SVM MIS/DEIS - 5.2 Land Use / Zoning

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5. Affected Environment and Consequences
5.2 Land Use / Zoning

5.2 LAND USE / ZONING

5.2.1 REGULATORY SETTING

There are no federal or state regulations that govern land use, planning, or zoning in the Schuylkill Valley Metro corridor. The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (P.L. 805, No. 247, Act of 1968 as re-enacted and amended) empowers municipalities to plan for, and to govern land use development by enacting zoning, subdivision, and land development ordinances. In Pennsylvania, municipalities are not required to enact comprehensive plans.

5.2.2 METHODOLOGY

Baseline land use data were acquired from the following sources: Berks County existing land use mapping, Berks County property tax data, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) existing land use data and mapping, Berks County aerial photography, DVRPC aerial photography, MIS/DEIS aerial photography and mapping, photographic inventory of selected sites, and on-site visual inspections. Existing zoning and planning documents and initiatives were identified at state, region, county, and municipal levels for the four counties and 52 municipalities within the SVM corridor. An inventory of resource documents was compiled including: municipal comprehensive plans, municipal zoning ordinances, county comprehensive plans, and other special development plans relating to land use. Existing land uses and zones were identified at the regional, county, municipal, and station-area levels as illustrated in Exhibit 5.2-1 Existing Planning and Zoning Documents [PDF]. Ordinances and plans were reviewed and analyzed for potential conflicts with proposed actions. The land use and zoning data were incorporated into the project GIS database to display existing land use and zoning conditions within the corridor municipalities and station areas. Land use impacts were considered "direct" if a proposed action would result in a change of the land use classification on that affected site. Indirect impacts were considered to be changes that may occur to adjacent land uses from proposed actions. Negative and positive impacts were identified and evaluated. Mitigation options were identified for significant negative impacts.

Comprehensive plans have been enacted in 46 of the 52 municipalities within the SVM corridor. All four counties in the SVM corridor have developed comprehensive planning documents. Two Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) within the SVM corridor (DVRPC and Berks County Planning Commission [BCPC]) help direct orderly development within the corridor. The MPOs also review and recommend local applications for transportation improvements to the state review committee. Among many other planning documents, DVRPC worked with Montgomery County to produce the US Route 422 Corridor Development Potential and Growth Management Strategies study of 1992. This plan was a precursor to the SVM Feasibility Study that investigated a transit system between Montgomery County and Reading, parallel to the Schuylkill River within the US Route 422 corridor. Within the SVM corridor, 51 of the 52 municipalities have enacted zoning ordinances.

A TEA-21 program grant includes transit-oriented development (TOD) planning for five model communities within the SVM corridor. DVRPC will work in cooperation with the four county planning commissions, municipalities and consultants to focus on planning and re-zoning station areas to meet the needs of each local community. Plans for economic redevelopment are in various stages within several municipalities identified to receive SVM service. Station areas with development "vision" plans include 52^nd Street, City Avenue "Special Services District" (Bala Station Area), Manayunk, Norristown, Phoenixville, Pottstown, and Reading.

5.2.3 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES AND MITIGATION

The SVM Corridor was defined to include the entire area of every municipality traversed by the proposed alignment, or having any boundary within one mile from the proposed alignment, or in the Reading area, all municipalities constituting the Reading suburbs. Land uses are described below for counties and municipalities.

5.2.3.1 EXISTING LAND USE - COUNTIES

The SVM Corridor contains land uses ranging from multi-family residential and industrial to agriculture and wooded. Existing land uses within the SVM Corridor for Philadelphia, Montgomery, Chester, and Berks Counties are displayed in Exhibit 5.2-2 County Land Use Maps [PDF]. These maps also delineate the corridor municipalities and the SVM alignment. DVRPC's 1995 land use data (Philadelphia, Montgomery and Chester counties) was obtained directly from a GIS file. Berks County land use was derived from 1998-99 tax parcel records. DVRPC and Berks County use different land use classification systems.

5.2.3.2 EXISTING LAND USE - MUNICIPALITIES

Exhibit 5.2-3 Existing Municipal Land Use [PDF] displays acreage and percentages for each type of land area in each municipality within the SVM corridor. These data are derived from the county land use data sources. Cities and boroughs within the corridor have generally similar land use patterns, including relatively high percentages of residential and commercial/services land uses. Townships from Lower Providence west to Exeter also have generally similar land use patterns that include relatively high percentages of farm/rural/wooded land. Townships east of Lower Providence all tend to have a wide mix of land uses including high percentages of residential land uses.

5.2.3.3 EXISTING LAND USE - ALIGNMENT

More than 97% of the alignment consists of active or inactive railroad right-of-way. The alignment passes adjacent to every type of land use in the corridor; however, most industrial land uses are clustered along the alignment owing to its historic role as a rail corridor. Adjacent industrial uses are mostly in the older boroughs in the corridor. In the more rural townships most adjacent land use is a mixture of open space, agricultural, and residential.

5.2.3.4 EXISTING LAND USE AND ZONING - STATION AREAS

Existing land uses within a one-quarter mile radius (encompassing 125 acres) of each proposed station site, are tabulated in Exhibit 5.2-3 Existing Municipal Land Use [PDF] and mapped in Exhibit 5.2-5 Zoning and Land Use Maps [PDF]. (Note: Exhibits do not include the following stations on SEPTA's R6 Norristown line - Manayunk, Wissahickon, East Falls, Allegheny, and Broad Street - and Market East, Suburban and 30^th Street, as no major changes associated with this project are anticipated at these stations. Zoning information and maps for these areas are provided in Exhibit 5.2-4 Zoning at Proposed Station Areas [PDF] and Exhibit 5.2-5 Zoning and Land Use Maps [PDF]. All station locations along SEPTA's R6 regional rail lines have nearby land uses and zoning generally consistent with rail transportation. Proposed new station locations at First Avenue, King of Prussia, Oaks, Royersford, Pottstown, downtown Reading (BARTA ITF), Outer Station and Wyomissing are either in urban locations where there was once an active passenger station or in urban areas with uses and zoning consistent with stations and station related development. Land uses within one-quarter mile of station locations are generally mixtures of residential, commercial, and industrial (see Table 5.2-1). Municipal zoning is generally consistent with these uses. Vacant land is generally zoned for residential, commercial or industrial development. Station locations having substantial existing land uses in categories other than residential, commercial and/or industrial are highlighted below:

Exeter - Recent conversion from agricultural to light industry. Remaining undeveloped land zoned industrial.

Douglassville - Rapidly developing area converting to commercial uses. Much of land south of tracks protected from development.

Lower Pottsgrove - Vacant land zoned for industrial and commercial.

Limerick (Linfield) - Station area included large private recreation (ballfields) area zoned residential.

Phoenixville - Large vacant parcel, formerly industrial, zoned for commercial and high density residential development

Perkiomen Junction - Remaining wooded and formerly farmed areas zoned industrial.

Port Kennedy - Includes large vacant area, formerly industrial facility and industrial waste landfill, zoned for mixed metropolitan development. Large, high-rise condominium/apartment complex next to station area.

52^nd Street (Philadelphia) - Includes large vacant area zoned industrial.

Zoo (Philadelphia) - Philadelphia Zoo and Fairmount Park occupy majority of area.

Art Museum, Rodin (Philadelphia) - Fairmount Park and cultural institutions occupy large portions of nearby area.

Thirteen of the forty-one station locations are identified to have joint development opportunities that could benefit transit agencies, private businesses, and municipalities. Examples of such opportunities include: Royersford existing station adaptive re-use; a Park-and-Ride/Recreational Facility at Limerick; a pedestrian overpass/entryway to the Vanity Fair Outlets at Wyomissing; and an intermodal commercial/residential/recreational hub at Port Kennedy.

5.2.3.5 CONSEQUENCES AND MITIGATION - NO-BUILD

The land use impacts resulting from a No-Build Alternative would be indirect. Given the current trends in land use within the region, development will continue to cause increases in highway traffic and congestion.

No mitigation measures would be required for the No-Build Alternative because there would not be any new right-of-way acquisitions or impacts to existing land use.

5.2.3.6 CONSEQUENCES AND MITIGATION - TSM

The TSM Alternative will result in a minor impact to existing land use west of Norristown. The TSM Alternative will change the existing "vacant" land use at Port Kennedy, the proposed site of a major station and bus transfer point. The new station will be accessed via a new entry road from a re-aligned Route 23 in the Mancill Mill area. The new road and station will be consistent with the nearby high-rise residential and other existing land uses. The TSM Alternative will require the conversion of vacant land adjacent to US Route 422 to park-and-ride facilities.

5.2.3.7 CONSEQUENCES AND MITIGATION - BUILD ALTERNATIVES

The alignment was conceived to use existing railroad rights-of-way to minimize impacts on land use. Due to the use of existing railroad right-of-way, footprint construction will not create fundamental, new land use impacts along the alignment. This also applies to alignment sections from Port Kennedy to King of Prussia Mall, King of Prussia Mall to South Gulph Road Station, or the Philadelphia Zoo Station area, as these alignment sections traverse commercial and industrial areas without disrupting facilities or roadways. Proposed station locations west of Norristown are generally consistent with land use and zoning within the area of each station and the surrounding area. Review of Exhibit 5.2-5 Zoning and Land Use Maps - Lower Pottsgrove Station and Limerick Station, Sheet 4 [PDF], shows one proposed station area that is inconsistent with zoning and current land use. The proposed Limerick Station area is located within a private recreational facility. Potential mitigation includes a partial acquisition and reconfiguration of the ballfield area.