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Municipal Implementation Tools

An ongoing series of "implementation tool" brochures are available to assist municipal authorities in implementing the region's long range plan.

	Horizons 2025 Implementation: Municipal Tools and Techniques [491 KB .pdf] Read an overview of municipal tools addressing such topics as Land Use, Economic Development, Natural Resource Preservation, Historic Preservation, Transportation, and Multi-Municipal Cooperation.
Municipal Implementation Tool #1: Transit-Oriented Development [1.2 MB .pdf] Transit-oriented development (TOD) techniques recognize the importance of the rail or bus station to a community, and try to shape surrounding growth or redevelopment to better serve residents, commuters, and visitors.
	Municipal Implementation Tool #2: Main Street Programs and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) [.pdf \| 433k] This brochure is designed to inform municipalities about the National Main Street Program as well as Business Improvements Districts as tools for development and redevelopment within your local municipality or county.
Municipal Implementation Tool #3: Multi-Municipal Planning [680k .pdf] This brochure is the third in a series of brochures being published in support of the region's long-range plan, Horizons 2025. The plan specifically seeks to encourage core city revitalization, stabilization of older boroughs and townships and growth management in surrounding suburbs, and preservation of rural communities and natural areas.
	Municipal Implementation Tool #4: Residential Infill Development [768K .pdf] Infill development is the recycling of vacant or underutilized land within cities and suburbs. Virtually every community has these types of properties, ranging from single, isolated parcels to surface parking lots to abandoned shopping development. This brochure outlines how infill development can be used a smart growth tool to help older communities bridge the gaps neighborhoods while playing an important role in community revitalization and land development.
Municipal Implementation Tool #5: Impact Fees [751k .pdf] As cities and communities grow, the demands on the infrastructure and the costs to maintain or expand that infrastructure rise. Historically, the government funded infrastructure improvements because of its public purpose. However, due to rising cots, the funding stream for these capital improvements has dwindled and communities must find innovative ways to finance development. Local officials face the challenge of finding creative and equitable ways of funding infrastructure through methods such as impact fees, special taxing districts, and tax increment financing. This brochure provides a national perspective on impact fees and issues regarding their usage in New Jersey and Pennsylvania as a means to support new growth.
	Municipal Implementation Tool #6: Parking Management Strategies [656k .pdf] This brochure is the sixth in a series of "implementation tools" brochures based on the recommendations in Horizons 2025, the region's long-range plan, prepared and adopted by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC). This brochure covers basic strategies to balance the supply and demand of parking. Many cities and towns do not address parking beyond the implementation of minimum parking requirements, and often opt for supplying too much parking over too little. Learning to better manage the existing parking supply, while also adopting strategies to reduce parking demand, can create better communities in the region.
Municipal Implementation Tool #7: Historic Preservation [582k .pdf] This brochure is the seventh in a series of "implementation tools" brochures based on the recommendations in Horizons 2025, the region's long-range plan, prepared and adopted by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC). This brochure provides information on historic preservation at the federal, state, and local levels. The Delaware Valley is home to some of the nation's most celebrated and significant historic resources. By protecting, preserving and encouraging the use and reuse of their historic resources, municipalities can maximize efficient use of their existing infrastructure, curb sprawling development patterns, and help to create a unique local identity.
	Municipal Implementation Tool #8: Transfer of Development Rights [532k .pdf] Protecting valuable agricultural and environmentally sensitive land is an important, yet daunting task. Developers offer attractive incentives for open spaces and leave farmers and communities few options. Without protection, this kind of sprawl could consume all the remaining open space in the region. Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) is a tool municipal officials can use to conserve high-value agricultural land, environmentally sensitive areas and recreational areas by shifting development to areas where growth is appropriate - all while providing just compensation to land owners for new development.
Municipal Implementation Tool #9: Inclusionary Zoning [705k .pdf] This brochure is part of a series published by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) in support of the region's adopted long-range plan, Destination 2030. The Plan provides an integrated land-use and transportation vision for the region's growth and development through the year 2030. It specifically seeks to encourage core-city revitalization, stabilization of older townships and boroughs, growth management in growing suburbs, and preservation of rural communities and natural areas. In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, townships, boroughs, and cities have the primary authority and responsibility to implement these policies. These brochures introduce local officials and citizens to planning tools that may be useful in their communities, and provide some options for local action.
	Municipal Implementation Tool #10: Reclaiming Brownfields [256k .pdf] The Delaware Valley region is home to hundreds of previously developed, underutilized properties that may be classified as brownfields. Many of these sites are located near rail lines, established commercial areas, and major highways - ideal settings for many forms of new development. In addition to maintaining an environmental planning practice, DVRPC has published several reports that advocate for the clean-up and reuse of brownfield properties as a means of supporting community revitalization and infill construction strategies.
Municipal Implementation Tool #11: Traffic Calming [608k .pdf] Traffic calming is a Context Sensitive Solution (CSS) that uses mainly physical measures to alter driver behavior in order to fit the surrounding context. This brochure explains traffic calming techniques at a variety of levels, from engineering solutions to education campaigns and increased police enforcement . At the policy level, regulatory tools can be tailored to increase transportation choices and access.
	Municipal Implementation Tool #12: Aging in Place [697k .pdf] "Aging in Place" refers to the process of staying in one's own home for as long as possible while growing older and facing changing personal and physical needs. Supporting seniors who intend to remain in their suburban homes as they age in place is a multi-dimensional challenge requiring a multi-faceted solution. By planning and preparing for the future before a majority of the baby boomers reach retirement age, municipalities can work towards making their communities more attractive, livable and affordable places for both young and old alike.
Municipal Implementation Tool #13: Form Based Codes for Big-Box Retail [779k .pdf] When left unregulated, big-box retail promotes sprawling, automobile-oriented development that lacks bicycle, pedestrian, or transit accommodations. As big-box retail becomes increasingly common, this issue must be addressed. Creating better designs can revitalize older communities and provide new areas with a stronger sense of place. Form-based codes can assist in this process and help to preserve the diverse and unique character of all communities in the Delaware Valley.
	Municipal Implementation Tool #14: Safe Routes to School [469k .pdf] Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a program that encourages and enables children to safely walk or bicycle to school. SRTS promotes a healthy and active lifestyle while reducing traffic, pollution, and fuel consumption, and improving safety in the vicinity of schools. This brochure demonstrates how to prepare an SRTS Action Plan, provides examples of SRTS projects in the Delaware Valley, and describes regional and state resources related to SRTS.