COALTOWNSHIP NORTHUMBERLANDCOUNTY PENNSYLVANIA COMPREHENSIVEPLAN AUGUST, 2003 Table of Contents I Introduction I1 Background A. Regional Influence B. Topography C. Local History D. Existing Land Use E. Community Facilities & Services F. Traffic Circulation 111 Statistical Analysis A. Population & Race B. Population in Adjacent Municipalities C. Persons by Age D. Gender E. Education F. Employment & Labor Force G. Housing Units IV Goals & Objectives IV LandUse IV Housing IV Economic Development IV Transportation IV Community Facilities I. Introduction This document presents Coal Township's Comprehensive Plan. It was prepared in accordance with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Act 170 of 1988). By adoption of this Comprehensive Plan by Coal Township's Board of Commissioners, it becomes the official statement prepared by the Planning Commission setting forth Coal Townships policies concerning desirable physical development and redevelopment of the community. The Coal Township Comprehensive Plan is not intended to be a detailed blueprint for community building. Rather the document is a general guide for land use to encourage municipal action to utilize the appropriate use or development of all land in a manner which will promote public health, safety, desirability and efficiency. The Comprehensive Plan supports Coal Township's efforts to foster community and economic growth. The fundamental purposes that the Coal Township Comprehensive Plan is intended to achieve are as follows: 1. To improve the physical environment of the Township as a setting for human activities - to make it more functional, beautiful, interesting, and efficient. This purpose is in accord with the broad mandate of the Township's Planning Commission in agreement with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code. 2. To promote the public interest, the interest of the community at large, rather than the interests of individuals or special groups within the Township. The comprehensive nature of the Coal Township Comprehensive Plan contributes to this purpose, for it facilitates consideration of the relationship of any question to the overall physical development of the entire community. Because the Coal Township Comprehensive Plan is based on facts and studies that attempt to be thorough and impartial, it helps to prevent arbitrary, capricious, and biased actions. 3. To facilitate the democratic determination and implementation of community policies on physical development. The Coal Township Comprehensive Plan is primarily a policy instrument. As such it constitutes a declaration of long-range goals and provides the basis for a program to accomplish the goals. By placing the responsibility for determining the planning policies on the Planning Commission with approval and adoption by the Board of Commissioners and providing an opportunity for citizen participation, the Coal Township Comprehensive Plan facilitates the democratic process. 4. To inject long-range considerations into the determination of short-range actions. In effect, this purpose is intended to achieve coordination through time, to attempt to make sure that today's decision will lead to tomorrow's goal. 6. To provide professional and technical knowledge in the making of decisions concerning the physical development of Coal Township. Through the use of the Township's planning consultant working with the staff, the Planning Commission, and Board of Commissioners in providing research and technical assistance in formulating strategies, this purpose is intended to promote wiser decision-making to achieve informed, constructive government. There is no single agency in Coal Township that has the ability to execute the Cornprehensive Plan. The Coal Township Comprehensive Plan requires community-wide support to ensure implementation. The major technique, however, available to Coal Township for implementation of the Comprehensive Plan is through the Zoning Ordinance and the Township's other land development ordinances. The land development regulations are prepared by the Planning Commission and approved and adopted by the Board of Commissioners. The Comprehensive Plan provides a framework for the development of the community. The Zoning Ordinance, serving to regulate the use of lands within the community, is conceived to implement the policies of the adopted Coal Township Comprehensive Plan. The Zoning Ordinance gives consideration to its goals and objectives, the character of the Township, the needs ofthe citizens, and the suitability and special nature of particular parts of Coal Township as based upon the findings and policies developed by the Comprehensive Plan. In updating the Zoning Ordinance, the Planning Commission will look to the assumptions, objectives and policies of the Coal Township Comprehensive Plan and seek substantial consistency between the comprehensive plan and the zoning which implements the policies of the comprehensive plan. Finally the Coal Township Comprehensive Plan will be implemented by the Board of Commissioners, as they make decisions regarding the use of scarce funds. For example, as a decision making tool the Board of Commissioners will seek to ensure that its resources are distributed consistent with the assumptions, objectives, and policies ofthis Comprehensive Plan and further will help to realize its polices which were developed through the public process. 11. Backp-ound A. Regional Influence Coal Township is located in Northumberland County in the central region of Pennsylvania. Northumberland County is a generally rural area primarily consisting of farming, light industry and mining. Much of the region is somewhat mountainous and contributes to limited developable land within the County. The County's mining and manufacturing industries, of the late 191h and early 20th centuries, were located primarily in the southeast portion of the County. The discovery of coal in the region in the late 1790's drew heavy coal mining and mining related industries to the area. The mining and industry led to population booms throughout the 191h century. These industries contributed significantly to the arrival of ''company towns" in this portion of the County. Much of the housing in the communities of this region was constructed by local industry to house workers in the area. The housing was hastily constructed from available lumber without attention to luxury or amenities and was not intended to last the 50+ years it has stood. The design and density of the housing units was designed to maximize cost effectiveness and functionality. As these industries tapered off over time they left behind land polluted by coal mining and empty industrial facilities. Young workers and families left with the industries, leaving behind older populations in many of these communities. These older populations often had neither the physical ability nor the income to properly maintain and update their homes. This only contributed to the decline in housing stock throughout the southern areas of the County. The mountainous terrain, state game lands and previously mined lands left many ofthe communities, including Coal Township, with strictly limited abilities to expand and develop new land for new industries. The southeastern portion of the county now finds itself as a transitional region between Interstate 8 1 to the south and Interstate 80 to the north. The central and northern parts of the County consist of wealthier residents, rich farmland and light industry benefitting from the proximity to Interstate 80. The Interstate 81 corridor to the southeast of the County consists of traffic traveling between the Scranton and Harrisburg regions. State Route 61 is the second most significant automotive and shipping route in the County. It runs southeast to northwest across the County connecting Interstates 80 and 81. Coal Township is located such that Routes 61, 125 and 225 all run through it. The convergence of these roads in and around Coal Township does provide a significant amount of shipping/trucking traffic. It is this traffic and availability to shipping routes that Coal Township must capitalize upon. B. Topography Coal Township is located in one of the most mountainous regions of the County. It is an area covered in thick forest and dense marshes which is criss-crossed by mountain streams. Coal Township is actually located in what was once a swampy, overgrown tract of land at the convergence of several small mountain streams. Coal Township sits in a valley often referred to as Bear Valley at the southern base of Big Mountain. The valley's defining boundaries are Big Mountain to the north and Mahanoy Mountain to the south. Both mountains stretch east to west essentially the length of Coal Township. Big Mountain reaches heights in excess of 1,400 feet while Mahanoy Mountain exceeds heights of 1,600 and 1,700 feet. Accompanying these heights are fairly steep slopes which make any development and construction practically impossible. These slopes, where not cleared for mining , are covered in dense forest. In addition to the height and steepness of slope of these mountains is the existence of coal and coal mines along their bases. Big Mountain has extensive strip mining and quarries located along it's southern base while Mahanoy Mountain has massive strip mining bordering it's northern base. Stretching north from the base of Mahanoy Mountain is a combination of coal strip mining and hilly, varying terrain. The combination of these factors has essentially "pinned in" Coal Township to the north