Palmer Township Comprehensive Plan Plan

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Palmer Township Comprehensive Plan of 2003 Heavy Industrial/ Mixed Use - This area includes the former Taylor-Wharton plant and adjacent lands. It also includes smaller areas around existing industries. An emphasis is needed upon buffering between business and residential uses to avoid conflicts. Over the long-run, it may be appropriate to consider alternative uses of portions of the former Taylor-Wharton Plant. Any proposed non-industrial use of this tract should be carefully integrated into a completely planned and coordinated development. These developments should include safe and efficient traffic access. Residential Development Issues This Comprehensive Plan promotes a total living environment, with a balance of quality housing that is near shopping areas, schools, parks, places of worship and other places to enjoy leisure time activities. The goal is to offer a wide range of opportunities for persons of all ages and different types of households. New single-family detached houses have become priced out of the reach of many persons of average income, especially young couples just starting out and retired persons on fixed incomes. Therefore, this Comprehensive Plan provides for a variety of affordable housing types in appropriate locations. Efforts will be made to encourage types of housing that will require reduced maintenance by the homeowners, especially for senior citizens, including condominiums. Higher densities of homes will be limited to selected lands that are physically suitable, have good highway access and are convenient to shopping and community facilities. Developers should be encouraged to build subdivisions in patterns that create well-defined neighborhoods. This can help build community spirit and cohesiveness as residents find it easy to identify with their neighbors. Neighborhoods can be defined by street patterns and open spaces, including treelines, drainage swales and parks. This photo illustrates an earth berm with evergreen trees that was planted 15 years ago to provide a buffer between a residential development and a high traffic road. This concept can also be particularly useful to provide compatibility when residential and industrial uses are planned for opposite sides of a road. 16
Palmer Township Comprehensive Plan of 2003 The modification process in the Subdivision Ordinance can be useful to find ways of logically adjusting specific requirements to reduce housing costs while maintaining very high quality construction and design. The Subdivision Ordinance allows modifications in cases where an applicant proves to the Board of Supervisors that an alternative would result in a better site design. In comparison, a provision in the Zoning Ordinance can only be waived through the granting of a zoning variance by the Zoning Hearing Board. Under State law, a zoning variance can only be granted if the applicant proves that they have an unnecessary hardship. Therefore, for matters that affect site design (such as landscaping), it would be preferable to place most standards in the Subdivision Ordinance and not the Zoning Ordinance. Business Development Issues This Plan provides carefully planned locations for commercial, office, service, research, light industrial uses and limited heavy industry. These uses will provide wide employment opportunities close to the homes of Palmer residents, reducing commuting distances. This development also will expand the variety and competitiveness of goods and services that can be conveniently purchased. In addition, these uses can be expected to generate significantly more in tax revenue than they will require in additional services, helping to keep Township and School District taxes reasonable. Where possible, traffic from business development in northern and central Palmer should be directed towards Route 33, through the Nazareth Road and Stockertown interchanges, and hopefully a new interchange near Main Street. This will help avoid additional congestion on roads in southern and central Palmer. The extension of rail spurs from existing rail lines to industrial areas could help attract employers and decrease truck traffic. See the discussion below about "Attracting Quality Development." This Plan seeks to direct commercial development into well-designed shopping areas, preferably with fully coordinated traffic access that allows a person to visit multiple businesses without having to re-enter a major road. This Plan avoids uncontrolled “strip” commercial development along major roads to: a) minimize conflicts with adjacent homes and b) allow the efficient and safe flow of traffic. As discussed in the Transportation Plan, if traffic access is not carefully controlled, serious safety hazards will result. The William Penn Highway and Route 248 Overlay Zoning Districts were specifically written to make sure that new business development along these roads is compatible with nearby homes. Traditional Neighborhood Development This Plan encourages forms of “traditional neighborhood development.” This involves recreating the best features of the older areas of desirable boroughs in new neighborhoods. This concept is illustrated on the sketch on the following page. Traditional neighborhood development primarily involves the following: • Street trees should be planted to eventually provide a canopy of shade over streets. Studies show that mature street trees can increase the value of homes up to 10 percent. 17
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Palmer Township Comprehensive Plan Plan

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