[MA-RPC] FW: Development in Cumberland Valley

[Hal Wright]

I attended a Lehigh/Northampton Counties Greenways Committee meeting  
as an alternate for our normal committee member (Janet Goloub). There  
were many maps posted on the walls at this meeting which would prove  
valuable in being proactive about curbing development and preserving  
open space. Unfortunately, I am not a resident of either of these  
counties. But is residency required to attend and gather information  
as a representative of the ATC?

As a minimum, I can liaise with Janet and keep abreast of what is  
happening.

The other roadblock in this case is that the meetings are at 3:00 pm  
rather than in the evening.

In general though, keying on Walt's comments about being a  
decisionmaker rather than passively listening in, could we make the  
case that the ATC is a stakeholder and as such should be represented  
in municipal decision-making bodies, be it in committee or other  
formats? I will discuss with Janet how it came to pass that our club  
ended up with a seat on the Greenways Committee.

Regarding direct outreach to property owners, Walt, I would be  
interested in what your pitch sounds like, and what sort of reactions  
you have gotten to it (if that question is not premature).


On Aug 2, 2005, at 11:47 PM, Walt Daniels wrote:

>
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: James Hooper [mailto:james.hooper at worldnet.att.net]
>> Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 8:17 PM
>> To: Kerry Snow
>> Cc: 'Walt Daniels'; 'MARPC list'
>> Subject: Re: [MA-RPC] FW: Development in Cumberland Valley
>>
>> In Pa. it is very hard to stop developments except by using
>> the tools of Zoning or purchasing the development rights.
>> Waiting until there is a problem is too late.  To handle the
>> zoning one needs to have someone attending the township
>> meetings that is from the township.
>>
>
> Attending township meetings is key to knowing what is going on. But  
> even
> this is too late in many cases. Zoning is fairly static - it rarely  
> changes
> except when towns change their master plans or in some cases spot  
> zoning of
> particular tracts. The latter require the eyes and ears to catch and
> complain. Just attending is not as effective as being on the town
> committees.
>
> What pays much bigger dividends is examining all parcels within  
> earshot (PA)
> or eyesight and rating them on a scale so they can be prioritized.  
> Then
> start talking to the high priority owners even before they think of  
> talking
> to a developer. This is nontrivial! I am working on it for my town as
> cochair of its openspace committee.
>
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