Check out the Chester County Planning Commission’s latest design guide — the fifth in a series of six guides to support the county’s designated landscape categories. The new guide features design elements for development within the county’s rural landscapes.
As a rural resource area for Chester County, the vision for the rural landscape is the preservation of significant areas of open space, critical natural areas, and cultural resources, with a limited amount of context sensitive development permitted to accommodate residential and farm needs.
In terms of planning principles, the guide identifies growth outlook, preservation focus, land use patterns, and infrastructure as the key themes, while the design elements include building character, site amenities, and transportation. Each topic includes examples and supportive policies, as well as considerations and online resources.
CCPC’s design guides are intended to be used by developers, design professionals, community members, municipal attorneys, elected officials, administrative staff, engineers, planners, businesses, county planning commission members/staff, and the public, as these community members plays an important role in ensuring that new development fits within its context and contributes to the livability of Chester County’s rural landscapes.
The purpose of this guide is to:
• Promote the preservation of open space
• Promote interconnected greenways and wildlife and other natural corridors
• Promote development with compatible rural character
• Protect agricultural activity and prime farmland
• Protect and restore the environment
The design elements in this guide are focused on the maintenance of a low density development pattern and conservation of agricultural lands and sensitive environmental resources.
See the plan here.
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