QUAKERTOWN AREA COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE Bucks County, Pennsylvania August 2007 Photographs on Cover (clockwise from top left): Sheards Mill Covered Bridge, Haycock Township Main Street, Richlandtown Borough Broad Street, Quakertown Borough Traffic roundabout at Station Road and Old Bethlehem Pike, Richland Township Trumbauersville Road, Trumbauersville Borough Quakertown Elementary School (first location of the Quakertown Community School District administrative offices, Quakertown Borough) Unami Creek, Milford Park, Milford Township QUAKERTOWN AREA COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE 2007 Prepared for: Haycock Township Milford Township Quakertown Borough Richland Township Richlandtown Borough Trumbauersville Borough Quakertown Community School District Prepared by: Quakertown Area Planning Committee This document was prepared with financial assistance from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development through a Land Use Planning and Technical Assistance Program grant. Table of Contents CHAPTER 1 Introduction and Background....................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2 Community Development Goals and Objectives.............................................. 7 CHAPTER 3 Natural Resources: Policies and Protection Standards ..................................... 17 CHAPTER 4 Development Today and Projected Changes ................................................... 37 Regional Characteristics – The Demographics of the Quakertown Area ....... 37 Housing................................................................................................ 50 Existing Land Use ................................................................................. 55 Residential Development Areas Analysis .................................................. 62 Nonresidential Development Areas Analysis ............................................. 79 CHAPTER 5 Transportation............................................................................................ 89 CHAPTER 6 Community Facilities and Services ................................................................ 107 CHAPTER 7 Parks, Recreation, and Open Space ............................................................... 127 CHAPTER 8 Historic and Cultural Resources.................................................................... 147 Village Planning and Preservation........................................................... 154 CHAPTER 9 Planning Compatibility ................................................................................ 165 CHAPTER 10 Future Land Use and Growth Management Plan ............................................ 173 CHAPTER 11 Municipal Finance Considerations ................................................................ 191 CHAPTER 12 Implementation of Recommendations ............................................................ 199 APPENDIX A Quakertown Area Resident Survey–Responses ............................................... A-1 APPENDIX B Summary of the Development Area Concept .................................................. B-1 APPENDIX C Natural Resources Definitions....................................................................... C-1 APPENDIX D Land Use Classifications............................................................................... D-1 APPENDIX E Significant Natural Areas in the Quakertown Area ......................................... E-1 APPENDIX F Village Descriptions..................................................................................... F-1 APPENDIX G Sources of Funding and Assistance ................................................................ G-1 LIST OF MAPS ....................................................................... MAPS ARE LOCATED AFTER APPENDIX G Figure 1: Floodplains and Alluvial Soils Figure 2: Wetlands and Watersheds Figure 3: Steep Slopes Figure 4: Woodlands Figure 5: Agricultural Soils Figure 6: Existing Land Use Figure 7: Existing Land Use (Boroughs) Figure 8: Highway Classification Figure 9: Community Facilities Figure 10: Existing Community Water Service Area Figure 11: Existing Community Sewer Service Area Figure 12: Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Figure 13: Historic and Cultural Resources Figure 14: Land Use Plan i ii Chapter 1 Introduction and Background This document, an update to the Quakertown Area Comprehensive Plan, was prepared under the authority granted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to municipalities to prepare comprehensive plans in accordance with the provisions of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (MPC). Article III of the MPC provides requirements regarding the content and information that must be included as part of a comprehensive plan. Article VIII-A provides specific authorization for the governing bodies of multiple municipalities to adopt joint municipal comprehensive plans. A History of Cooperation Cooperative planning in the Quakertown Area has a history that extends over 35 years, making it one of the earliest such efforts in Pennsylvania. Following discussions on the possible advantages of joint planning between the six municipalities within the Quakertown Community School District and the Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce, the Quakertown Area Planning Committee was formed by resolution in 1972. Cooperating municipalities include Haycock, Milford, and Richland townships, as well as Quakertown, Richlandtown, and Trumbauersville boroughs. The seventh active participant is the Quakertown Community School District. Demands on the school district are directly affected by the location, scale, type, and timing of new development. Cooperation among municipalities and the school district allows informed school facilities planning and budget management. The members of the Quakertown Area Planning Committee have a long-standing commitment to regional cooperation as evidenced by their many accomplishments. 1975 Adopted Quakertown Area Zoning Ordinance 1978 Adopted Quakertown Area Comprehensive Plan 1979 Adopted Quakertown Area Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance Adopted Comprehensive amendments to the Quakertown Area Zoning Ordinance 1981 Prepared Quakertown Area Linked Open Space Study 1982 Prepared Development Areas Analysis 1985 Adopted Wastewater Facilities Component to the Quakertown Area Comprehensive Plan 1986 Prepared Development Areas Analysis 1987 Prepared Quakertown Area Traffic Analysis 1991 Prepared Quakertown Bypass Feasibility Study 1992 Prepared Update to the Quakertown Area Comprehensive Plan 1994 Prepared Update of the Quakertown Area Zoning Ordinance 2003 Prepared Update of the Quakertown Area Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance 2003 Prepared Update of the Quakertown Area Zoning Ordinance (based on Growing Greener principles) In addition to completion of these plans, studies, and ordinances, the cooperative planning program provides the forum for municipal officials and school district representatives to share ideas about regional challenges and municipal responsibilities. 1 The Quakertown Area Located in the western corner of Bucks County, the Quakertown Area encompasses 72.57 square miles (45,639 acres) and comprises approximately 12 percent of the total area of Bucks County. The area is bordered to the north and west by Lehigh and Montgomery counties, and to the south and east by the Pennridge and Palisades planning areas in Bucks County. The highway system, which includes routes 309, 313, 663, and the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, connects the Quakertown Area to employment, shopping, recreation, service and residential areas in these surrounding regions. Likewise, people travel into the Quakertown Area for the same purposes. Route 309 and the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike provide direct connections to Interstate 78, which has increased accessibility between the Quakertown Area and markets and employment areas in a much greater region. The landscape of the Quakertown Area is quite diversified. With the exception of its three boroughs and their immediately adjacent areas, the Quakertown Area is mostly rural. A variety of natural resources exist throughout this area including a large concentration of wetlands, such as the Quakertown Swamp, which is one of the more critical wildlife habitats in the county for a variety of species. This planning area also contains the greatest amount of park and recreational land in the county. A majority of this acreage is located in Haycock Township, with its extensive State Game Lands, a large portion of Nockamixon State Park and Lake Towhee County Park. There are areas in the region that are actively farmed, which surround small rural villages. Steep, wooded, rugged areas, most noticeably in Haycock and parts of Richland, have experienced sparse and scattered development. The center of Quakertown Borough typifies a downtown central business district. Quakertown and Richland also contain suburban shopping centers. The Route 309 corridor is a typical example of highway strip-commercial development. Purposes Of This Update A comprehensive plan should serve as a document that provides a foundation for local planning, a ready resource containing the policies that guide land-use decisions in a community. It can help a community to shape its future by guiding the formulation of zoning and subdivision ordinances, the acquisition of open space, transportation improvements, the protection of natural and historic resources, and the provision of community facilities. This update is intended