LAWRENCE COUNTY 8 meetings to detail comprehensive plan

The comprehensive plan was last updated in 1977.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawrence County residents will be able to catch a glimpse of the future.
Eight meetings are planned to present the goals and objectives in the county's proposed comprehensive plan, said James Gagliano, Lawrence County planning director.
A comprehensive plan is a blueprint that the county will use for development and preservation, he said.
County officials have been working on the plan for the last two years and it is slated to be formally adopted by the commissioners this summer, Gagliano added.
Lawrence County last updated its comprehensive plan in 1977.
The comprehensive plan divides the county into eight sections which follow the geographical area of the county's eight school districts, he said.
Last year, county planners held a series of public meetings to get input for the plan, but they were not well attended.
A total of 37 people attended eight meetings and 700 people responded to a written survey mailed to 27,000 households, Gagliano said.
The comprehensive plan will directly affect zoning laws in each municipality, the planning director said. Gagliano said boroughs and townships must change zoning laws to match the county's plan, after it has been formally adopted.
Purpose of meetings
Gagliano said the upcoming meetings are meant to find out if residents agree with the goals and objectives set in the preliminary plan. Revisions to the plan are still possible if there is enough public input, he said.
Gagliano noted that the plan outlines various uses for various parts of the county. It includes targeting portions of the county for retail space, new residential homes or land preservation.
"The goal of the plan is to set out what the county is going to look like 10 years down the road," Gagliano said.