Lower Merion's Comprehensive Plan Update Links of Interest Hyperlinks to other plans, resources and reading material

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP OPEN SPACE & ENVIRONMENT RESOURCE PROTECTION PLAN

Adopted in 2005, Lower Merion Township’s Open Space & Environmental Resource Protection Plan is currently being implemented and will be revisited in tandem with the comprehensive planning process.

OSP Introduction 

COUNTY AND REGIONAL PLANNING

Montgomery County Comprehensive Plan (2005)
Montgomery County adopted their most recent comprehensive plan in 2005 and urges all municipalities within the county to
https://www.montcopa.org/490/Planning-Commission

Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC)
Since 1965, DVRPC has served as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Delaware Valley region with a mission to provide “proactively shape a comprehensive vision for the region's future growth.” This nine-county region includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties in Pennsylvania; and Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Mercer in New Jersey.
http://www.dvrpc.org/


PLANNING IN NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES

Radnor Township
Radnor Township adopted their most recent comprehensive plan in 2003. The plan is available for download as PDF files. The mission of the plan is “To maintain the excellent quality of life in Radnor Township, preserving the community and its character even as essential changes are accommodated.”
https://www.radnor.com/home

Whitemarsh Township
Whitemarsh Township adopted their most recent comprehensive plan in 2003. The plan is available for download as PDF files. The Township worked with the Whitemarsh Township Residents Association (WTRA) to incorporate a more open space conservation orientation of the plan.
http://www.whitemarshtwp.org/261/2003-Comprehensive-Plan

Philadelphia City Planning Commission
The City of Philadelphia is in the process of updating its comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance.
https://www.phila.gov/cityplanning/Pages/default.aspx

Upper Merion Township
Upper Merion Township is in the process of updating its comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance.
https://www.umtownship.org/departments/public-works/planning-and-development/

Narberth Borough
http://www.narberthborough.com/

Haverford Township
http://www.haverfordtownship.com/

West Conshohocken Borough
http://www.westconshohockenborough.com/

Conshohocken Borough
http://www.conshohockenpa.gov/


ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC): Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/us-green-building-councils-leadership-energy-and-environmental-design-leedr

Delaware Valley Green Building Council
http://www.dvgbc.org/


PLANNING RESOURCES

10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania
10,000 Friends is an alliance of advocates committed to revitalizing our cities, boroughs, and older suburbs; preserving our farmland and rural resource lands; conserving our natural, heritage and fiscal resources; and improving the quality of life for all Pennsylvanians. Their web site has many informative reports and information about educational events throughout the Commonwealth.
http://www.10000friends.org/

Sustainable Communities Network
http://www.sustainable.org/

American Planning Association (APA)
http://www.planning.org

Pennsylvania Planning Association (PPA)
http://www.planningpa.org/

American Planning Association (APA) National Community Planning Month
https://www.planning.org/ncpm/

Project for Public Spaces
http://www.pps.org/

Smart Growth America
http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/

Planetizen
http://www.planetizen.com/

Congress for the New Urbanism
http://www.cnu.org/

Creative Class
http://creativeclass.com/

The Brookings Institution: Metropolitan Policy Program
https://www.brookings.edu/about-the-metropolitan-policy-program/

Back to Prosperity: A Competitive Agenda for Renewing Pennsylvania
https://www.brookings.edu/on-the-record/back-to-prosperity-a-competitive-agenda-for-renewing-pennsylvania-2/


HISTORIC PRESERVATION

Lower Merion Conservancy
http://www.lmconservancy.org/

Lower Merion Historical Society
http://www.lowermerionhistory.org/

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/

National Trust for Historic Preservation
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/


RECOMMENDED READINGS

These essential readings are available online as PDF files:

Back to Prosperity: A Competitive Agenda for Renewing Pennsylvania
The Brookings Institution
https://www.brookings.edu/on-the-record/back-to-prosperity-a-competitive-agenda-for-renewing-pennsylvania-2/

These titles are available at your local public library or bookstore:

Save Our Land, Save Our Towns
Thomas Hylton
http://www.saveourlandsaveourtowns.org/index.html

The Last Harvest: How a Cornfield Became New Daleville: Real Estate Development in America from George Washington to the Builders of the Twenty-first Century, and Why We Live in Houses Anyway
Witold Rybczynski

Geography of Nowhere and Home from Nowhere
James Howard Kunstler
https://kunstler.com/books/the-geography-of-nowhere/

The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Jane Jacobs

Silent Spring
Rachel Carson

 

The 1979, 1954 and 1937 Comprehensive Plans have been either scanned to PDF or converted to HTML and can be found at Previous Comprehensive Plans. Lower Merion's Comprehensive Plan Update Process