Lancaster County PA Funding 'Smart Growth' Projects

The Lancaster County commissioners want to see land developed, but they don't want to see sprawl. And they don't want that development to consume valuable natural areas or productive farmland.

Wednesday, the commissioners are expected to announce at their weekly meeting three new Smart Growth funding programs totaling $4.5 million this year for urban development and the preservation of natural areas and farmland. The new programs include:

• The Urban Enhancement Fund would provide grants for projects such as the reuse of former factory and warehouse buildings in urban areas around the county.
• The Natural Lands Preservation Fund would provide matching funds to the Lancaster County Conservancy to preserve primarily undeveloped woodlands.
• The Farmland Preservation Fund would provide funds to Lancaster Farmland Trust to preserve farmland that would not otherwise be preserved by the county's Agricultural Preserve Board.

The total $12.5 million in funding is half the $25 million bond issue the commissioners expect to approve within a month. The other half will be spent in 2007 on the same programs. http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/21789