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 | TCSP-1999 Grant Proposals"Creating a Community-based Sustainable Future for I-99: |
I. Cover Sheet with Abstract
| Project Information: | |
| Type of Project Request: | Planning Grant |
| Project Title and Location: | "Creating a Community-based Sustainable Future for I-99: A Watershed Approach" Centre County, Pennsylvania |
| Grant Request: | $750,000 |
| Organization: | The Centre County Commissioners on behalf of the Spring Creek Watershed Commission in conjunction with the I-99 Community Partnership for Sustainable Development |
| Sponsoring Organization contact: | I-99 Community Partnership (Project)Contact: |
| Robert Donaldson, Director | Roxanne Shiels, Watershed Coordinator |
| Centre County Planning Office | ClearWater Conservancy |
| 420 Holmes St., Willowbank Building | 2555 N. Atherton Street |
| Bellefonte, PA 16823 | State College, PA 16803 |
| Ph. 814-355-6791/fax 814-355-8661 | Ph. 814-237-0400/fax 814/237-4909 |
| Email rbdonald@co.centre.pa.us | Email Rshiels@vicon.net |
Abstract
The Centre County Commissioners, on behalf of the Spring Creek Watershed Commission and in conjunction with the I-99 Community Partnership for Sustainable Development, propose planning efforts to meet the immediate and long-term needs for those municipalities and communities within the mid-Bald Eagle watershed (including the Spring Creek basin) in Centre County, Pennsylvania that will experience far-reaching economic, environmental, and social impacts from the completion of new Interstate 99 in 2003. This project, entitled "Creating a Community-based Sustainable Future for I-99: A Watershed Approach", focuses on 1) quickly establishing a collaborative, multi-municipal model interchange overlay district ordinance to better manage and guide development surrounding the 12 interchanges in Centre County while 2) creating a watershed-wide, community-based collaborative land use and sustainability plan to meet the long-term needs of the community. This innovative planning project expands upon traditional planning by: incorporating an extensive citizen-based process; using a regional, watershed-wide focus; and increasing the attention given to environmental, social, and economic factors as a basis for land use planning. Although this type of approach, utilizing community-based visioning may add extra up-front costs to traditional planning, the local government, community, and individual citizen buy-in that is created will save resources by providing the political force that is needed for successful implementation. In addition to benefiting the individual watershed municipalities and our region as a whole, this project will serve as a watershed-based prototype for other communities facing extraordinary growth pressures to learn from or follow.
II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Based on the efforts of the I-99 Community Partnership for Sustainable Development, a stakeholder-based initiative, this project focuses on the ultimate development of a collaborative, community-based land use and sustainability plan for the portion of the mid-Bald Eagle watershed that will be transected by or will feel the "ripple effects" from Interstate 99 in Centre County, Pennsylvania. The imminent construction of I-99 presents the potential for extensive social, economic, and environmental change that requires immediate planning by the local communities. The proposed project will help communities in the mid-Bald Eagle watershed, which wholly includes the rapidly developing Spring Creek watershed, preserve the features they identify as important (environmental, quality of life, etc.) while simultaneously encouraging desirable economic development. The proposed project will equip municipalities throughout the mid-Bald Eagle watershed to proactively guide changes, opportunities, and challenges that I-99 is expected to bring. The principle products to be generated are community-based planning recommendations and guidelines developed for municipalities to utilize that will meet the expected demands of growth within their jurisdiction and in coordination with the adjacent municipalities.
This innovative project emphasizes three dimensions that go beyond the traditional planning process. The first dimension is the utilization of an extensive citizen-based process to create a watershed-wide, regional vision for the area that will be impacted by I-99. While land use planning is typically done with some citizen involvement, municipal and county governments are rarely able or willing to invest the financial or personnel resources required to undertake an extensive citizen-driven visioning and planning process. Nevertheless, the I-99 Partnership believes that the buy-in that is created through community-based planning will save resources in the long-run by generating a high level of community awareness and support for adopting and implementing the land use and sustainability plan.
The second new dimension to the traditional planning approach is a changed geographic focus to a regional, watershed-wide basis. Although some attention is paid to multi-municipal regional planning in the mid-Bald Eagle watershed, planning has not been performed utilizing the "watershed concept" -- an increasingly important resource management technique for our region. Existing multi-municipal or jurisdictional planning does not wholly include the municipalities of the mid-Bald Eagle watershed, nor does it fully consider the growth that will occur as a result of improved transportation access. This watershed approach reaches beyond the corridor-type of study areas typical of traditional environmental impact statements or assessments produced under studies complying with the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) or the requirements of the Centre Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (CRMPO).
The third new dimension is the increased attention to environmental, economic, and social factors as a basis for land use planning. It is widely recognized that the environmental, economic, and social capital that exists within the mid-Bald Eagle watershed sustains the quality of life that this region enjoys. Existing planning efforts have not weighted these factors as heavily into the planning process as they should be. These three new dimensions will greatly enhance the substantive basis for land use and sustainability planning in the mid-Bald Eagle watershed and vastly improve the likelihood that the plan will be adopted and implemented.
The proposed project will encourage sustainability by addressing highway-induced impacts to the economic, environmental, and social factors and the resulting quality of life that have long-term ramifications (20 to 40 years). Proactive, collaborative planning will enable our communities to avoid or lessen undesirable impacts such as losing valued open space or designing and constructing inefficient public infrastructure (roadways, sewers, etc.) and mass transit systems. This comprehensive approach is unprecedented in within the watershed and will strengthen local governments’ ability to partner with their communities to pursue sustainability around a new highway system. The Transportation and Community and System Preservation (TCSP) pilot program provides a unique opportunity to examine and plan for the far-reaching primary, secondary, and cumulative impacts that a new highway will present our community.
In addition to benefiting our region and the individual watershed municipalities, this innovative project will serve as a watershed-based prototype for other communities facing extraordinary growth pressures. The interim and final evaluation reports generated from this project will be very useful to other communities. The final report will include specific recommendations and a listing of lessons learned that other communities may use as a guide.
Background: Interstate 99 will provide a new throughway to link existing segments of I-99 to Interstate 80 and will provide direct access to areas that were previously remote or ecologically pristine. Construction of some parts of I-99 is already underway, with an anticipated completion date for the entire project of 2003. Twelve interchanges over the approximately 35-mile length of I-99 in the mid-Bald Eagle watershed will be located in six different municipalities (see attachments).
This proposal is the culmination of a broad, year-long stakeholders effort entitled the I-99 Community Partnership for Sustainable Development (I-99 Partnership). The I-99 Partnership was created as a cooperative initiative of the Spring Creek Watershed Commission (a political entity consisting of representatives from the fourteen watershed municipalities and the Centre County Board of Commissioners), the ClearWater Conservancy (a non-profit conservation organization), and the Spring Creek Watershed Community (a grass-roots stakeholders project of ClearWater). The I-99 Partnership consists of representatives of 36 different stakeholder groups throughout the mid-Bald Eagle watershed including: Centre County Government, local municipalities, local school districts, business and industry, agriculture, builders/developers, planning agencies, utilities, non-government organizations (environmental and otherwise), private landowners, US and PA legislators, Pennsylvania State University, PA Department of Transportation, and PA Department of Environmental Protection. A steering committee began the work of the I-99 Partnership in October 1997. By May 1998, the full Partnership began convening on a monthly basis to accomplish several key tasks. Its accomplishments include the identification of potential changes the region will face, the attainment of consensus on goals for what the region should look like after the construction of I-99, and the development of a strategy for achieving the goals identified. The I-99 Partnership recognized from the onset that the introduction of I-99 to the area presents opportunities that, if well thought out and properly planned, could simultaneously enhance and protect the local environment, economy, and overall quality of life.
The project will be overseen by the Spring Creek Watershed Commission (unofficial applicant), the Spring Creek Watershed Community, the I-99 Partnership, and the CRMPO. These groups will serve in an advisory capacity in an on-going basis throughout the project. The ClearWater Conservancy will take the lead role and serve as the overall project manager for this effort.
III. PURPOSE AND CRITERIA
NARRATIVE ON PURPOSE
Currently, communities in the mid-Bald Eagle watershed do not have adequate information on how the new interstate will change and influence our area. The region, especially the Spring Creek watershed, already experiences rapid growth due to the presence of the Pennsylvania State University, its location in the geographic center of Pennsylvania, the beautiful and largely unspoiled natural setting, and the high quality of life that local residents enjoy. The greater State College area is reportedly one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in Pennsylvania due to these and other assets. Communities already have difficulty planning for this rapid growth and are by no means prepared for the additional growth that I-99 is expected to bring. In order for these communities to think and respond in a logical and rational way, it is necessary to accept the concepts that (a) coordinated multi-municipal planning is needed and (b) the entire watershed will benefit from community-based, locally adopted measures. The objective of this project is twofold: 1) develop an overlay district ordinance for the six municipalities that host the interchanges so that they have an immediate, interim planning tool that will reduce negative development impacts and 2) develop a multi-municipal collaborative land use and sustainability plan that provides long-term guidance for the mid-Bald Eagle watershed communities. The scope of work, developed by the I-99 Partnership, for meeting these objectives is outlined below.
A. Immediate - Development of a Collaborative Interchange Overlay District Ordinance
The I-99 Partnership recommends the development of a model interchange overlay district ordinance for the areas within an approximate one-mile radius of the impending interchanges. The need for this planning tool is immediate, and local officials have requested that an overlay district ordinance be available for adoption by fall 1999. The model interchange overlay district ordinance is particularly critical in light of the existing and increasing demand for local development decisions to be made. Because of the importance of the model ordinance and the aggressive schedule created by the municipalities, local financial resources were leveraged from the Canaan Valley Institute (CVI), a non-profit organization for enhancing the economic and environmental sustainability of communities, to initiate the creation of the model in January 1999.
The model interchange overlay district ordinance will place additional measures of protection on top of existing regulations and provide basic uniformity and standards for a series of parameters including, but not limited to: building aesthetics, building height restrictions, landscaping requirements, lighting, and signage on an interim basis. Since the Letter of Intent was submitted in November 1998, the Overlay District Ordinance Committee of the I-99 Partnership was formed by the six interchange municipalities (Benner, College, Marion, Patton, Spring, and Worth Townships) to begin discussing how to create an overlay district ordinance. The Committee is comprised of one elected and one appointed representative from each of the interchange municipalities. Using $10,000 in funds received from CVI, the Committee has begun holding public meetings, under the assistance of a local professional planning consultant and a facilitator from the ClearWater Conservancy, to develop the components of the model interchange overlay district ordinance. An additional $9,000 is being sought from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to complete the creation and adoption of the model interchange overlay district ordinance. Although funding is likely, in the event the grant is not made, the I-99 Partnership would like to be able to use TCSP funding to complete this critical component of the overall planning effort. These additional funds will be used to hire a state or national expert on overlay planning to provide valuable insight and guidance to the interchange municipalities. The expert will also be asked to explain the concept of a multi-municipal model overlay district ordinance and describe its usefulness to watershed residents and officials at a public forum. Funds will also be utilized to coordinate with and provide additional technical assistance to the interchange municipalities during the adoption process.
The model overlay district ordinance step begins the process of reviewing existing municipal zoning ordinances for the much larger planning effort and gives the municipalities a legal basis for regulating development in the short-term. It also provides the community some protection from undesirable impacts that may otherwise be grandfathered by the time the long-term plan is developed and implemented. This model ordinance will enhance the land use and sustainability plan by creating an initial framework and establishing multi-municipal dialogue between at least six of the impacted watershed municipalities.
B. Long Term- Development of a Collaborative Land Use and Sustainability Plan
The I-99 Partnership recommends creating a long-range, watershed-wide, collaborative land use and sustainability plan that meets a community-based vision for the year 2020 which will be provided to the individual mid-Bald Eagle watershed municipalities for their adoption. This portion of the project expands upon traditional planning practices and better incorporates the community into the decision-making and planning process. In response, consultants will create a land use and sustainability plan that reflects the public and local government needs and desires. Such a plan, where community buy-in is gained as it is created, will empower and guide the local municipalities to make planning decisions in compliance with the will of the voting public. It will also be much easier to encourage development that complies with the community’s vision and the collaborative planning among multi-municipalities. Four major components were identified by the I-99 Partnership in developing a collaborative land use and sustainability plan: 1) gather foundational information; 2) develop a community-based vision; 3) create a set of indicators for educational and assessment purposes; and 4) develop and adopt the land use and sustainability plan.
1. Gather Foundational Information:
The I-99 Partnership identified the need for useful background information that will improve further collaborative planning discussions. A consultant will be hired to coordinate with the Centre County Planning Office, Centre Regional Planning Agency, CRMPO, and other professional planners to prepare the information for the community-based visioning process. Additional needed information may be identified at the beginning of the visioning.
2. Develop a Community-based Vision:
The I-99 Partnership recommends developing a community-based vision for the watershed for the year 2020 in collaboration with the watershed municipalities, Centre County Government, and the Pennsylvania State University. The ClearWater Conservancy and the Spring Creek Watershed Community will lead this effort, given their past success with achieving broad-based community participation for several different projects. The Centre County Planning Office, the Centre Regional Planning Agency, the CRMPO, and the individual watershed municipalities will observe and be part of the visioning process as it unfolds.
Throughout its own "pilot" mini-visioning process, the I-99 Partnership recognized the fundamental connection between environmental protection, economic prosperity, and the community’s overall well-being. The I-99 Partnership ascertains that a broader community-based visioning process will further expand, clarify or ratify the deliberations of the I-99 Partnership by engaging the public in determining the desires and thresholds for many issues relative to land use, business, and the environment. The I-99 Partnership advocates that utilizing visioning as a ground-up approach will enable consultants to develop a collaborative plan that is shaped by the community and identifies sustainable behavior and discourages that which is not sustainable.
Visioning will require two major components: 1) an in-depth promotion and education component to familiarize people with the promise and challenges that I-99 offers and 2) an intense public participation component that will include monthly meetings of seven professionally facilitated groups of 20 to 30 people throughout the watershed over a period of nine months. This component will determine "Where are we now?" (Community Profiling), "Where are we going if nothing changes?" (Trends Analysis), "Where do we want to be in 2020, in light of the new Interstate?" (Creating a Vision), and "How are we going to get there?"(Mapping the Vision). The I-99 Partnership, through the establishment of a special Visioning Committee, will ensure that participation in the process is well-balanced including broad and under-represented (farming, low-income neighborhoods, etc.) interests. The visioning process may also include surveys and other information gathering and consensus-building tools in order to engage members of the community who do not typically attend meetings.
Special emphasis during the visioning process will be on determining what the community would like to preserve, what it would like the area to be, and what the major issues of concern regarding the new Interstate-99 are. The I-99 Partnership hopes to gain insight on the following questions through the visioning process. Other issues may be identified by the community.
3. Create a Set of Indicators for Educational and Assessment Purposes
The I-99 Partnership recommends the development and application of usable and meaningful indicators or benchmarks to understand where the community is and gage the success of the community in living in a more sustainable manner and in keeping with the vision. (A separate set of measures will be discussed in the evaluation section which will be used to determine the success of the project for Federal Highway Administration’s purposes.) An extensive set of draft indicators was developed by the I-99 Partnership over the past year and will serve as an excellent starting point. Consultants will be used to further develop these indicators. It will be their responsibility to:
The I-99 Partnership will approve one set of baseline indicators at the onset of the project to familiarize the community with recent and current conditions or trends. At the conclusion of the visioning process, a second set of indicators will be finalized that will serve as a "report card" for the community to better measure whether it is meeting (or not meeting) the vision for many years to come.
4. Develop and Adopt the Land Use and Sustainability Plan
Consultants will be used to tie all of the information from the other aspects of the project and new analyses regarding the interchanges into a watershed-wide, land use and sustainability plan. An in-depth analysis of the proposed land use and zoning regulations at each of the interchanges will be performed resulting in recommended changes to the existing land use plans and suggested amendments to the current zoning ordinances. This process goes well beyond factors considered by the Overlay District Committee which are limited to providing basic uniformity and standards for a series of development parameters. The plan will not provide the level of detail contained in a comprehensive plan, but will be written to provide recommendations that can easily be adopted by the individual municipalities. It will also offer infrastructure planning recommendations based on the desires of the community, public officials, and local agencies and will outline recommendations for such things as new business recruitment, capital investment programs for communities, open-space preservation, and land acquisition. It may also further refine or ratify ordinances for stormwater management and residential and commercial development, some of which may be developed during the creation of the model interchange overlay district ordinance.
Under Pennsylvania law, each city, borough, and township is individually responsible for comprehensive planning, zoning, and subdivision and land development regulation and other land use planning and implementation measures. Therefore, the most appropriate vehicle for implementation of the Land Use and Sustainability Plan will be revision and/or adoption of land use planning mechanisms in compliance with the Municipalities Planning Code by each municipality. Impacted municipalities may include but are not limited to: Bellefonte, Milesburg, and State College Boroughs and Benner, Boggs, College, Harris, Marion, Spring, and Worth Townships. The plan will also be incorporated into the Centre Region’s Comprehensive Plan (consisting of six of the watershed municipalities) which is also implemented through adoption by each individual municipality. Because comprehensive planning and zoning is a dynamic and cyclical process, revisions to existing plans are continually occurring in some form throughout the watershed. The community-based vision and land use and sustainability plan will provide new insight into existing plans by broadening the geographic coordination and perspective; enhancing environmental elements; and improving coordination among plan elements.
The relationships built between governmental agencies, elected officials, school districts, Penn State, and the community throughout the project will be critical to the overall approval and adoption of the land use and sustainability plan. The I-99 Partnership feels that the planning process outlined above, involving a high degree of community awareness and support and a new level of multi-municipal collaboration, as already shown through the six municipalities (Benner, College, Patton, Marion, Spring, and Worth Townships) participating in creating the model interchange overlay district ordinance, will shape the political environment into one that will more easily accept change and innovative approaches.
NARRATIVE ON TCSP CRITERIA
In short, the creation of the overlay district model ordinance and land use and sustainability plan, once implemented, will meet all the goals of the TCSP Grant Program including: improving the efficiency of the transportation system; reducing the impacts of transportation on the environment; reducing the need for costly future infrastructure; ensuring efficient access to jobs, services, and centers of trade; and encouraging private sector development patterns. Numerous goals were outlined by the I-99 Partnership that may be viewed as tactics that will meet the goals of TCSP, which are included in the discussions below. The I-99 Partnership envisions that the collaborative land use and sustainability plan will incorporate many of these tactics, as well as additional desirable tactics that may be identified through the visioning process.
A. Improve the Efficiency of the Transportation System
The resulting land use and sustainability plan, produced in coordination with the CRMPO, is expected to provide for numerous potentials for intermodal connections including highways, rail, air, bikeways, and mass transit, allowing the citizens of the mid-Bald Eagle watershed to easily switch modes. The I-99 Partnership specifically identified a desire to interconnect housing developments throughout the watershed by hike and/or bikeways thus enhancing the connectivity of communities. The project will also consider planning techniques such as mixed use development (single-family residential, multi-family residential, business parks, commercial, industrial, open space, recreational) providing a number of goods and services at a locale to encourage intermodal or under-utilized transportation modes (walking, biking, etc.). Fortunately, the region is currently undeveloped enough to permit the design of efficient intermodal service.
The locations of development will be planned in a way so as to maximize the use of an already existing public transit system and link these newly developed areas surrounding I-99 to major commercial or institutional centers (hubs). A planned community-type scenario will actually reduce the need for excessive lengths of costly and under-utilized roadways. The visioning portion of the project may also explore ways to reduce the number of automobiles coming into the more populated areas. Such congestion management techniques may include investigating the public’s willingness to increase the cost of parking and to participate in "Park and Ride" opportunities. Development of mass transit opportunities may alleviate some of the need to upgrade surrounding roads. Mass transit and intermodal connections are more likely to be used if the community is involved in the design of the system.
Because I-99 is a focal point of a system of other national highways, the work done under the plan to maintain the integrity of the highway as a throughway will not only protect the community but will also protect the federal and state governments’ investments in the highway system.
B. Reduce the Impacts of Transportation on the Environment
The interim model interchange overlay district ordinance will define mutually agreeable municipal ordinances for parameters such as signage, lighting, building height restrictions, or landscaping requirements which will protect the integrity of the natural environment, maintain the viewshed, and aesthetically enhance the built environment. The model interchange overlay district ordinance will minimize undesirable impacts to the built and natural environment until the larger land use and sustainability plan can be developed. Building design standards may also be implemented near the interchanges in order to encourage visually pleasing buildings.
The visioning portion of this process will assist the mid-Bald Eagle watershed communities in better understanding the relationship between transportation investments, land use, and social, economic, and environmental impacts. The land use and sustainability plan will result in detailed guidance on how to minimize undesirable impacts to the natural and built environment. The project will investigate developing methods to preserve and enhance the natural landscape and maintain some large unfragmented areas of open space, including farmland, forests, wetlands, and wildlife habitat. It will also identify environmentally sensitive areas, information necessary for directing development elsewhere. Techniques identified through the project may include requiring cluster development to limit large-lot sprawl type of development or using the existing natural landscape to provide a sounder stormwater system on a watershed-wide basis. In addition, the cost of developing certain infrastructure underground to preserve scenic views will be investigated. The project will consider whether the air quality and noise levels surrounding the interstate will be increased above local tolerance levels and whether remediation is necessary. The completed plan will encourage land use decisions that prevent the unnecessary duplication of services at neighboring interchanges. This effort will help ensure that unneeded buildings will not be constructed and existing buildings or in-fill development will be fully utilized.
C. Reduce the Need for Costly Future Public Infrastructure
The completed plan will provide community- and efficiency-based recommendations on the future infrastructure needs for each municipality. These projections will reduce the need for costly upgrading to sewer and water systems to meet future growth. The initial cost to implement the plans may be high but will be far less expensive than retrofitting infrastructure at a later time. The plan will establish urban growth areas or growth management lines and will determine where infrastructure should be provided and where it should not. It will provide the municipalities with a strategy to minimize expensive nodal or "leap-frogging" development. Development would then be allowed only where infrastructure can support it. Knowing the layout of infrastructure well in advance will also allow the municipalities or authorities to purchase rights-of-way before land becomes too costly. Such an infrastructure plan will be consistent with the Centre Region’s comprehensive plan encompassing six of the watershed municipalities and the transportation plans of the Centre Region Metropolitan Planning Organization encompassing nine of the watershed municipalities.
D. Ensure Efficient Access to Jobs, Services and Centers of Trade
The visioning process includes community evaluation of what types of employment and businesses are desirable and sensible at each interchange. The I-99 Partnership identified that a mix of local and out of town-investments that utilize local employees so as to maximize the efficiency of access, support the local economy, and maximize the community’s quality of life is desirable. The I-99 Partnership supports encouragement of a more even distribution of different types of employment across the watershed that will allow disadvantaged groups better access to jobs. The plan will include ways to encourage or provide incentives to attract and geographically distribute these types of businesses and high quality jobs. This effort will help to create a balance of employment opportunities and to avoid spatial mismatch between the jobs and available labor force. Also, mixed land use practices will promote the concept of people working in proximity to where they live, shop, and seek services. Mass transit links and hike or bike paths, as mentioned in the Transportation Efficiency criteria above, will improve affordable transportation access to jobs. The visioning process may also result in some unique employment scenarios such as "telecommuting" for businesses and Penn State University staff and students. The concept of "smart growth" will be a guiding principle for planning efforts.
E. Encourage Private Sector Development Patterns
The project will also assess the true cost of different development scenarios enabling municipalities to make informed decisions on desirable land use (e.g. will the tax base increase at a rate higher/lower than the cost of providing services?). Also, an analysis of market demands for types of residential development will be performed. This will help provide investors with guidance on what the community deems as desirable and marketable housing. Encouraging development in areas of planned infrastructure improvements, as outlined above, will also help to direct private sector development patterns.
The visioning process will emphasize and incorporate business and industry input and should, therefore, result in a plan that reflects business and industry needs. Organizations such as the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County and the Bellefonte Intervalley Chamber of Commerce should be able to help direct the location of new businesses to meet the vision by creating of strategically located business parks or by advocating tax concessions from the municipalities. Coordination of public and private investments and the continuing integration of efforts by the public and private sectors will be aided by the very existence of a community-generated vision.
IV. COORDINATION
This proposed project has been coordinated with the Centre Region Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) from the onset. Both the CRMPO and PennDOT have indicated their support for the project in writing. In addition, the CRMPO’s Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) has already been modified to accommodate this project. Should amendments to the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) be necessary to accommodate any projects or activities resulting from this grant, they will be coordinated through the CRMPO process to meet the requirements of this TEA-21 program as the project evolves.
V. PARTNERS
This grant application is sponsored by Centre County Board of Commissioners on behalf of the Spring Creek Watershed Commission, a governmental organization consisting of the 14 municipalities of the Spring Creek watershed and the Centre County Board of Commissioners. The Watershed Commission is the largest multi-municipal entity in the Bald Eagle watershed. The I-99 Community Partnership for Sustainable Development and the Watershed Commission agreed that Watershed Commission sponsorship sends a very clear message regarding the multi-municipal and county support and commitment to multi-jurisdictional collaboration that this scope of work has generated.
This project will be managed by the ClearWater Conservancy, a local non-profit organization which, in association with the Spring Creek Watershed Community, organized and now provides administrative support for the diverse stakeholders group known as the I-99 Community Partnership for Sustainable Development. As the project manager, ClearWater Conservancy will coordinate with all the groups and citizens that will be affected or are associated with this project. As previously mentioned, major entities which will play a considerable role in the development of this project include: the Spring Creek Watershed Commission; Spring Creek Watershed Community; the I-99 Community Partnership for Sustainable Development; and the Centre Region Metropolitan Planning Organization. The professional planning expertise housed in the Centre County Planning Office and the Centre Regional Planning Agency will continue to be an essential element in the success of this project, ensuring that the land use and sustainability plan is properly coordinated and maintains consistency with other local planning priorities, including those of the CRMPO. The I-99 Partnership will play an added role in ensuring that the visioning process is well-balanced and in selecting indicators that will be used for the next 20 years. The I-99 Partnership and the ClearWater Conservancy together will ensure that the community-based strengths and collaborative nature of this watershed-wide project are maintained throughout its course. These partnering relationships may be modified, as necessary, in order to meet any requirement of this TEA-21 program.
A majority of the stakeholders who will be responsible for implementing the resulting land use and sustainability plan are participants of the I-99 Partnership. Those municipalities who will feel the "ripple effect" of the highway (to be established by this project) and other interests will be invited to participate as they are identified. The CRMPO, although not officially listed as a participant, has been represented through the many municipal and agency participants who are on the CRMPO’s coordinating and technical committees. The following is a listing of the 43 agencies, organizations, companies, and interests that participate in the I-99 Community Partnership for Sustainable Development.
| Bald Eagle Area School District | Marion Township |
| Bellefonte Area School District | Marion Township Planning Commission |
| Bellefonte Borough | Omega Bank |
| Bellefonte Intervalley Chamber of Commerce | PA Senator Doyle Corman’s Office* |
| Benner Township | PA Representative Lynn Herman’s Office |
| Benner Township Planning Commission | Patton Township |
| Builders Association of Central Pennsylvania | Patton Township Planning Commission |
| Centre County Association of Realtors | Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection |
| Centre County Board of Commissioners | Pennsylvania Department of Transportation |
| Centre County Farmland Trust | Pennsylvania State University, Office of the Physical Plant |
| Centre County Farm Bureau | S&A Homes |
| Centre County Planning Office | Spring Creek Chapter of Trout Unlimited |
| Centre Regional Planning Agency | Spring Creek Watershed Commission |
| Centre Regional Planning Commission | Spring Creek Watershed Community |
| Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County | Spring Township |
| ClearWater Conservancy | Spring Township Planning Commission |
| College Township | State College Area School District |
| College Township Planning Commission | Worth Township |
| Harrris Township | Worth Township Planning Commission |
| Harris Township Planning Commission | University Area Joint Authority |
| Heritage I (Development Group) | U.S. Representative John Peterson’s Office |
| Land owner (at an interchange) |
* No longer in office. Continued representation will be provided from newly elected PA Senator Jacob Corman’s Office.
Public Involvement and Education
The model interchange overlay district ordinance portion of this project, as previously mentioned, outlines a public educational forum featuring a state or national expert on multi-municipal overlay ordinances, their usefulness, and their relevance to our region. In addition, three public presentations are proposed so that people throughout the watershed can become familiar with and comment on the model overlay district ordinance.
In order to encourage public involvement in the visioning portion of the larger, collaborative land use and sustainability plan, wide-ranging public promotion and education events prior to commencing with visioning are necessary. These events will be designed to: familiarize the public with the concept of sustainable versus nonsustainable behaviors; advocate the value of proper planning and smart growth; and communicate the anticipated stressors that a new interstate will provide; and invite people to participate in the unique opportunity the visioning process provides in shaping the future of our communities. Our local media has already been very generous in its coverage of the work of the I-99 Partnership and continually asks for updates on the progress of this project. The relationships that have already been created with the media will be utilized to further educate the public, especially after some of the background information has been gathered for this project. The success of the visioning component itself relies heavily on public involvement throughout the process. Opportunity for public comment and review will also be given once the community’s vision is transformed by the consultants into the detailed collaborative land use and sustainability plan.
VI. SCHEDULE
Major Milestones
Development of an Interim Collaborative Interchange Overlay District Ordinance (in progress)
Completion Date | |
| 1. Identify state/national expert, define the outline for an end product | 4/15/99 |
| 2. Public forum for educational purposes | 4/30/99 |
| 3. Prepare initial Draft Model Overlay District Ordinance | 5/31/99 |
| 4. Provide 3 public presentations and submit to municipalities for comment | 9/30/99 |
| 5. Model interchange overlay district ordinance adopted by municipalities | 11/30/99 |
| 6. Interim evaluation report to the Federal Highways Administration | 12/31/99 |
Development of a Collaborative Land Use and Sustainability Plan (date to be determined based on grant authorization ot proceed)
Time Frame |
| 1. Develop a request for proposals for consultant(s) selection | |
| 2. Select consultant(s), negotiate, and put under contract | 0 to 3 months |
| 3. Convene a meeting of the I-99 Partnership |
| 4. Prepare foundational information | |
| 5. Prepare preliminary indicators | 3 to 6 months |
| 6. Public promotion and education for visioning |
| 7. Visioning activities | |
| 8. Develop visioning summary | 6 to 18 months |
| 9. Public meeting on visioning summary |
| 10. Interim evaluation report to FHWA | |
| 11. Planning analysis of available information | |
| (Prepare land use and sustainability plan) | 15 to 27 months |
| 12. Finalize indicators | |
| 13. Present land use and sustainability plan; submit to FHWA |
| 14. Municipalities begin adopting land use and sustainability plan | |
| 15. Finalize evaluation report to FHWA | 27 to 30 months |
VII. BUDGET AND RESOURCES
Past Commitments of Resources in the Development of this Scope of Work
Hundreds of hours have been devoted by all interests participating in the I-99 Partnership through attending lengthy work sessions, conducting research, and working intensively to establish project goals. The ClearWater Conservancy and its Spring Creek Watershed Community project have provided hundreds of hours of organizational and administrative support to bring the I-99 Partnership thus far spending approximately $16,000 of their resources over the past year and a half. The Canaan Valley Institute has provided substantial technical assistance in the planning and facilitation of the I-99 Partnership meetings (approximately $1,500 value). The Pennsylvania State University also made a substantial contribution to the meetings through providing the "team decision center", a computerized consensus building facility, both pro bono and on other occasions at substantially reduced rates ($7,500 value). The tremendous participation, in-kind contributions, and materials expended by local government and non-government organizations over the last 18 months has well exceeded $100,000. The I-99 Partnership participants are committed to continuing or, if necessary, increasing their level of effort to complete the land use and sustainability plan.
Confirmed Commitments for Continuing Work
Local contributions have been received by the ClearWater Conservancy in support of the activities outlined in this work proposal. The Canaan Valley Institute has provided a grant in the amount of $10,000 for professional services towards creating the model interchange overlay district ordinance. Similarly, the Spring Creek Chapter of Trout Unlimited has dedicated $1,000 towards the project. In-kind contributions from Patton Township (office space $22,320), Centre County Planning Office (planning coordination $17,250), Centre Regional Planning Agency (planning coordination $10,250 minimum), and Diagnostics Plus (evaluation $6,500) approximate $76,320.
Potential Partner
A grant proposal was submitted in December 1998 to the Pennsylvania Department of Economic and Community Development in the amount of $9,000. Though confirmation of the grant award has not yet been received, the I-99 partnership has been told that the project is very attractive and will likely be funded.
Proposed Project Budget
TCSP Share | Matching Funds (incl. in-kind) | Total | |
| Personnel costs | $170,267 | $28,500 | $198,767 |
| Supplies | $20,435 | -0- | $20,435 |
| Other Indirect Costs | $23,400 | $22,320 | $45,720 |
| Service Contracts: | |||
| Planning/Visioning | $463,898 | $19,000* | $482,898 |
| Evaluation | $69,400 | $6,500 | $75,900 |
| Travel (Evaluation Meetings) | $2,600 | -0- | $2,600 |
| TOTALS | $750,000 | $76,320 | $826,320 |
* includes $9,000 as proposed to PA Department of Community and Economic Development
VIII. PROJECT EVALUATION PLAN
The goals and objectives for this project include not only the five of the goals of the CTSP program, but also some very specific goals created by the I-99 Community Partnership for Sustainable Development. The assistance of local evaluation experts from the Pennsylvania State University and private enterprise was sought to prepare this plan to meet the needs of the TCSP program and to identify the most relevant elements of the project. Because ours is a planning project, our evaluation will be primarily process and product oriented, with very few measures being developed for the outcome evaluation component. An outcome evaluation would be more easily accomplished once the plans have been fully implemented. Evaluation of the long-term success of the project will be demonstrated in part through the application and communication of the indicators/benchmarks. These indicators, created as part of this project, will be designed to measure progress towards meeting the goals for community sustainability and will be presumably consistent with the TCSP goals. The on-going data collection for these indicators will be conducted by the community, utilizing its local resources, but is not proposed as part of this project, budget, and timeline.
Pennsylvania State University and private enterprise expertise is locally available to conduct the project evaluations and prepare the reports. The budget for the evaluation component is outlined in the previous section.
Goals to be Evaluated
The following discussions outlines the goals and objectives, performance measures, and to some degree, evaluation methods that will be used to evaluate the proposed project.
Goal 1. Achieve multi-municipal participation, commitment, and buy-in to create a collaborative overlay district ordinance.
Process Evaluation
Product Evaluation
Outcome Evaluation
Goal 2. Identify the broader community’s (non-traditional partners) and traditional partners’ concerns and ideas about the economic, environmental, infrastructure, land use and quality of life impacts surrounding Interstate 99 through visioning.
Process Evaluation
Product Evaluation
Goal 3. Achieve community understanding of the need for overall collaborative and innovative planning in the watershed.
Process Evaluation
Goal 4. Integrate the community-based vision into the land use and sustainability plan and other planning processes (Transportation Improvement Programs, Center Region Comprehensive Plan, Centre County Comprehensive Plan, and the comprehensive plans of individual municipalities) for the watershed.
Process Evaluation
Product Evaluation
Goal 5. Process is directed at achieving desired TCSP outcomes including: improving efficiency of the transportation system; reducing the impacts of transportation on the environment; reducing in the need for costly future public infrastructure; ensuring efficient access to jobs, services, and centers of trade; and encouraging private sector development patterns.
Process Evaluation
Product Evaluation
Two interim evaluation reports and one final report will be provided to the Federal Highways Administration. The first report will contain a process and product evaluation of Goal 1 regarding the collaborative overlay district ordinance and will be completed once the municipalities have had a chance to adopt the ordinance. The second interim report will be forwarded after the completion of the community-based visioning portion of the project. At that time, the outcome evaluation component for Goal 1 should be completed and Goals 2, 3, and 5 will have several measures that can be evaluated. Once the collaborative land use and sustainability plan has been created and presented to the watershed municipalities, the remaining measures will be evaluated. A final report containing the evaluation measures, specific recommendations for others following this prototype, and a list of "lessons learned" will be forwarded to the Federal Highways Administration.
Attachments:
I.Maps: "Interchanges in the Spring Creek and Bald Eagle Watersheds"
"Centre County Major Highway Network with Proposed Interstate 99"
II.Letters of Support
III.Letters of In-kind Support
ATTACHMENT I.
MAPS
"Interchanges in the Spring Creek and Bald Eagle Watersheds"
"Centre County Major Highway Network with Proposed Interstate 99"
ATTACHMENT II.
LETTERS OF SUPPORT
The following is a listing of the entities providing letters of support (in order):
Local, State, and Federal Elected or Appointed Officials
U.S. Representative John Peterson
U.S. Representative Bud Shuster*
PA Senator Jake Corman
Centre County Board of Commissioners
Centre Regional Planning Commission
Bellefonte Borough
Benner Township
College Township
Harris Township Planning Commission
Patton Township
Marion Township Planning Commission
Spring Township
Worth Township Planning Commission
Other Partners
Bellefonte Intervalley Chamber of Commerce
Canaan Valley Institute
Centre County Association of Realtors
Centre County Planning Office
Other Partners (cont.)
Centre County Conservation District
Centre County Farmland Trust
Centre Region Metropolitan Planning
Organization
Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre
County
ClearWater Conservancy
Heritage I (Development Group)
Omega Bank
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation*
Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
Maurice K. Goddard Chair
S&A Homes
Spring Creek Chapter of Trout Unlimited
Spring Creek Watershed Community
University Area Joint Authority
*Forthcoming - Will be submitted directly to FHWA by entity
ATTACHMENT III.
LETTERS OF IN-KIND SUPPORT
The following is a listing of the entities providing letters or proof of in-kind support (in order):
Canaan Valley Institute
Centre County Planning Office
Centre Regional Planning Agency
Diagnostics Plus
Patton Township
Spring Creek Chapter of Trout Unlimited
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