Hi everyone,
Well, more interesting tidbits for those of you who love zoning and planning (yes, we are clearly a large group). Allentown has released a draft of their Comprehensive Plan. I attended a breakfast today on the subject, and it was really very interesting. It lays out the benefits and goals of a Comprehensive Plan, sets general principles for the future development and redevelopment of Allentown, and targets eight neighborhoods for specific initiatives.
Click on the link above to get more info about this comp plan. The next steps in the planning process are as follows. This draft is open to public comment, after which the city will revise the plan, as necessary, to reflect the input. From there, the Planning Commission approves the plan, and the plan is then ratified by Allentown City Council.
In terms of public comment, the city is using the internet to accept comments on hte plan. Click on the link above to learn more.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Americans driving even less...again....
Well, it happened again. According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the amount of Americans driving in May 2008 (compared to May 2007) dropped 3.7%, or roughly 9.6 billion miles. This figure will likely increase again in June, a month that saw the national gas average hit around $4.10.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: nothing will help urban revitalization more than the increase in gasoline prices. The suburban model of development is predicated around cheap energy so you can drive large distances from one aspect of life (such as housing) to another (office, malls, etc). Cheap energy is a thing of the past. People want, and need, to live in areas that are close to each other.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: nothing will help urban revitalization more than the increase in gasoline prices. The suburban model of development is predicated around cheap energy so you can drive large distances from one aspect of life (such as housing) to another (office, malls, etc). Cheap energy is a thing of the past. People want, and need, to live in areas that are close to each other.
Monday, July 28, 2008
How walkable is your neighborhood?
I recieved this link courtesy of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center. It is an amazing website called walkscore. You can have a lot of fun with this one.
Here is how it works. Basically, the website calculates a "walk score," which serves to tell you just how walkable your neighborhood is. It calculates this score by locating nearby uses which are necessary for every-day living, such as stores, restaurants, schools, religious institutions, nearby government centers, parks, etc. It then ranks your community on a scale of 0 - 100. The methodology is obviously more detailed then that, but the website does provide an in-depth explination about how the score is calculated.
This website is an outstanding tool. Not only can it help you determine a good neighborhood to live in, but it can also help you evaluate your community in terms of nearby amenities and what your community is missing. The biggest problem with this site, as you can see below, is that it is very dependant upon size. A smaller community will rank lower than a larger one; this, however, is largely a result of the lack of businesses that a smaller commmunity has. Unforunately, this score does not necessarily capture the fact that, in all four of my communities, you actually CAN walk from one destination to another. The website also doesn't necessarily make distinctions that make sense within a category (for example, in Bath, Condoms Galore is listed as a bookstore...can't say I agree with that categorization...).
The first thing I did on this website is calculate the walk scores for my four communities. Using Borough Hall as the address, here are the results:
Alburtis: 22 out of 100. I think this low score is largely a result of the fact that the Borough is relatively small (only about 2,100 people and a dozen or so businesses).
Coopersburg: 37 out of 100. The fact that Route 309 is nearby helps boost the score here, but again, the relatively small size of the Borough makes a higher score difficult.
Hellertown: 74 out of 100. A large Main Street with a good business mix helps boost Hellertown's score.
Macungie: 66 out of 100. Again, a good business mix helps increase the score.
I also calculated our other four communities: Bangor, Bath, Catasauqua and Wilson, also using their Borough Halls. The results:
Bangor: 63 of 100.
Bath: 52 of 100.
Catasauqua: 82 of 100.
Wilson: 72 of 100.
Here is how it works. Basically, the website calculates a "walk score," which serves to tell you just how walkable your neighborhood is. It calculates this score by locating nearby uses which are necessary for every-day living, such as stores, restaurants, schools, religious institutions, nearby government centers, parks, etc. It then ranks your community on a scale of 0 - 100. The methodology is obviously more detailed then that, but the website does provide an in-depth explination about how the score is calculated.
This website is an outstanding tool. Not only can it help you determine a good neighborhood to live in, but it can also help you evaluate your community in terms of nearby amenities and what your community is missing. The biggest problem with this site, as you can see below, is that it is very dependant upon size. A smaller community will rank lower than a larger one; this, however, is largely a result of the lack of businesses that a smaller commmunity has. Unforunately, this score does not necessarily capture the fact that, in all four of my communities, you actually CAN walk from one destination to another. The website also doesn't necessarily make distinctions that make sense within a category (for example, in Bath, Condoms Galore is listed as a bookstore...can't say I agree with that categorization...).
The first thing I did on this website is calculate the walk scores for my four communities. Using Borough Hall as the address, here are the results:
Alburtis: 22 out of 100. I think this low score is largely a result of the fact that the Borough is relatively small (only about 2,100 people and a dozen or so businesses).
Coopersburg: 37 out of 100. The fact that Route 309 is nearby helps boost the score here, but again, the relatively small size of the Borough makes a higher score difficult.
Hellertown: 74 out of 100. A large Main Street with a good business mix helps boost Hellertown's score.
Macungie: 66 out of 100. Again, a good business mix helps increase the score.
I also calculated our other four communities: Bangor, Bath, Catasauqua and Wilson, also using their Borough Halls. The results:
Bangor: 63 of 100.
Bath: 52 of 100.
Catasauqua: 82 of 100.
Wilson: 72 of 100.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Form-based codes
So, since I am a geek, I found this really interesting.
http://www.formbasedcodes.org/definition.html
This is a link to an article on an entirely different way to approach zoning and codes. As anyone who lives in a city and works with these areas can tell you, zoning and codes is often incredibly frustrating. Despite being designed with the best of intentions, for a variety of reasons, businesses are often unwilling or unable to be started in a city because of a variety of zoning and code restrictions. Thus, zoning and codes often act as a deterrant to business recruitment and enhancement.
Form Based Codes is a different approach to this important area. Instead of specifically defining what a new building cannot do, Form Based Codes list general principles of what a building actually can do. Specifically, they concentrate on the relationship of a building to the rest of the street and public realm.
This is a creative approach to zoning that obviously has its positives and negatives. Click on the link to learn more.
http://www.formbasedcodes.org/definition.html
This is a link to an article on an entirely different way to approach zoning and codes. As anyone who lives in a city and works with these areas can tell you, zoning and codes is often incredibly frustrating. Despite being designed with the best of intentions, for a variety of reasons, businesses are often unwilling or unable to be started in a city because of a variety of zoning and code restrictions. Thus, zoning and codes often act as a deterrant to business recruitment and enhancement.
Form Based Codes is a different approach to this important area. Instead of specifically defining what a new building cannot do, Form Based Codes list general principles of what a building actually can do. Specifically, they concentrate on the relationship of a building to the rest of the street and public realm.
This is a creative approach to zoning that obviously has its positives and negatives. Click on the link to learn more.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Updated Coopersburg Website
As is blatantly apparent to anyone who reads this blog, I am a big believer that the internet MUST be incorporated into any downtown revitalization effort. It's 2008, and the time where any serious organization can be without a website has passed. In Hellertown and Alburtis, we will shortly be undertaking work to update their websites. Macungie and Coopersburg have two outstanding websites (in fact, Coopersburg has two).
What I wanted to write this entry about was a recent update to the Coopersburg website. This site, put together by Bob in Coopersburg, has an update of our entire efforts their, our accomplishments and the Facade Program. In short, it looks outstanding. Bob, thank you so much for putting this together, and a special thanks to all of the volunteers in Coopersburg who make this website happen.
Click here to view the site.
What I wanted to write this entry about was a recent update to the Coopersburg website. This site, put together by Bob in Coopersburg, has an update of our entire efforts their, our accomplishments and the Facade Program. In short, it looks outstanding. Bob, thank you so much for putting this together, and a special thanks to all of the volunteers in Coopersburg who make this website happen.
Click here to view the site.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Small Shop Saves Town
This is an interesting photo gallery/store about how one shop, started by residents, helped to save a vacant town in Powell, Wyoming. Yes, Wyoming.
Click here for the story.
Click here for the story.
Treevitalize
The Lehigh Valley has been selected as a pilot region for a new state program, Treevitalize.
The goal of the program is simple: plant 1,000,000 trees throughout Pennsylvania in the next five years. It will do this by giving grants to help municipalities pay for trees. There are a variety of components to this plan, including educational seminars and trainings, but the jist of it is that the state, in conjunction with Lehigh and Northampton County, wants to help bring greenery to the Lehigh Valley.
This is great news. Studies have demonstrated that trees can help enhance property values, reduce electric and gas bills and even improve business for a commercial district.
Interested municipalities will be expected to contribute some of the costs of planting these trees, but the good news here is that the public works department's work on planting and maintaining the trees can count towards that match.
More information on this project is available through Virginia Savage, Lehigh County Manager of Main Street Initiatives. Virginia can be reached at virginiasavage@lehighcounty.org.
This program is good for property values, commercial districts, community pride and the environment...so basically, you can't go wrong!
The goal of the program is simple: plant 1,000,000 trees throughout Pennsylvania in the next five years. It will do this by giving grants to help municipalities pay for trees. There are a variety of components to this plan, including educational seminars and trainings, but the jist of it is that the state, in conjunction with Lehigh and Northampton County, wants to help bring greenery to the Lehigh Valley.
This is great news. Studies have demonstrated that trees can help enhance property values, reduce electric and gas bills and even improve business for a commercial district.
Interested municipalities will be expected to contribute some of the costs of planting these trees, but the good news here is that the public works department's work on planting and maintaining the trees can count towards that match.
More information on this project is available through Virginia Savage, Lehigh County Manager of Main Street Initiatives. Virginia can be reached at virginiasavage@lehighcounty.org.
This program is good for property values, commercial districts, community pride and the environment...so basically, you can't go wrong!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Properties of Merit
Hi everyone,
I wanted to take a moment to talk about a great program for Main Street communities, Properties of Merit. PoM is based on the philosophy that well-kept properties will help encourage more well-kept properties. To summarize it briefly, Properties of Merit engages neighbors and volunteers to award properties that are kept in outstanding condition. The theory here is that it will encourage other properties to be well-kept as well - its basically the "broken window" theory in reverse. Awards are given by volunteers and ultimately given at a banquet reception.
This is a great program that is expanding by the month. It started in Allentown and has since grown to numerous localities across the Lehigh Valley and the entire Commonwealth. Other local communities involved include Bethlehem, Coplay and Northern Lehigh. It also just expanded into Catasauqua and Macungie, two BBRP communities.
We need as much help as possible to encourage communities to keep their properties in outstanding physical condition. Properties of Merit does just that, and I think that any community interested in pursuing this worthy goal should check out this program.
I wanted to take a moment to talk about a great program for Main Street communities, Properties of Merit. PoM is based on the philosophy that well-kept properties will help encourage more well-kept properties. To summarize it briefly, Properties of Merit engages neighbors and volunteers to award properties that are kept in outstanding condition. The theory here is that it will encourage other properties to be well-kept as well - its basically the "broken window" theory in reverse. Awards are given by volunteers and ultimately given at a banquet reception.
This is a great program that is expanding by the month. It started in Allentown and has since grown to numerous localities across the Lehigh Valley and the entire Commonwealth. Other local communities involved include Bethlehem, Coplay and Northern Lehigh. It also just expanded into Catasauqua and Macungie, two BBRP communities.
We need as much help as possible to encourage communities to keep their properties in outstanding physical condition. Properties of Merit does just that, and I think that any community interested in pursuing this worthy goal should check out this program.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Update on the 2008 Facade Program
Hi everyone,
Below is some information that will shortly be going out to all potential applicants in this year's Facade Program. I'm pleased to say that the program is actually moving faster than we originally anticipated this year.
As of this writing, Design Assistance is in progress. It should be completed by July 23. The renderings should be ready no later than two weeks from that date (August 6) and another two weeks will be needed for potential revisions. If you did not receive Design Assistance, then this section has no effect on you.
Regardless, we believe that we will be ready to mail out the formal application at some point in the beginning or middle of August. At that time, you will be asked to get two bids on any items that you are looking to complete for your property. Formal applications will be due somewhere around the beginning of October, with formal awards made no more than two weeks after that. Once you have received your formal notification, you will be ready to proceed with your project.
If your project requires warm weather and must wait until the Spring of 2009 to proceed, that is absolutely fine with this program. We understand the time constraints of contractors, and if it easier for you to wait until 2009 to begin your construction, that is allowed and will not affect your eligibility for the program or funding that you are awarded.
This is a tentative schedule; however, if anything changes in the future, we will inform you of the new calendar. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Below is some information that will shortly be going out to all potential applicants in this year's Facade Program. I'm pleased to say that the program is actually moving faster than we originally anticipated this year.
As of this writing, Design Assistance is in progress. It should be completed by July 23. The renderings should be ready no later than two weeks from that date (August 6) and another two weeks will be needed for potential revisions. If you did not receive Design Assistance, then this section has no effect on you.
Regardless, we believe that we will be ready to mail out the formal application at some point in the beginning or middle of August. At that time, you will be asked to get two bids on any items that you are looking to complete for your property. Formal applications will be due somewhere around the beginning of October, with formal awards made no more than two weeks after that. Once you have received your formal notification, you will be ready to proceed with your project.
If your project requires warm weather and must wait until the Spring of 2009 to proceed, that is absolutely fine with this program. We understand the time constraints of contractors, and if it easier for you to wait until 2009 to begin your construction, that is allowed and will not affect your eligibility for the program or funding that you are awarded.
This is a tentative schedule; however, if anything changes in the future, we will inform you of the new calendar. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Macungie Business Directory
Hi everyone,
In a project that has been completely spearheaded by volunteers, Macungie is nearing completion on a Business Directory. Here's the story:
http://www.mcall.com/business/local/all-companynews0708.6493261jul08,0,793367.story
MACUNGIE DIRECTORY TO LIST BUSINESSES
The Macungie Business Revitalization Program is seeking to compile a business directory of every business in Macungie.''Macungie has a very large variety of retail and service shops, everything from gift basket and flower shops to hair salons and a bed and breakfast,'' said John Albright, a volunteer with the Macungie Business Revitalization Program.''We have over 100 businesses in our small community. We think that compiling a directory of those businesses and then publishing that directory will really help to promote Macungie as a whole.''
The directory will contain a variety of information on all businesses in Macungie, including contact information, a description of the business, payment methods accepted and an option for businesses to place a coupon in the guide.''The volunteers have worked very hard to complete this project,'' said Michael Schlossberg, Borough Business Revitalization coordinator. ''I have no doubt that this project will result in an increase in customers for Macungie businesses.'
'To be included in the directory, please contact Michael Schlossberg at 484-809-1796 or mikes@lehighvalleychamber.org. The deadline to be included is July 21.
In a project that has been completely spearheaded by volunteers, Macungie is nearing completion on a Business Directory. Here's the story:
http://www.mcall.com/business/local/all-companynews0708.6493261jul08,0,793367.story
MACUNGIE DIRECTORY TO LIST BUSINESSES
The Macungie Business Revitalization Program is seeking to compile a business directory of every business in Macungie.''Macungie has a very large variety of retail and service shops, everything from gift basket and flower shops to hair salons and a bed and breakfast,'' said John Albright, a volunteer with the Macungie Business Revitalization Program.''We have over 100 businesses in our small community. We think that compiling a directory of those businesses and then publishing that directory will really help to promote Macungie as a whole.''
The directory will contain a variety of information on all businesses in Macungie, including contact information, a description of the business, payment methods accepted and an option for businesses to place a coupon in the guide.''The volunteers have worked very hard to complete this project,'' said Michael Schlossberg, Borough Business Revitalization coordinator. ''I have no doubt that this project will result in an increase in customers for Macungie businesses.'
'To be included in the directory, please contact Michael Schlossberg at 484-809-1796 or mikes@lehighvalleychamber.org. The deadline to be included is July 21.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Regional Advisory Council
Hi everyone,
I have a message below from Virginia Savage, Manager of Main Street Initatives at Lehigh County. She has information on an important regional upcoming meeting. See the E-mail below for details!
--------------------
Hello Friends,
On behalf of the Borough Business Revitalization Program, I would like to invite you to join our Regional Advisory Council for the Borough Business Revitalization Program (BBRP) and Lehigh Valley’s Main and Elm Street Programs.
With this Council, we hope to work together on projects that will benefit all of the Valley’s Main Street and Elm Street programs while offering you the opportunity to also network with your peers to share ideas and experiences.
Our first meeting will be held Thursday, July 17 from 6:30-8:00p.m. at Northampton Area Community College’s Southside Campus (Fowler Family Center) on 511 East Third Avenue, Room 605.
The agenda thus far will include:
1) Objective for Council and your thoughts
2) Update on the BBRP program extension
3) Chamber Foundation
4) Treevitalize-FYI, DCNR selected the Lehigh Valley as a pilot region and we have the opportunity to request up to $200,000 for tree planting. Come out and here how we can work together to plant trees in the Lehigh Valley
5) Potential projects
6) Façade program update
7) Report from Sara Hailstone, DCED
8) Future meeting dates
A light dinner (sandwiches and/or pizza) will be served.
We look forward to seeing you and sharing ideas!
Kindly RSVP to me by Monday, July 14 so that we may plan accordingly.
Thank you and have a wonderful holiday!
Virginia M. Savage
virginiasavage@lehighcounty.org
Manager of Main Street Initiatives
County of Lehigh
Government Center
17 South Seventh St.
Room 519
Allentown, PA 18101
Phone: 610-782-3809
Mobile: 484-764-8085
Fax: 610-820-8257
I have a message below from Virginia Savage, Manager of Main Street Initatives at Lehigh County. She has information on an important regional upcoming meeting. See the E-mail below for details!
--------------------
Hello Friends,
On behalf of the Borough Business Revitalization Program, I would like to invite you to join our Regional Advisory Council for the Borough Business Revitalization Program (BBRP) and Lehigh Valley’s Main and Elm Street Programs.
With this Council, we hope to work together on projects that will benefit all of the Valley’s Main Street and Elm Street programs while offering you the opportunity to also network with your peers to share ideas and experiences.
Our first meeting will be held Thursday, July 17 from 6:30-8:00p.m. at Northampton Area Community College’s Southside Campus (Fowler Family Center) on 511 East Third Avenue, Room 605.
The agenda thus far will include:
1) Objective for Council and your thoughts
2) Update on the BBRP program extension
3) Chamber Foundation
4) Treevitalize-FYI, DCNR selected the Lehigh Valley as a pilot region and we have the opportunity to request up to $200,000 for tree planting. Come out and here how we can work together to plant trees in the Lehigh Valley
5) Potential projects
6) Façade program update
7) Report from Sara Hailstone, DCED
8) Future meeting dates
A light dinner (sandwiches and/or pizza) will be served.
We look forward to seeing you and sharing ideas!
Kindly RSVP to me by Monday, July 14 so that we may plan accordingly.
Thank you and have a wonderful holiday!
Virginia M. Savage
virginiasavage@lehighcounty.org
Manager of Main Street Initiatives
County of Lehigh
Government Center
17 South Seventh St.
Room 519
Allentown, PA 18101
Phone: 610-782-3809
Mobile: 484-764-8085
Fax: 610-820-8257
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