COMMUNITY

Guides + Model Regulations

Recent Guides + Model Regulations

COMMUNITY GUIDE

High Cube and

Automated

Warehousing

Updated January 2021

Utility Scale Solar Regulation

Grid-Scale Solar Energy Production facilities are an emerging and rapidly growing segment of the energy production sector of the economy. They pose unique land use and other regulatory challenges for local municipalities. Representatives from Penn State University’s Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research presented a slide show entitled Grid Scale Solar in Pennsylvania on August 2, 2022 to a group of Lehigh Valley municipal officials, staff from the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, and others. The slide show includes a background on grid-scale solar production in Pennsylvania, potential land use impacts and sample zoning ordinance language from Montour County and Lycoming County. View the slideshow here.

The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) has also created a Model Ordinance for Large-Scale Solar Electric Energy Facilities in PA. This guide includes sample language to be included in a zoning ordinance, subdivision and land development ordinance, or as a free-standing ordinance. Click here to read.

Before adoption, all model ordinances should be carefully reviewed by the municipal government and its solicitor to ensure that the ordinance language reflects and implements municipal planning goals.

Municipal Official’s Guide to Grid-Scale Solar Development in PA

Conservation subdivisions are residential developments in which a significant portion of the the overall acreage of a property is set aside as undivided, permanently protected open space, while houses are clustered on the remainder of the property.

The guide provides an introductory history of conservation subdivision design in the United States and in Pennsylvania, an examination of benefits and drawbacks of the approach, and an annotated model regulation and example worksheets for Lehigh Valley municipalities to use in writing their own regulations for conservation subdivision in their municipality.

Mixed Uses is one of a series of guides and model regulations prepared by the LVPC. These guides and model regulations explore a multitude of smart growth techniques that can be used to help create the type of community fostered by the Comprehensive Plan The Lehigh Valley … 2030. The guides and model regulations explain the techniques and make recommendations for their use. Draft zoning provisions are provided to help municipalities that might be interested in using the technique.

Mixed uses refers to situations where two or more basic land use types are located near each other so that they interact. These types include: residential, offices, commercial/retail, public/quasi public and business uses. Mixed uses take place in three contexts: mixed use buildings, mixed use communities and planned mixed use developments. Social, economic, transportation and transportation related benefits can accrue from mixed use development.

One way to address the region's environmental sustainability and housing affordability issues is to build smaller houses. Cottage housing is an innovative style of development based on the idea of "better, not bigger." Although it faces the same obstacles as other higher density development types, cottage housing's advantages could make it more acceptable to neighbors. This development type would be a useful option for developers, fitting between the detached single family house and the condo or townhouse. It makes more efficient use of the land, is more affordable and offers better energy efficiency than traditional single family detached housing, while providing more privacy than attached housing.

This report looks at two Smart Growth zoning options available to municipalities. A density bonus system lets developers voluntarily contribute valuable amenities in exchange for increased residential density. Density bonuses can be offered for a number of amenities of value to a municipality, such as affordable housing, infrastructure improvements or increased open space preservation. The report also examines minimum density regulations, which allow a municipality to ensure that development is fully consistent with the comprehensive plan. Minimum density regulations can be useful when planning for a transit corridor, where a higher concentration of transit riders can help make transit viable.

Inclusionary zoning describes a variety of techniques that either encourage or require developers to incorporate a certain percentage of affordable units in their developments. A development subject to or participating in inclusionary zoning must scatter units within that development that are priced to be affordable to and are reserved for income eligible households. The construction is undertaken by the developer/builder, not by a government agency or government hired contractor.

Inclusionary zoning is a means of both helping fulfill the Lehigh Valley’s need for affordable housing and meeting community development objectives. This guide provides the reader with an explanation of inclusionary zoning, its components and associated issues. This material will help the reader to decide whether to pursue the drafting and adoption of inclusionary zoning provisions. Model zoning provisions including commentary are provided to assist those that are interested.

    Connectivity is an analysis of the number and variety of connections serving origins such as residential

    neighborhoods and destinations like schools and shopping areas. Connectivity relates to the number of

    intersections along a segment of streets and how the entire area is connected to the system. Good street

    connectivity means providing a variety of ways to get from Point A to B, from using the car to walking. The

    recommendations in this report are geared toward improving the efficiency of mobility (i.e. ease of movement)

    and accessibility (i.e. the ability to go from an origin to a desired destination).

    The benefits of better connectivity go beyond improved mobility and accessibility and can include less traffic

    congestion, safer streets, municipal cost savings in the provision of services, and reduced need to improve

    arterial streets.

    The PA Municipalities Planning Code defines Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) as follows:

    Traditional neighborhood development, an area of land developed for a compatible mixture of residential units

    for various income levels and nonresidential commercial and workplace uses, including some structures that

    provide for a mix of uses within the same building. Residences, shops, offices, workplaces, public buildings, and

    parks are interwoven within the neighborhood so that all are within relatively close proximity to each other.

    Traditional neighborhood development is relatively compact, limited in size and oriented toward pedestrian

    activity. It has an identifiable center and a discernible edge. The center of the neighborhood is in the form of a

    public park, commons, plaza, square or prominent intersection of two or more major streets. Generally, there is

    a hierarchy of streets laid out in a rectilinear or grid pattern of interconnecting streets and blocks which provide

    multiple routes from origins to destinations and are appropriately designed to serve the needs of pedestrians

    and vehicles equally.