ARMSTRONG COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN APRIL 2005 Armstrong County Comprehensive Plan ARMSTRONG COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................1 A. Housing .....................................................................................................................1 B. Economic Development ............................................................................................2 C. Transportation...........................................................................................................3 D. Recreation / Open Space / Natural Resources.........................................................4 E. Public Utilities / Services / Facilities..........................................................................4 F. Land Use...................................................................................................................5 G. References................................................................................................................5 2. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................9 3. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................11 A. What is the Purpose of a Comprehensive Plan ......................................................11 B. Planning Process and Citizen Participation ............................................................11 C. Statement of Objectives..........................................................................................13 D. County Vision Statement ........................................................................................15 E. Document Layout....................................................................................................16 4. COUNTY HISTORY ......................................................................18 A. History of Armstrong County...................................................................................18 B. Historic Preservation Plan.......................................................................................19 C. Recommendations for Preserving Historical Resources ........................................23 5. DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS ..............................................................24 A. Demographic and Socio-Economic Profile .............................................................24 B. Population by Race.................................................................................................26 C. Households .............................................................................................................26 D. Population Breakdown by Age and Sex .................................................................29 E. Household Income ..................................................................................................30 F. Individuals Below Poverty Level .............................................................................34 G. Number of Workers, Place of Work ........................................................................37 H. Educational Attainment ...........................................................................................41 I. Population Projections ............................................................................................46 J. Trends .....................................................................................................................47 K. Conclusions.............................................................................................................48 6. HOUSING ...................................................................................49 A. Profile ......................................................................................................................49 B. Trends .....................................................................................................................68 C. Conclusions.............................................................................................................69 D. Policy Statements ...................................................................................................70 E. Implementation Matrix.............................................................................................72 7. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ..........................................................77 A. Profile - Census Data..............................................................................................77 B. Trends ...................................................................................................................100 C. Conclusions...........................................................................................................101 D. Policy Statements .................................................................................................103 April 2005 Armstrong County Comprehensive Plan E. Implementation Matrix...........................................................................................107 8. TRANSPORTATION ....................................................................116 A. Profile ....................................................................................................................116 B. Trends ...................................................................................................................128 C. Conclusions...........................................................................................................129 D. Policy Statements .................................................................................................130 E. Implementation Matrix...........................................................................................131 9. RECREATION / OPEN SPACE / NATURAL RESOURCES .................135 A. Profile ....................................................................................................................135 B. Introduction ...........................................................................................................136 C. Trends ...................................................................................................................151 D. Conclusions...........................................................................................................152 E. Policy Statements .................................................................................................154 F. Implementation Matrix...........................................................................................156 10. PUBLIC UTILITIES / SERVICES / FACILITIES .................................163 A. Profile ....................................................................................................................163 B. Trends ...................................................................................................................184 C. Conclusions...........................................................................................................185 D. Policy Statements .................................................................................................186 E. Implementation Matrix...........................................................................................188 11. LAND USE................................................................................193 A. Profile ....................................................................................................................193 B. Trends ...................................................................................................................200 C. Conclusions...........................................................................................................200 D. Policy Statements .................................................................................................202 E. Implementation Matrix...........................................................................................205 12. CONCLUSIONS AND DETAILED VISION STATEMENTS....................211 A. Statement of Compatibility with Development in Neighboring Counties...............211 B. Statement of Interrelationships Among Plan Elements ........................................212 C. Statement of Regional Impact and Significance ...................................................213 D. Vision Statement for Each Plan Element..............................................................214 13. APPENDIX A. Maps and Tables B. Public Participation C. Campos Countywide Telephone Survey D. Armstrong County Long Range Economic Development Plan (2003) E. Senate Engineering Water and Sewer Report April 2005 Armstrong County Comprehensive Plan 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Armstrong County Comprehensive Plan is the result of a planning process initiated in June 2002 that has produced a vision of where Armstrong County residents would like to see the county in 20 years. The county possesses many assets on which to build. Its primary asset is its rural character, especially given its proximity to the City of Pittsburgh, and this asset is the basis for the county’s marketing slogan “…the best thing next to Pittsburgh.” Although Armstrong County’s population has decreased since 1980, it has been decreasing at a slower rate since 1990. Population projections suggest that this trend will be reversed by the year 2010. If current projections hold, there will be a 4.5% increase by that date. A. Housing • Although single-family housing is the overwhelming