For the first time since the region’s original plan in 1964, the plan will combine the long-term outlook for planning social and development issues such as housing, education, equity and land use, with a detailed long-range plan addressing transportation needs through 2045. The merger of the land use and transportation plans enables a more efficient, cohesive effort in planning for the future.

 

The planning effort is guided by the
Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code and the U.S. Department of Transportation, balancing the needs of the community around these focus areas:

 

• Natural Resources

• Farmland and Open Space

• Land Use

• Economy and Employment

• Equity

• Housing

• Transportation

• Utilities

• Community Facilities

• Parks and Recreation

• Historic Preservation

• Climate Change and Resiliency

• Energy Education

• Health

• Technology

• Innovation

• Water

What is the FutureLV plan …

 

• The FutureLV Plan …
•  Is the official and legal strategy, guiding the growth, development, redevelopment and preservation of the assets of the Lehigh Valley.
• Consolidates the newest and most important information we know about our changing community into a single, organized, easy-to-read tool kit.
• Lays out community goals and aspirations for the decades ahead, based on an analysis of current conditions and projections of what’s ahead.
• Demands strong community involvement to build the plan and continued engagement by the entire community to help reach its goals.
• Shapes future decision-making about how we enhance the transportation network and how we manage land use, including for changes in planning and zoning, land development and subdivision laws that determine how our communities will change and grow.
• Brings all 62 municipalities, Lehigh and Northampton counities, and the public together to achieve shared goals and objectives.
• Is a playbook for the region, guiding official decisions, research, reports and funding.

 

The FutureLV Plan is not …

 

• The same as zoning or subdivision. It’s an important advisory guide, but not an official code that establishs how we use or develop land.
• So dense and complicated that you need a law degree, or any degree, to understand it.
• A text-only document. It will use maps, graphics, charts, table and infographics and be accessible 24-hours a day on multiple platforms.
• An end in itself. It’s more than a summary of what the region has achieved and hopes to achieve. It’s a living, breathing document that will update and change as our region changes, serving as a launching pad for where we’d like to go and how we’d like to get there.