Multi-Municipal Planning
Multi-municipal planning is a crucial strategy for fostering sustainable and cohesive planning in communities across the Lehigh Valley. It involves collaboration among neighboring municipalities to collectively address shared challenges, envision a unified future, and streamline resources to balance growth and preservation more effectively. One primary reason for embracing multi-municipal planning is its ability to transcend political boundaries and address issues that extend beyond individual jurisdictions.
Shared concerns such as transportation, farmland, open space preservation, and economic development often span municipal borders, making a coordinated approach essential for a resilient and sustainable future. In Pennsylvania, it also allows all communities in a multi-municipal plan to share the responsibility of providing every land use, enabling them to better manage the development arriving at their doorsteps.
Slate Belt communities have a rich history dating back more than 250 years, but for the first time ever, eight municipalities are partnering to build a bright future.
The purpose of the Slate Belt Multi-Municipal Comprehensive Plan is to enable the boroughs of Bangor, East Bangor, Pen Argyl, Roseto, Portland and Wind Gap and the Townships of Washington and Upper Mount Bethel, to shape their collective vision for the future. Each municipality has prepared its own comprehensive plan in the past and will keep their autonomy and control but planning as a region enables them to take advantage of geographic similarities and address their common priorities, while better managing an evolving development landscape.
The River Central area is positioned right in the heart of the Lehigh Valley. Included in this subregional area, spanning Lehigh and Northampton Counties, are the boroughs of Catasauqua, North Catasauqua and Northampton, and East Allen and Hanover (Lehigh) townships.
These five communities worked together to develop their first-ever comprehensive plan for their region, shaping their collective vision for the future. The plan determines common goals and objectives for areas of land use, housing, air quality, transportation, development, recreational facilities, natural and scenic resource conservation, farmland preservation and economic development. This joint planning effort also facilitates the sharing of resources in support of the long-term sustainability of the municipalities. The five municipalities each individually adopted the Plan in the summer of 2023, and the LVPC continues to support these municipalities as they navigate the zoning ordinance update process.
The purpose of the Northern Lehigh Multi-Municipal Comprehensive Plan is to enable the Borough of Slatington and the Townships of Heidelberg, Lynn, Lowhill, Washington and Weisenberg to shape their collective vision for the future.
Each municipality has prepared its own comprehensive plan in the past and will keep their autonomy and control, but planning as a region will enable them to take advantage of geographic similarities and address their common priorities while better managing an evolving development landscape.
The Plan is the result of three years of work by representatives of each community to update the first Northern Lehigh Multi-Municipal Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 2004.
The purpose of the Nazareth Area Multi-Municipal Comprehensive Plan is to enable the Boroughs of Bath, Chapman, Nazareth, Stockertown and Tatamy, and the Townships of Bushkill, Hanover, Lower Nazareth, Moore and Upper Nazareth, to shape their collective vision for the future.
Each municipality keeps their autonomy and control, but planning as a region enables them to take advantage of geographic similarities and address their common priorities, while better managing an evolving development landscape.
This plan is the result of three years of work by representatives of each community to update the first Nazareth Area Plan, adopted in 2007. The updated NazPlan was adopted by all 10 municipalities in September 2022.
The LVPC completed the Southwestern Lehigh County Multi-Municipal Comprehensive Plan in 2016.
This plan represents the culmination of nearly two years of intensive research, community engagement and development of a collective vision for the six municipalities in Southwestern Lehigh County: Lower Macungie Township, Upper Milford Township, Lower Milford Township, and the boroughs of Macungie, Alburtis and Emmaus. These municipalities first engaged in the multi-municipal planning process in 2001, and adopted a shared Comprehensive Plan in 2005. The following document is the first complete update to that Multi-municipal Comprehensive Plan.