Communities in Blair County will now have guidance on how to protect their region’s natural resources in the face of new commercial and residential development.

On June 7, representatives from seven municipalities, local engineers, local builders, environmental groups and government agencies released the "Recommended Model Development Principles for Blair County, Pennsylvania – Consensus of the Local Site Planning Roundtable."

This guidance document is the result of a 12-month roundtable consensus process to revise local building regulations to promote development that is sensitive to the area’s watershed resources.

The report includes a series of recommended changes to subdivision and land development and zoning regulations that will better manage stormwater, preserve and enhance existing natural areas, and reduce pollution in the streams that ultimately reach the Chesapeake Bay.

This roundtable is the latest in a series of roundtable efforts called Builders for the Bay. Established in 2001 by the Center for Watershed Protection, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and the National Association of Home Builders, Builders for the Bay roundtables are designed to promote sound land use development throughout the Bay watershed.

The timing for this process in Blair County is crucial as improvements to Interstate 99 in the northern region of the county will bring additional growth and development along this corridor in the near future.

Reliance on small reservoirs for public water supplies makes protecting the recharge area to these supplies an important consideration in land use planning and development. Builders for the Bay facilitators worked with Allegheny, Blair, Frankstown, Logan and Snyder townships, boroughs of Duncansville and Hollidaysburg, Blair County Builders Association and representatives from local conservation and planning organizations to:

· Adapt national model development principals to local development codes and ordinances;

· Examine changes and recommendations that would increase flexibility in site design standards; and

· Foster development that better protects environmental resources while remaining economically viable for the development community.

“A key element in these roundtables is the educational value,” explains Pat Devlin, director of Policy and Protection for the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. Diverse stakeholders such as developers, environmental organizations, landscape architects, zoning officials, conservation districts, fire officials and builders benefit from a rare opportunity to come together and discuss changes that will benefit their own communities.

“Once the members talk through the issues related to site design and site plan reviews, they more often than not come to agreement on how local ordinances can be changes to both protect local water quality and produce a marketable product.”

According to Bob Buddenbohn, executive officer of the Blair County Builders Association, the recommendations “are environmentally-friendly and seek to conserve the natural resources that are valued by all Blair Countians. At the same time, the recommendations offer builders, developers and engineers practical and cost-effective options that result in low impact development.

When implemented, some of the recommendations might actually result in reduced development costs, which can translate into a more affordable home for new buyers. The roundtable should be congratulated for producing a set of recommendations in which everyone is the winner!"

The Blair County Builders for the Bay roundtable was made possible by the generous support of the Chesapeake Bay Program, Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants Program through the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, and the Western Pennsylvania Watershed Program.

Copies of the consensus guidelines are available online.

For more information, visit the Pennsylvania webpage for Builders for the Bay or contact the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, 3310 Market Street, Suite A, Camp Hill, PA 17011; telephone 717-737-8622; or send e-mail to: pdevlin@acb-online.org

7/28/2006