Destination Erie: A Regional Vision

Free Public Workshops to be held October 1st and 2nd

ERIE, Pa., September 12, 2012 — Destination Erie: A Regional Vision is an action plan for our future, designed with broad public participation to create a vision and a strategy to meet the region’s economic, educational, social and environmental challenges of the 21st century.

In order to create smart sustainable growth for our region we are coming together as a community to create a regional vision - the cornerstone from which an action plan will be developed. To help with this process, Wallace Roberts & Todd (WRT), one of the county’s leading planning firms has been retained to facilitate and develop public workshops to maximize the engagement and participation of the members throughout the five county regions. This shared vision, along with input gathered as part of the remaining outreach efforts, forms the basis of the Sustainable Development Plan. 

HERE IS HOW: We will host 4 rounds of public workshops in various locations throughout Erie County over the next 2 and half years inviting community participation and input on the strengths and challenges facing municipalities and the region. Recognizing the aspirations of the County allows for a common starting point for all future actions to be established.
The first round of Public Workshops will be held from 6:30PM to 8:30PM on October 1, 2012 and October 2, 2012. Citizen involvement in these sessions is vital to charting the course that will map our Action Plan for a sustainable community. Please note, two locations have been selected to maximize public input from all geographic areas of our region.  You need only to attend one presentation. Destination Erie: A Regional Vision Public Workshop (1)

Date:           Monday, October 1, 2012

Location:      Penn State Behrend-McGarvey Hall
Reed Union Bldg., 4701 College Drive, Erie PA 16563

Time:           6:30PM to 8:30PM

OR

Destination Erie: A Regional Vision Public Workshop (2)
Date:           Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Location:      Edinboro University of PA – Multi Purpose Rooms A & B
Edinboro PA, 16444

Time:           6:30PM to 8:30PM

Learn More & RSVP Online: www.planerieregion.com

BACKGROUND:

In December 2011, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Regional Administrator Jane C. W. Vincent announced the County of Erie as one of the recipients of the 2011 Sustainable Communities Grants.

Erie County is one of 29 regions throughout the nation that received a Regional Planning grant. The $1.8 million dollar grant is being used to develop the Destination Erie: A Regional Vision action plan for Sustainable Development. The goal of the Sustainable Communities grants is to support communities and regions to improve their economic competitiveness by connecting housing with good jobs, quality schools and transportation.

The five county (Erie, Crawford, Warren, Chautauqua, and Ashtabula), 72 member Destination Erie Consortium has been created to collaborate with local and regional governments, regional planning agencies, and nonprofit/private sector organizations to commit to planning for a more competitive and prosperous future for the Erie region through the development and implementation of a Regional Plan for Sustainable Development (RPSD).

Work groups have been developed within the Consortium and are open for public participation: Transportation and Infrastructure; Environment; Community Facilities; Economy and Workforce Development; Housing and Neighborhoods; and the Community Engagement Task Force. These work groups provide an opportunity for people throughout the region to get involved in the planning process. Work group meetings will be structured around the major decision points, including community forums and strategy and action plan development. The working groups are organized around the themes of the HUD regional planning grants and address related topics required by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Code for comprehensive plans.

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