Berks County Planning Commission

Learn about the Berks County Planning Commission and its role in working with county municipalities, zoning, and the County Comprehensive Plan with their Executive Director Ashley Showers and Berks County Commissioner Michael Rivera.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Welcome to County Connections. I'm Berth County Commissioner Michael Rivera. And today we have another exciting program for you. If you saw my program last month, we had uh Derek Harris on, who works with the uh econom community and economic development department here at the county. And we were speaking about Imagined Birth, which is the county's economic development plan that has been in place now for three years. We talk about what it is, what has happened so far in these three past three years, and what comes next with that uh economic development plan, which is now would be the uh Imagined Burks Comprehensive Plan. And we spoke a little bit about that, uh, but today I have someone with me who's gonna talk in more detail about the Burks County Imagine Burks uh Comprehensive Plan, what that is, how we get uh others involved in that plan and why it's so important for our county. And to do that today we have Ashley uh and Ashley is the executive director for the Burks County Planning Commission. Ashley Showers. Ashley, welcome to County Connections.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Thank you. I'm happy to be here today.

SPEAKER_00 1:19

We're happy to have you here. And uh just so for those of you that are not aware, uh Ashley is the new executive director of the Planning Commission. She is replacing uh Dave, who was the executive director. He retired from the county, and now uh Ashley has taken over. Ashley was the deputy uh director, so she is now taking the the reins here at the planning commission, and we're very excited and very happy to have her here uh in that role at the county. So, Ashley, first of all, tell me a little bit about yourself and your role here uh with the Planning Commission.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Yes, certainly. Um I have been with the County of Burks for almost 18 years. It's coming up on my anniversary at the middle of December here, um, and I am a trained and and degreed environmental planner. Um, and I worked in the private side of planning through a consulting firm, um, my first job into the planning field, and then I ended up in the public sector here at the county, and it's been um valuable. I'm a Berks County resident. Um I was raised in Cobradale Township in eastern Berks County, and so um I'm a planner because I want to make an impact in the community that I live and work and play in. So that's how I became a planner and why I'm still a planner.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

Okay. So when you say planner or the planning commission, people might ask, well, what are you planning? Right. Right? Uh right. So what is the Berth County Planning Commission and what is its role here in the county, and what is, in layman's terms, a planner?

SPEAKER_01 2:58

Right. So a a the pl the planning commission is the countywide area planning agency. So we are a recommending body that is regulated and and legislated through the municipalities planning code or what planners call the MPC. And so we oversee all of the development projects that are going on throughout the county. If there's a new park being developed, a new school, um, new roads and infrastructure. We we oversee all of that through our office. So really we help shape how our communities in Burks County grow and develop.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

Okay, so you plan for future land use, if you would, throughout Burks County to make sure that we're not using farmland for commercial or commercial for residential and things like that to make sure that we're making the best use of the space that we have here in Burks County.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

Yes, that's correct. We use a lot of data and maps and community input to help determine that future growth.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

Okay. So, Ashley, how do you interact with the municipalities and residents here in Burts County?

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Right. So primarily we work through different planning projects and programs through our advisory role to the municipality. So the municipalities again have the approval authority for all the development that comes through through their community. But we really work with them to help them understand how their zoning ordinance is being used. We also work through them with any education type and outreach events that they may need as part of development projects. So really we come and support public meetings for those processes and education and outreach. We really go out and train municipal employees and staff and elected officials there about planning and what they're required to do for that planning process.

SPEAKER_00 4:58

Okay, so you have that education role because really in in Pennsylvania uh it comes down to the municipality who's going to determine the zoning for their municipality. So we don't go in and tell them, you know, this is how you have to zone your area. Uh so we they do that, and then that plan comes together under the county. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_01 5:21

Yes, that's correct. Yes. It again, advisory role from the county level and support role. The municipalities have that approval power, and we sometimes help them develop those municipal comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances, but really they're the final deciders and implementers of those documents.

SPEAKER_00 5:42

Okay, that's good to know. Now, how about residents? Uh what services do you offer uh to the community or to the residents of Bruce County? We spoke about how you interact with the municipalities. How about with residents now?

SPEAKER_01 5:57

Um so shown on the slide uh on the screen is really all the sectors that our office covers. So we have environmental planning, GIS, which really is our maps and data analysis package. Um primarily the biggest interaction we have with residents is through the subdivision and land development process. So we have an important component there called plan review and then plan endorsement or recording with the recorder of deeds office. And so if you are someone in the community that is building a new business building or you're building a new home, you most likely went through the land development process with the municipality, but we have to stamp and sign off on those plans through our review process, and then they go to the recorder of deeds for recording. And so we have a lot of interaction with our public community through that process. Um also through our demographics and statistics section that we talk about. So again, we're the keepers of a lot of data for the county, um, population uh information. And so our business partners may call in and and residents can call in and be like, you know, what's my school population and things like that. So we provide data and resources that way to residents. Um and then intergovernmental planning, we really help municipalities do joint municipal planning, and so when we go out, when we do those processes, we go out to the public and invite the residents to give us input through those planning processes. So a lot of engagement activities is how we interact with our residents.

unknown 7:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

And you mentioned uh the joint planning, intergovernmental joint planning. Let's talk a little bit about that. What is that and how does zoning fit into this process? Because again, as I mentioned, zoning is independent by municipalities here in Pennsylvania. So what is the joint planning?

SPEAKER_01 7:58

So joint planning is the 72 municipalities of the county coming in together, maybe via the geography of the school district those municipalities cover, and working intergovernmentally to prepare a municipal joint comprehensive plan that captures all the desires of that specific region of the county. And then once you those municipalities develop that joint plan, then they potentially can explore joint zoning. And joint zoning is more of the more micro scale of where each type of land use and building and where it fits in that region because they planned it together. Um, and really that's how the two are are tied together. They first should do a comprehensive plan, and then their zoning helps implement the designated land uses of that comprehensive plan.

SPEAKER_00 8:49

And how many and this joint planning that is something that's uh optional? It's up to the municipalities to come together and say, hey, municipality that you're next to me, and you and you do you want to do this joint comp plan together? Then they would come to the county and the county would help work that uh plan together for them. Yes. Uh what's one of the benefits of doing this joint planning specifically around zoning? Why would it benefit municipalities to do the joint planning specifically around zoning?

SPEAKER_01 9:22

Um primarily because it helps avoid conflicts and it supports regional goals instead of just, you know, each municipality's goals. We want to do things on a coordinated level, you know, to prevent those conflicts. So, you know, uh it also helps balance out uses where some municipalities may not have the uh available land to develop certain uses. And so if they work collaboratively together, one municipality in that region may have the land and the other won't, and maybe that other one can redevelop a use that another municipality in that region doesn't want to redevelop. So it's really coordinating and helping each other's strengths and weaknesses.

SPEAKER_00 10:05

And that's important to understand because by statute, each municipality in Pennsylvania has to have all of the different zoning areas within it. In Burst County, all with the exception of Reading, because obviously Reading cannot have a farmland uh in it because there's no space for it, but every other municipality has to have every other every zoning uh area in their municipality. And by the joint planning, that allows them to put that the all those different areas within the joint area instead of all within a municipality.

SPEAKER_01 10:40

Yes, that's correct.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

Okay. Yes. Good, good. Now, how do how does the Planning Commission support in this process? Uh we spoke about how you help with the education and so forth, but how else do you help in this process uh our municipalities?

SPEAKER_01 10:57

Well, currently um through our office we do have a joint comprehensive plan program where what we do is we actually our staff led by a staff team leader actually develops the content and the maps of the joint planning program and facilitates the advisory committee for the development of that municipal plan. We also, in our last round of plans that we're doing currently, we applied on those municipalities' behalf to get a grant from DCED, the Department of Community and Economic Development, to get a MAP grant which provides technical assistance to create that plan. So really, we are the authors of these municipal plans with the input from the municipal advisory committees.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

How many of these joint uh planning groups do we have, or joint planning areas do we have in Burst County currently?

SPEAKER_01 11:52

I believe we cover of the 72 municipalities, we cover 59 of them, I believe, in the joint plans. Um currently underway, we have four uh joint comprehensive plans, but I believe there might I'm not exactly sure of the total of how many plans we have total, but I do know that we're recognized statewide for having the most joint municipal comprehensive plans.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Yeah, and that's important to understand uh that state statewide Birch County is the county with the most uh municipal uh joint plans. And that's important because this is something that uh the Planning Commission went out and met with all municipalities throughout Birch County, had different listening sessions uh to understand what the needs are and to explain the importance of these uh joint plans, and that's where we are now with all these joint uh planning areas, which is which is great for for the county. Yes. Awesome. Can you give some examples of some recent uh projects or initiatives that you have had at the Planning Commission?

SPEAKER_01 12:54

Yes. So the biggest one right now uh is as Commissioner Rivera uh referred to is the comprehensive plan. Um as Commissioner Rivera stated, the Imagine Burks Economic Development Plan has kind of sunseted, that was kind of like a three-year term, and um the county and made financial investments into implementing that plan, and so a lot of those investments took place. And so with that, some other plans came out of that. So one of the other initiatives we've been involved in is the growing Burks Agricultural Economic Study. That's um another part of the Imagine BERCS study. And with that, we wanted the comprehensive plan touches on all of that. So we touch on land use, right? That's primarily uh what the comprehensive plan is about. But that is the biggest initiative that we're really working on right now is bringing all of the elements together and all the plans that work with one another together under the comprehensive plan.

SPEAKER_00 13:58

Okay. Now the comprehensive plan is that something that all counties do, and is that set by uh statute, or is that something just the county, uh Berth County does?

SPEAKER_01 14:09

Yes. No, every county in Pennsylvania does do that, and also every municipality is regulated to have to have a comprehensive plan through again the municipality's planning code. And standard is usually you go through that planning process every 10 years. We're doing this in the middle of that last uh 10-year planning cycle where our plan is only five years old right now. Um, but you can do, you know, you can update it every two years if you really want to, but standard practice is 10 years. Um, and it's always usually a horizon of like 15 to 20 years of land use. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 14:45

And that's important because you you need to plan. You just can't wake up today and say, okay, well, what are we going to do here and what are we going to do there? We need to look at the future, right? And then plan for that. So you didn't mention the comprehensive plan, that's something set in statute. Every municipality has to have that. But we spoke about the Imagine Burks uh plan. We also spoke about the uh ag plan. And those are two plans that are not required by statute. Those are actually plans that uh the Board of Commissioners put forth to say this is important. We want to have a plan, we want to know what's going to happen in Burst County. We need to, you know, see what the needs are and how we're best going to implement that. And those are plans that when we put them together, we said we're going to do this, they're not going to sit in on a shelf gathering dust. We want to make sure that they're actionable, and that's what it is. We've had updates on the Imagine Burst Economic Development Plan, which will now be the comprehensive plan. We've had updates on the Ag Plan, and they all have had implementable steps, and we've seen what the results of those plans have been because that's extremely important.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

Okay. So talk to me a little bit about the process on how we develop and update the comprehensive plan.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

Sure. So the the comprehensive plan, again, is the official statement of the county's future land use goals, and it's really a tool that's a that evaluates all those proposed land development plans we kind of touched on earlier, and it also serves as the guide, as you mentioned, of the future of the development of the county. And so that's why we have those 10, 15, 20 year horizons of that. And part of the planning process you'll see on the screen has all of these elements. So again, land use inventory, and that's really looking at what exists now, what the municipalities have in those zoning ordinances for areas that haven't built been built out yet. Where we take an inventory of that and do some analysis. We also, in this comprehensive plan initiative, will be doing a corridor build-out analysis, which I'll touch on in a few minutes. Um then we are going to take the build-out analysis and the land use inventory and really analyze and make an evaluation of where land use will go in those horizons. We also include best practices or smart growth principles for that, and that really includes like aligning growth, as you said, not building commercial areas on agricultural land, building them where there's infrastructure and where the zoning makes sense. Um we look at the plan interrelationships that occur as well. So the growing Burks AG study, we have the Greenway Park and Recreation Plan, Imagine Burks, we're looking at housing, all of that and how that parlays into building out land use in the county. And then we create goals and action plans that we will implement as part of the process. But you'll see there in the center on the slide, public involvement is the most important part because if you all in the community um are not supportive and behind the plan, that's when a plan won't be implemented. And so we've really done as much public outreach as we could. We've taken different approaches this time around and went out to many local county events like Hamburger Festival in Hamburg, um the Oli Community Fair, everything to try to interact with all of you to get that public involvement and to see what you visualize for the future of the county.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

And that's important because these are county residents and we want to know what is important for each one of you. Is there still opportunity to provide input for this, Ashley?

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Yes, there is an opportunity to do that. We have the Imagine Burks Comprehensive Plan Survey on your screen. Hopefully you can see that in both English and Spanish. We have a public survey that is open until December 31st of 2025, where we're asking you four main questions. What do you like about Berks County? What do you think is a threat to Berks County as far as land use? Um, what do you think needs the most improvement in Berks County? And then the other opportunities that we would we think we should focus on. And so we hope you can all take that. We're we're shooting for at least a thousand responses, so hopefully we'll get some more through this program. But again, you can find that both um here on your screen, the QR code and the uh web address there, starting with the BIT. And also you can find the opportunity on the Planning Commission's website as well.

SPEAKER_00 19:26

Okay, so if you do it now quickly, you pull out your phone, you can take a screenshot of that QR code there, and it'll take you to the survey. If you can't get it done and you can write this down, just go to the Burks County Planning Commission's uh website and it'll be they'll it'll be there as well where you can uh complete that. So please help us out. We want to hear from you, we want to learn what is important for you. So you make sure that we put a plan together that benefits all Burks Countyans. Yes. Okay. Now, Ashley, you spoke about the corridor build-out analysis. Uh this is something new. I think it's very innovative, very interesting, and a great idea. I don't know who came in who came up with it, uh, but I know it's one someone on our team. Uh so talk to me about that uh corridor uh build-out analysis.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

Yes, so what we're intending to do is the County Planning Commission and staff are working with a consultant to do a corridor build-out analysis, which is really looking at the existing zoning of the municipalities along our major transportation corridors. So along Route 61, uh 78, 183, 422, east and west, 222, and looking at the areas that are zoned for development that have the infrastructure and putting it to the test of with the ex existing zoning that the municipalities have now, if that if those parcels within the corridor are built out, what is the actualization of that? What what would the community look like? What will be the impact of that? And is it zoned appropriate to get the best use for those areas that are within the corridor?

SPEAKER_00 21:13

That's something you uh spoke about before, which is smart growth. Uh, that's one of the the steps there, making sure we use smart growth principles, and again, that's making sure that each zoning or each type of zoning is in the correct place to ensure proper growth. Again, we don't want to have commercial and uh farmland and so forth. We want to make sure that we're making the best use of the land based on where it's located at, what type of land it is, what uh utilities are close to it, and and infrastructure and so forth. So this is extremely, extremely important. And this corridor build out analysis will also let the municipalities know, like you said, what's the best and highest use for the areas that are located in these uh main. Transportation corridors that run through their municipalities. Now, not not all municipalities are part of this corridor build-out analysis because they're not all touched by the uh principal corridors.

SPEAKER_01 22:11

That's correct. Yes. Yes, that is correct. Um and we also though did one important part to also remember with the build-out analysis and future land use is we're not always looking at vacant land within those corridors. We're looking at redevelopment and infill. So we are investigating the corridor build-out analysis with our boroughs within the entire county because there are some underutilized parcels. And underutilized parcels are really, there could be a vacant building for 15, 10 years that is just sitting there. There's no, you know, there may be tax in there, but that's not the highest and best use for that property. We can redevelop it into a mixed use where it has some commercial on the bottom and some residential uh on top. So that we do continue to preserve our agricultural and natural resource areas.

SPEAKER_00 23:03

Okay. So I know you I know you have some tools on your website, and one of them is the interactive subdivision and land development dashboard. We have about four minutes left in the show. Okay. So how does what is this tool and how does it work?

SPEAKER_01 23:20

Yes. So on your screen, hopefully, you will be able to see the county subdivision and land development uh dashboard. And this dashboard, what it is sharing with all of you, is every land development and subdivision proposal the Planning Commission office has received. And you are able to select different time frames up in this right-hand area here where you can also find the instructions on how to use the dashboard. But really, what this is sharing is if we zoom in here a little bit and we'll pick a parcel here in Exeter Township where I live, um it's gonna bring up what that project is and what it's proposing. And so this is a commercial industrial project that is proposed to be built down in Exeter Township. The blue color is showing the residential developments that have been proposed, and that will actually give you when you click on each parcel, the number of units that are proposed. So, you know, we have this big project here in Spring Township across from broadcasting district now, broadcasting district two kind of is happening. And you know, that's 782 different types of residential units that are proposed there. Um and so we hope that all of you um back home take an opportunity to check this dashboard out and learn what's going on countywide, but even right in your own backyard in your community.

SPEAKER_00 24:45

And that's extremely important to know. Uh what's important to know as well, Ashley, and then I'll give you the couple minutes that are left to cover what you if there's anything else you'd like to cover, but you know, in some municipalities there's been concerns around uh warehouses and some other development there. Where that starts is the local zoning. So if there are any concerns with that, you need to reach out to your municipality and do something about the zoning there because if it's zoned for something, by right they are able to do that. What needs to be done is that zoning needs to be changed, and that is done again at the municipal level. So if you have any concerns with anything that's coming up, we've heard about uh warehouses, we've heard about data centers, uh solar farms, all this, and all of that needs to be addressed at the municipal level before someone submits a permit uh to develop that land there for something that's already zoned for. So I just wanted to share that bit of information before we move on. So Ashley, we have about a minute left. What would you like to share with our audience before we have to close the program?

SPEAKER_01 25:49

Right. Thank you, Commissioner Rivera. Um I think my biggest message would be uh touching on what Commissioner Rivera said is pay attention, most importantly, to your local elected officials and the processes they're going through. They have public meetings, they have agendas, they should be sharing the land development proposals. That is your time to speak up and and question it you know, your elected officials. Is this the right use for this? And and how was the zoning done? And especially if they start working on updating the zoning and subdivision ordinance, that's your time. And and I really encourage everyone to do that too, to get involved and pay attention to your local elected officials and the processes they're going through.

SPEAKER_00 26:34

Okay. Thank you, Ashley. And again, for more information, you can visit the Burst County Planning Commission website. Just go to uh the Burst County website and under departments, look for the Planning Commission. It will be there. You'll see the whole process around the comprehensive plan. Uh you'll see the uh corridor uh build-out analysis as well. You'll see the other information there, uh such as the subdivision and land development dashboard as well. All of that information will be on there. Take a look, go through it. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Ashley or anyone in the Planning Commission department. If you're with a local municipality and you have some questions, would like more information, or would like to have them go and speak to your staff or other elected officials, please feel free to reach out as well. Thank you very much for watching County Connections and enjoy the rest of your day.