Growth was a regional reality in 2006

Municipalities take steps to manage it

By TOM KANE

SULLIVAN, WAYNE AND PIKE COUNTIES - Four years ago, when the Visioning Committee of the Upper Delaware River Valley Corridor was formed, those who founded it said that the committee would work to help prepare for future growth.

“What future growth?” was the response of many local municipal officials in Sullivan, Pike and Wayne counties. “We’re not going to experience growth. We’re too far out into the boondocks to have growth anytime soon.”

Ha! Pike County is the fastest growing county in Pennsylvania.

Plans have been announced to build 5,000 units in a development near the Mountain Laurel Performing Arts Center in Lehman Township, PA.

This year, a development called Milford Hills outside of Milford, PA opened with plans to develop many more units. Also, in Pike, a series of big box stores opened up along Route 209 between Milford and Matamoras-an extension on the Wal-Mart Store, a Lowe’s Store, a Staples store and several other retail franchises.

In Wayne County, a developer who bought 1,000 acres in Tyler Hill, PA last year has come forward with a plan to build 500 homes along a sleepy county road-Route 371- complete with a golf course.

In Sullivan County, a builder is constructing a 500-unit development in Hurleyville, NY and another is beginning to construct roads along Kenoza Lake, NY for a development there.

Also, in Bethel, NY, the performing arts center, Bethel Woods, opened and has successfully completed its first season to rave reviews from national music critics. It will bring in first-rate national performers, both classical and popular, who are already attracting crowds from areas that are located within a radius of 100 miles.

No future growth, indeed!

Most municipalities, if not all, are beginning to address the challenge of growth.

In Pike, there has been a two-year study to produce a countywide comprehensive plan that will manage growth, protect open space and encourage townships to develop their own comprehensive plans.

Several Pennsylvania townships in Pike and in Wayne are working on multi-municipal, or regional, comprehensive plans. Those townships are Shohola and Lackawaxen in Pike and Damascus, Oregon and Manchester in Wayne.

Voters in Pike agreed to a $10 million bond issue to purchase open space and to support the efforts of the local planning department in their efforts to assist townships to plan for the growth that is happening there.

Most towns in Sullivan County have either updated their comprehensive plans and zoning codes, or are in the process of doing so.

These are just a few examples of growth that happened this year. It shows no signs of stopping.