NEW HOPE BOROUGH
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE

The New Hope Borough Planning Commission held a special public meeting on Thursday, February 21, 2008, to serve as the initial meeting of the Commission and its consultant, the Bucks County Planning Commission, in a yearlong process to update the Borough’s Comprehensive Plan.

At this meeting, Ms. Lynn Bush, the Executive Director of the Bucks County Planning Commission, explained what is going to be done, how it is going to be done, who is involved, when surveys will be done and the projected time frame for completion.

Borough Council and the Planning Commission intend to seek maximum citizen participation and involvement in the Comprehensive Plan process by holding public workshop meetings and public hearings, by interviewing community leaders, and by conducting a survey of citizens and business owners.
Future public meetings will focus on technical background studies, community goals and objectives, and the functional plan components such as housing, transportation, land use, community facilities, etc. All such meetings will be publicized in advance on this web site page. This page will also provide links to key plan documents as these become available.

The Borough’s Comprehensive Plan was last updated in 1997. State law requires that municipal comprehensive plans be reviewed and, if necessary, updated at least every ten years.

A comprehensive plan is a document that states basic objectives and policies that guide future growth and development. It can assist municipal leaders in their decision-making.
It is a factual report that examines how the past led to the present and reports in detail how to chart the community’s path into the future.

Section 301 (a) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code requires each municipal comprehensive plan to have nine elements, as follows.

• A statement of community development goals and objectives that charts the location, character and timing of future development.
• A plan for land use identifying the amount, intensity, character and timing of land use.
• A plan to meet housing needs of present residents and those families anticipated to live in the municipality, as well as accommodating new housing in different dwelling types and at appropriate densities for households of all income levels.
• A transportation plan.
• A community facilities plan.
• A statement of the interrelationships among the various plan components which estimates the environmental, energy conservation, fiscal, economic development and social consequences on the Borough.
• A discussion of short- and long-range plan implementation strategies.
• A statement indicating that existing and proposed development is compatible with plans and development in contiguous municipalities. This statement should indicate that existing and proposed development is generally consistent with the objectives and plans of the Bucks County Comprehensive Plan.
• A plan for the protection of natural and historic resources to the extent the Borough is not limited by other federal or state statutes. Such resources include wetlands, aquifer recharge zones, woodlands, steep slopes, prime agricultural land, flood plains, unique natural areas and historic sites.

The final comprehensive plan document will consist of three separate but related parts: (1) technical background studies, (2) community development goals and objectives, and (3) the functional plan or plans for future actions and alternative actions regarding the various components such as future land use, housing, transportation and community facilities.

Once adopted, the Comprehensive Plan can be implemented by changes, where necessary, in the Borough’s land use laws, including the Zoning Ordinance and the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, and by adoption of a Capital Improvement Program and other related measures.