Draft Comprehensive Plan Completed

The final draft of the Northern Venango County Comprehensive Plan is now complete. You can review a copy of the Plan here. The final document will be available after a series of public meetings to be held in the fall and after the Plan has been compared to and integrated with the Waterways Study and the Route 62 Corridor Study that are also nearing completion.

Once these three plans have been integrated, the Northern Venango County region will have many of the tools needed to create a viable future, by balancing the needs of the region to grow, while preserving and capitalizing on the area’s outstanding natural beauty. The Waterways Plan focuses on Northern Venango’s unique natural resources, while the Route 62 Corridor Plan addresses transportation issues that are crucial to restarting the area’s economic engine.

The Comprehensive Plan takes a broader approach, as required by regulations governing Plan development, and focuses on several different areas requiring attention. Highlights are briefly described below; detailed recommendations are included in the Final Draft, which is available online, or from any one of the community offices.

Basic Philosophy

The study area is regarded as a beautiful, affordable community, as well as a safe and excellent place to raise a family. This Plan is dedicated to preserving, improving, and fostering these qualities. Therefore, the Plan’s basic philosophy is to focus first on using existing resources, second, to encourage the deliberate focus on a few of the many Plan recommendations, and third, to continue to work cooperatively as a region.

Generally, the Plan recommends that current land use patterns remain similar to those in place now. However, current zoning ordinances need to be be updated to reflect various changes to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code. And, in keeping with the Quality of Life goal, some down zoning of residential districts in Oil City is a key element. The Plan also recommends the addition of new zoning techniques, especially the option of the Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TNDs). Plan recommendations for the Oil Creek and Allegheny River areas are consistent with the special Waterways Study.

Housing Issues

Perhaps the most difficult issue addressed by the Plan is how to deal with the type, quantity, and availability of appropriate housing options. There are a number of abandoned and blighted houses in the region, and while affordability is less of an issue, alternative housing options for the 55+ market, such as assisted living facilities, or market rate apartments, are severely limited.

The Plan views the need to address housing issues as pivotal to creating a more viable future in Northern Venango County. Therefore, an overall goal is to change the area’s housing market to a stable one with reasonable costs and steady sales—one where the purchase of a home is a sound investment. A secondary goal is to provide housing options to the age 55-plus market.

Transportation

The basic framework of the area’s transportation network is sound. What is needed is its enhancement to optimize its functioning:

• Implement the Route 62 Study recommendations.
• Corridor studies for Grandview Road and selected portions of Route 8 are needed.
• Evaluate and alleviate safety concerns identified in this study.
• Preserve railroad service.
• Institute bus service to Rouseville.

Community Facilities and Services

Water
The plan is recommending that Oil City continue to work at improving its water system . Having a viable water system is vital to the region. The Plan also recommends that Rouseville continue its program of waterline replacement and conduct an evaluation of its overall system.

Sewer
Both Oil City and Rouseville need to implement their respective Act 537 Plans. Oil City has completed its first two steps and will soon enter into its monitoring phase. Once Rouseville’s 537 Plan is approved, a new plant is to be constructed. Both municipalities need to also pursue inflow and infiltration reduction programs.

Public Safety
Police: Oil City must continue to support its police department, especially its community policing and foot patrol initiatives.

Fire: At this time, the three departments have positive working relationships, and that asset should be fostered. There are individual department needs, addressed in this Plan which merit support.

Emergency Services: These services appear to be functioning well. No changes are suggested.

Parks
There are abundant recreational resources in the area that can, and do, meet local needs; and in some instances, foster tourism:

• Oil City should maintain its parks and recreational resources as noted in the Plan, and shed unused facilities. Hasson Park and the Nelles Pool deserve special support. One small neighborhood park is suggested in Oil City.
• Rouseville has an attractive park for the young. Its continuance and modest improvements are recommended.
• Existing recreational cooperation between the City, the Borough, the School District, and the YMCA must be a priority for all participants.
• Cornplanter – The Oil Creek State Park provides many recreational resources for the Township; but until the State’s budgets improve, this resource must be watched and protected.

The Plan is now yours to review and comment on. Please take part in the public participation phase of the Plan by downloading a copy of the plan to review, or contacting your community office for a copy. Please plan on attending the public meetings in the fall, once the general plan has been integrated with the Waterways Study and the Route 62 Corridor Study.

Background Study Completed: Public Meetings Coming Soon

The Northern Venango County Comprehensive Plan is now in the home stretch. The Background Study has been completed, next is a series of public meetings to be held later this Spring. Once the public meetings are completed, all of the information garnered over the last several months will be compiled into the Plan.

You can see a copy of the Background Study here, or pick up a copy from Cornplanter, Oil City, or Rouseville offices, but please, plan on attending one of the public meetings. It's at these meetings that you can provide your comments to the Consultant and to the participant community leaders.

If you take a look at the Background Study, you'll see that it's divided into several chapters: Demographics (the study of numbers as they relate to people); Land Use; Physical, Natural and Historic Resources; Housing; Community Facilities and Public Utilities; Transportation; and the Economy.

While an in-depth review of the Study is beyond the scope of this Blog, we'll provide a few brief highlights from the background study here.

Background Study Highlights

• In the 30-year period between 1970 and 2000, the study area lost nearly 20% of its population. While the pattern of change varied in this 30-year period--both Oil City (-3,529) and Rouseville (-405) lost population while Cornplanter grew (+296)--all three municipalities lost population between 1990 and 2000.
  

• The loss is happening in great part because there is an out-migration of the crucial age demographic of 20- to 34-year-olds. If this out-migration continues, there will be a decline in school enrollment and a steady erosion of the next critical age bracket, the 35 to 64 cohorts. A continued outmigration will also affect wage taxes and the real estate market, with fewer new homebuyers. Further, those over 65 will increase in number.

• The history of the region is a microcosm of the industrial revolution. Oil, refining, shipping, and support industries were the economic lifeblood of the area for over one hundred years. At one time, the population of Pithole alone was higher than the current population of the entire study area.

• Though the Oil Creek Valley, the epicenter of the oil boom, has returned largely to its rural past, many remnants of prosperous times are still visible, especially in Oil City. Therefore, there are many historic resources available to the Study communities.

• Much has been written about the quality of housing in Venango County. There can be little doubt that during economic boom times in Oil City, and to a lesser extent in Cornplanter and Rouseville, homes were built everywhere, including areas that we would now consider not appropriate for development. Many of the units built in marginal locations are no longer market attractive.


• Further, the housing stock is older, with most houses being built before 1958; there is too much of it (to many vacancies); and there are not enough of the kinds of houses buyers would prefer to purchase.

• According to economic development professionals, the County’s economy is now feeling the effects of the National recession. Generally, the area is not affected by short-term variations. However, many manufacturers are 30% to 60% behind their normal employment levels.

• Additionally, the Oil Regional Alliance has expressed its concern that some local businesses may not survive a long-term slow down. They emphasize that many of the smaller operations are subcontractors to larger operations. While these firms may not be in the immediate study area, businesses in the study area rely upon a healthy overall county/ regional economy.

It's been a long time

Sometimes the progress of a Comprehensive Plan can seem glacial. That's especially true during the background phase, where there's a lot of data gathering going on. Like most things in life, the foundation is crucial, however, to a well-crafted Plan.

Nevertheless, we're a couple of updates behind, so we'll go back a little bit in time to March, when we held our first Visioning Meeting.

Approximately 35 people from Cornplanter, Oil City, Rouseville, and throughout the County attended that first meeting, held on March 27 in Rouseville. If lively conversation and in-depth discussion are any indicator, the session was a success. Attendees identified a number of issues that they perceived as threats and weaknesses and well as strengths and opportunities.

Results were combined into several groups:

• Social issues
• Infrastructure
• Government
• Economy
• Environment (things that can't be easily changed)

And while some topics could fit several different categories, there were some general trends that are both illuminating and not surprising. First, the not surprising. The issues that were identified as weaknesses and threats were (1) very similar to those identified by community leaders as central to the Plan (e.g., substandard housing), and (2) essentially the same issues that have been on the local radar screen for a number of years. There's nothing new here.

So it is legitimate to ask, "If the problems are not different, then why are we here?"

The answer? The problems might be the same, but the approach to the problems is radically different than it was even 10 years ago. That difference is critical to the success of this process and this Plan.

The biggest, and most important, difference is that all three communities are working together to solve the area's problems. By working together, Cornplanter, Oil City and Rouseville recognize that there is strength in numbers. And the State rewards such cooperation.

Multi-municipal efforts receive additional support and greater funding opportunities--and this is critical--even if the communities remain independent of one another. Communities are not required to merge to take advantage of Shared Municipal Services grants, or to have a housing rehab program in more than one community, as two examples.

Balancing the very different needs of three communities can be challenging. And part of the process of the background development is to compare perceptions with facts, to determine what's really going on. The Visioning meeting was a way of measuring perception. But it raised more questions than it answered, which is normal and expected.

Rather than tally every negative and positive comment (they're available from the Consultant, if you wish to see them), these three primary points are clear imperatives:

1. There is a belief that the roads are in poor condition generally. Yet routes 8 and 62 are considered strengths. Why is there a discrepancy? How can it be addressed?
2. The quality of the water is a critical asset. Further, it's a two-fold asset. The municipal water supplies are considered very high quality, but the Allegheny and Oil Creek watersheds are recreational and biodiversity assets as well. The Plan will be well meshed with the Waterways study currently underway, but how can the crucial water supply asset be protected?
   
3. Recent studies have shown that many neighborhoods have substandard housing. Further, there are a number of vacant commercial buildings. What would it take to address these issues? (It should be noted that strides are being made in this area. Oil City just passed a Rental Ordinance, requiring rental units to be permitted. That's a huge step in the right direction in terms of ensuring the basic right of safe, sanitary, and secure housing for everyone.)

One other note. The Committee sent out more than 1,400 community surveys over the course of the last two months, of which 450 were returned--a huge response in the world of public opinion surveys.

We'll cover the surveys in more depth in the next update, but here's a hint, if you think you know what the surveys indicated, you're probably right--no matter which side of your neighbor's fence you're on. In other words, there are some deep splits, but not necessarily between communities. And, while there are some breathtakingly unhappy folk in Northern Venangoland, on the whole, people are concerned, yet hopeful that tomorrow will be brighter.

And we say, "It's your plan, please join us as we help you steer your community in the direction in which you want it to go."

The background phase is nearly complete and should be finished by Summer's end. The next phase then is the Plan, including the development of recommendations and action items, more public meetings, and the hammering out of proposed policies.

Visioning Meeting: March 25

As part of the planning process, the communities are holding a Visioning Meeting on Wednesday, March 25, 2009, in the Rouseville Community Center, 300 Third Avenue. The session will start at 7:00 p.m. All are encouraged to attend.

The purpose of the meeting is to develop a common vision and the guiding principles for the region. Residents and community leaders will have the opportunity to articulate what they think are the most important issues facing the region, and more importantly, to offer possible solutions.

An anonymous opinion survey will be distributed at the meeting and will be placed on line after March 25. The survey provides another opportunity for citizens to voice their opinion about issues important to the future of the region.

For more information on the meeting or to obtain a copy of the survey, contact Cathy McBride in Cornplanter Township, Rick Cook at the City of Oil City, or Julie Palmer in Rouseville.

This is YOUR opportunity to voice your opinion. Please join us!

What Exactly is a Comp Plan?

Simply put, a comprehensive plan is a snapshot of where a community has been, where it is at the present, where it wants to go, and its plan for getting there.

Developing a viable plan is much more than simply pontificating about where a community “should” be in ten or fifteen years, however. There are a number of factors that restrict or enhance (sometimes at the same time) the likelihood of certain goals and objectives becoming reality.

The terrain in Oil City, for example, is rugged, making it difficult to develop large industrial tracts. In Cornplanter, these same steep slopes can restrict building along Oil Creek. Rouseville, though, has less of an issue with steep slopes, as proven by its history of industrial development coupled with currently planned plant expansions in that community.

This simple example shows how important it is to understand the topography of an area and how that will affect planning for development. Historic land uses are nearly always shaped by the “lay of the land”. In other words, if it coulda been built there (especially during the oil boom years), it woulda been built there (or it would still be there). More important, though, the characteristic steep slopes in the area contribute to the community’s overall sense of place.

The planning effort, then, in this example, must balance the natural restrictions caused by steep slopes, the desire for growth, especially for revitalizing the local economy, and the deeply held regard many western Pennsylvanians have for “their” land.

That’s How It Works
In a nutshell, that’s how the comprehensive planning process works. Planners, steering committee members, community professionals, and everyday citizens work together to put together the puzzle, based on their own area of expertise, or interest.

The Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Code has made the process somewhat easier by identifying certain elements that must be included in a plan. In addition to determining what the community’s development goals and objectives are, there must be plans for land use, housing, transportation, and community facilities.

A comprehensive plan must also analyze how the specific elements of the plan are interrelated (how the pieces of the puzzle fit together) and how the plan is generally consistent with the county’s comprehensive plan (what’s the bigger picture). Finally, the MPC requires that there is a plan for protecting the area’s natural and historic resources, wherever possible.

While the specific plan elements help define how the final puzzle will look, they still need to be sorted into cohesive components. This is the “legwork” phase. Data are gathered and analyzed and meetings are held with local leaders and citizens to gauge what’s important to each community. There are problem-solving sessions and strategy meetings. A community survey may be developed and other plans will be evaluated. Trends from the past will be reviewed and reviewed again to pinpoint the present and gauge the future. And eventually, one-step-at-a-time, a logical, hopefully workable plan emerges that will help each community move from where it is now, to where it would like to be in the future.

Welcome!

This is the first posting of the blog for Northern Venango County Comprehensive Plan. The NV comp plan serves the communities of Cornplanter Township, the city of Oil City, and Rouseville Borough, in beautiful, northern Venango County Pennsylvania.

The three communities have undertaken a comprehensive plan to address a number of issues in the region and to plan for their futures together, rather than separately.

As citizens of these communities, this is your comprehensive plan, too. We welcome your constructive suggestions, ideas, and thoughts. Together, we can make a difference in our beautiful corner of the world. In particular, we welcome links to planning ideas that you think are interesting and innovative.

Or, better yet, why not get involved? Please join us at the second steering committee meeting on Tuesday, February 24, at 4:00 p.m. in the Oil City Council Chambers. Committee meetings will be held the fourth Tuesday of every month throughout the planning process (through June 2010).

Steering Committee Members
These are steering committee members from each community:

Cornplanter

• Karl Hohmann
• Nick Melnick
• Catherine McBride, Township Secretary

Oil City

• Dick Baker
• Michael Morrison
• Rick Cook, Zoning Officer
• Janet Gatesman, Community Development Director

Rouseville

• Harold Lamb
• Robert Steffee
• Judy Somerville, Borough Secretary

Venango County Regional Planning Commission

• Judy Downs, Director

In later posts, we'll explain how the planning process works. Meanwhile, please let us know what you think.