Wednesday night, Tyrone residents and other interested parties will have their crack at learning more about Tyrone Borough’s efforts to formulate a comprehensive plan.
The borough has been working on the comprehensive plan for about a year.
The workshop scheduled for tomorrow is one of many tools being used by the borough to create the comprehensive plan, which is designed to evaluate housing stock, infrastructure, demographics, education facilities as well as parks and recreation.
The borough hasn’t updated its plan in more than 30 years. The borough had been advised most such plans are good for only about a 10-year-period. The borough is using grant money from the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development and matching funds from its planning and zoning budget to fund the comprehensive plan update. The borough’s grant from the DCED was for $20,100 and Tyrone’s matching funds are $18,900.
Borough officials have cited the eventual completion of I-99 to State College as one reason such a plan is needed. The plan will include information from one that was recently done in Snyder Township as well as a countywide plan. The borough is also looking to update its 1983 zoning ordinance.
Tomorrow’s workshop has been scheduled to review findings, issues, opportunities and trends identified so far in the planning process; receive public input and perceptions and help develop goals and objectives for the plan.
Members of the borough’s planning committee, Tyrone officials and a representative of The EADS Group will be in attendance. Altoona-based The EADS Group was hired by the borough as its planning consultant to work on the comp plan update.
Last year when Tyrone embarked on the project, Borough Manager Sharon Dannaway explained the role of the planning consultant.
“They go out into the community and assess what we have now, they’ll look at what we did have and look toward the future,” said Dannaway. “Through meetings with the public and the research they’ll do, they’ll put together this comprehensive plan,” said Dannaway. “(It’s done) to say this has been the past history of the borough from the beginning, this is what’s happened, this is where we are at now and according to the census information, this is what we may need to look at in the future to plan for projects.”
In a poster promoting the upcoming workshop, the borough said, “All residents, business owners, civic groups and others who are interested in the future of Tyrone Borough are encouraged to attend and participate in the workshop.”
The update on the comprehensive plan is a two-year process and Tyrone is about a year into the work on the project.
Wednesday’s workshop will begin at 6 p.m. and run until 9:30 p.m. in the LGI Room at the Tyrone Elementary School.
