What is a Comprehensive Plan?
A comprehensive plan is a long-range document that serves as a guide for land use decision making. It is a statement of the township's vision of the future to be used by residents, the Nockamixon Township Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, private and public stakeholders, and governmental agencies.
Preparing a comprehensive plan serves two important functions:
1. Vision for the Future
The planning process allows officials and residents to freely discuss what the future of the township should and could be. This discussion needs to be grounded in facts about the current conditions, and elevated by the aspirations of community members about what the character and quality of the community should be.
2. Decision Making & Guidance
The plan will form the basis for decision making and priority setting for local codes and ordinances. Guidance will be provided in critical areas of community development, community preservation, and quality of life.
Why is Nockamixon Updating its Plan?
Nockamixon
Township is a rural community in Upper Bucks County that is bordered by six
municipalities. This historically agricultural region with significant amounts
of open space and natural resources spans across the northeastern portion of
the county and connects to the Delaware River. This landscape largely reflects
its heritage and defines its present-day identity. In order to continue to
foster this image of the community, the township has decided to update its
comprehensive plan.
The township's first comprehensive plan was adopted in 1967, and was then updated in 1988, with the most recent update in 2005. The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (PaMPC) recommends that municipal comprehensive plans be updated every ten years.
Staff of the Bucks County Planning Commission will assist the Nockamixon Township Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors in reviewing and updating the 2005 plan to continue to foster this image of the township.