper Moreland Historic Preservation provements. As a result of the plan, several pro- Committee, the Park and Recreation Board, the jects were implemented, including the acquisition Board of Commissioners, and several neighbor- of the Hobensak Tract (31.29 acres) adjacent to hood representatives with interest in and knowl- Mason’s Mill Park, Raytharn Farm (60 acres) the edge of open space issues. Liaisons from the township assisted the Pennypack Ecological Resto- Township as well as the Montgomery County Plan- ration Trust with assistance from the county. As ning Commission