Have you ever watched something being built and thought “Now whose brilliant idea was that?”
Well if you would like to have more input into what gets built around you in Pottstown, West Pottsgrove, Lower Pottsgrove, Upper Pottsgrove, New Hanover, Douglass (Mont.), North Coventry and East Coventry, this is your big chance — at least until Oct. 20.
Right now the Pottstown Metropolitan Regional Planning Commission is preparing a new comprehensive plan for this eight-town region and is seeking input from the people who live there about how they would like to see it developed.
A comprehensive plan is a long-range planning document that outlines future growth and development objectives for the communities within the regional planning area. This exercise is undertaken every 10 years and usually looks 20 years ahead. The most recent comprehensive plan was adopted in 2015.
To help guide that plan with as much input from the residents as possible, a 30 question survey has been issued asking about things like housing, commercial development, open space, parks and recreation, and transportation.
It takes between 10 and 25 minutes to fill out, depending on how detailed you want to make your answers.
But the time to take the survey and help guide development in the region for the next 10 years is running out.
According to Montgomery County Planning officials, 651 people have taken the survey so far but they are hoping to get a final push before the Oct. 20 deadline.
Mike Hays, a member of the Montco 360 Advocacy Group, was sure to get his comments in during the most recent monthly meeting of the regional planning commission. He urged them to consider the current homelessness crisis and make plans for the construction of more affordable housing to prevent people from losing their homes.
The Pottstown Metropolitan Regional Planning Committee (PMRPC) was formed in October of 2005 when six Montgomery County municipalities and two Chester County municipalities signed an Intergovernmental Cooperative Implementation Agreement for Regional Planning. Before this, the would-be members collaborated on a regional comprehensive plan that was adopted in August of 2005.
Members provide updates on ongoing municipal endeavors, discuss the potential for multi-municipal collaboration, and review regionally significant land use proposals for consistency with the comprehensive plan.
Source: Berkshire mont