N I NG CO M IV~IC; Ji3PI .BERKS COUNTY JOINT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN RICHMOND TOWNSHIP & FLEETWOOD BOROUGH Berks County, Pennsylvania Adopted by the Richmond Township Board of Supervisors on March 10, 1997 Adopted By the Fleetwood Borough Council on March 10, 1997 Planning Advisor Urban Research & Development Corporation Bethlehem, Pennsylvania RICHMOND TOWNSHIP FLEETWOOD BOROUGH I Board of Supervisors Borough Mayor I Gary Angstadt, Chair Samuel Borrell Earl Mertz, Vice Chair I Donald Brumbach I Borough Council Planning Commission Alex Szoke, President I Dale Dietrich, Vice-president Jack Krause, Chair Marsha Anderson, Secretary David Bascelli Sandra Harding, Assistant Secretary I Leo Beck Lester Hoch, Treasurer Larry Kehl I Peggy Rennick I Planning Commission Jay Burkert, Chair Harry Rhoads, Jr. I Russell Anderson Blaine Martin I Loretta Link I Richmond Township - Fleetwood Borough I Joint Comprehensive Plannins Committee I Richmond Township Members Fleetwood Borough Members Linda Partridge, Co-Chair Jay Burkert, Co-Chair I David Bascelli Gary Ebeling Jack Krause Joseph Kuzmann I Earl Mertz Loretta Link l I 1 I I 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I 1 This document was largely financed by Berks County’s Federal Community Development Block Grant Program. Berks County I has established a policy for finding local planning with CDBG funds that implements the principles defined in the Berks County Comprehensive Plan Revision. A major objective is to promote I joint municipal planning, intergovernmental and regional cooperation. As a result, the County initiated a Local Planning Partnership Fund to find the preparation of local comprehensive I plans for municipalities that engage in joint planning efjonk The Richmond Township and Fleetwood Borough Plan is the sixth joint plan to be funded under this policy. The County I commends municipal officials of both Richmond Township and Fleetwood Borough, as well as the joint committee members, for their participation in this program. 1 I I I 1 I I I 1 I CONTENTS I PAGE INTRODUCTION ................................................. 1 I BACKGROUND FOR THE PLAN Regional Influences ............................................ 3 I Brief History ................................................. 5 I Natural Features ............................................. 10 Government Profile ........................................... 22 'I Population. Housing and Employment ............................. 26 Existing Land Use ............................................ 40 Community Facilities and Services ................................ 47 ~1 Circulation ................................................. 60 Land Use Policies and Zoning in the Region ......................... 65 'I Summary of Assets and Concerns ................................. 74 A PLAN FOR THE FUTURE I Goals of this Plan ............................................ 76 Plan Interrelationships .......................................... 79 Timing of Development ........................................ 80 1 Land Use and Housing Plan .................................... 81 Environmental Conservation Plan ................................. 91 Agricultural Preservation Plan ................................... 100 I Community Services and Facilities Plan ............................ 102 Historic Preservation Plan ..................................... 104 I Parks and Recreation Plan ..................................... 106 Transportation Plan .......................................... 108 Economic DevelopmentDowntown Revitalization Plan ................. 112 I Energy Conservation Plan ..................................... 116 I ACTION PROGRAM Planning Commission Role ..................................... 122 Governing Body Role ........................................ 123 1 Prioritizing Plan Recommendations ............................... 123 Popular Funding Sources ...................................... 124 I APPENDIX I Mandatory Dedication in Richmond Township and Fleetwood Borough ..... 129 I I I CONTENTS (Cont.) 1 PAGE MAPS I Regionalbcation ...................................................... 4 Historic Sites - Richmond Township ......................................... 8 Historic Sites - Fleetwood Borough ......................................... 9 1 Hydrology ........................................................... 12 GeologicFormations ................................................... 14 Topography ......................................................... 16 1 Vegetationand Wildlife ................................................. 18 AgriculturalSoils ...................................................... 20 Soil Suitability for OnSite Septic Systems .................................... 21 1 Generalized Existing Land Use - Richmond Township ........................... 45 Generalized Existing Land Use - Fleetwood Borough ........................... 46 Major Community Facilities - Richmond Township ............................. 55 1 Major Community Facilities - Fleetwood Borough .............................. 56 Highway Classification .................................................. 64 Existing Zoning - Richmond Township ...................................... 67 Existing Zoning - Fleetwood Borough ....................................... 69 1 Adjacentzoning ...................................................... 72 Richmond Township - Future Land Use Map ................................. 89 Fleetwood Borough - Future Land Use Map .................................. 90 1 Properties Where Development Rights Were Sold Map .......................... 95 Proposed Traffic Management and Major Road Improvements .................... 111 Fleetwood Borough Town Center Improvements Area .......................... 115 1 TABLES 1 Table 1&2 . General Fund Revenues ..................................... 24 Table 3&4 . General Fund Expenditures .................................. 25 Table 5 . Total Population -1970-1995................................. 27 1 Table 6 . Population Projections .1995-2010 ............................ 27 Table 7 . Total Population .......................................... 28 Table 8 . Gender ................................................. 29 Table 9 . Persons By Age ........................................... 30 1 Table 10 . Racial Characteristics ....................................... 30 Table 11 . Average Persons Per Household ............................... 31 Table 12 . Income and Education Characteristics ........................... 32 1 Table 13 . Total Housing Units ........................................ 33 Table 14 . Building Permits Granted for New Housing Units ................... 33 Table 15 . HousingType ............................................ 34 1 Table 16 . Housing Tenure and Value ................................... 35 Table 17 . Housing Age and Overcrowding ............................... 36 Table 18 . Employment By Industy .................................... 37 1 Table 19 . Employment BySector ...................................... 38 Table 20 . Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment ............................ 39 Table 21 . ExistingPublicSchools ...................................... 47 Table 22 . Regional Recreation Lands ................................... 53 1 Table 23 . Local Recreation Lands ..................................... 54 1 I CONTENTS (Cont.) PAGE TABLES (Cont.) Table 24 - Publicly Accessible Local Recreation Lands Available for Active Recreation ............................................. 57 Table 25 - Existing and NRPASuggested Acres of Publicly Accessible Local Recreation Land Available for Active Recreation .................. 58 Table 26 - Publicly Accessible Recreation Facilities .......................... 59 Table 27 - Zoning Adjacent to Richmond Township and Fleetwood Borough ......71 Table 28 - Guidelines for Protecting Important Natural Features ................92 Table 29 - Highway Functional Classifications & Recommended Design Features . , . 108 I Table 30 - Summary of Recommendations ............................... 117 Table 31 - Popular Funding Sources ................................... 124 I I I I I I Richmond Township - Fleetwood Borough Joint Comprehensfue Plan 1 Background Report I INTRODUCTION I The Richmond Township - Fleetwood Borough Joint Comprehensive Plan provides policies for guiding the growth and preservation of the Richmond-Fleetwood area over the next 10 I to 15 years. The Plan's real value will be in evaluating proposed changes in the two communities against the Plan's policies for land use, roads and community facilities and services. The test of each change affecting any one of these elements should be a question: I "Does it conform with our Comprehensive Plan?", or "Does it carry out the goals of our I Plan?" D A Joint Committee I The eight-member Richmond Township - Fleetwood Borough Joint Comprehensive Plan Committee was formed to prepare the Joint Comprehensive Plan. The Richmond Township Board of Supervisors appointed 4 representatives from the Township, and the Fleetwood I Borough Council appointed 4 representatives from the Borough. The committee considered the following when preparing the Plan: 0 What are our area's assets and concerns? 0 How do we build on our assets and overcome our concerns? What do we want to change and what do we want to preserve? 0 How do we achieve the changes we desire, prevent the changes we want to avoid and preserve what is valuable to our area? The Commehensive Plan This Comprehensive Plan describes the Township's and Borough's