The Vision Partnership Program (VPP) – Cash Grant is a grant available to Chester County municipalities and multi-municipal groups seeking to improve their planning programs while achieving consistency with and implementation of the goals, objectives, recommendations, and map of Landscapes3.
Donor Name: Chester County
State: Pennsylvania
County: Chester County (PA)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 09/25/2024
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Program Purpose
Recognizing the benefits of grant awards to municipal planning projects, the Chester County Board of Commissioners established VPP in 1996 to promote cooperation between local governments and the County while implementing Landscapes, the County’s Comprehensive Plan. The program was revised in 2010 to reflect Landscapes2 and revised again in 2019 to reflect Landscapes3.
The purpose of VPP is to advance consistency with and implementation of the county comprehensive plan while accomplishing impactful, lasting, and positive benefits for municipalities through innovative municipal planning; multi-municipal planning; and new and revised municipal plans, ordinances, and planning studies that address opportunities and issues of community concern.
Funding Information
- Plans or Ordinances
- Adopt $50,000 plus $10,000 for each additional municipality.
- Planning Studies
- Accept $30,000 plus $5,000 for each additional municipality.
Eligible Costs
The following costs are considered eligible for reimbursement if they are included in and directly related to the project scope of work attached to the executed grant contract:
- Professional planning consultant fees;
- Data collection and analysis;
- Mapping and graphics;
- Monthly duplicating costs of deliverables;
- Mailing costs, such as for mailings to municipal residents, not to exceed five (5) percent of the total eligible costs for the project;
- Review of draft materials by non-planning professionals, such as attorneys or engineers, not to exceed ten (10) percent of the total eligible costs for the project (note: this must be described specifically in the project scope of work);
- Travel costs, such as mileage for required meetings, not to exceed two (2) percent of the total eligible costs for the project; and
- Publication of the adopted document, up to thirty (30) copies.
Eligible Projects
- Comprehensive Plan
- Open Space, Park, and Recreation Plan (to include a greenway plan)
- Zoning Ordinance and Amendments (to include amendments specific to topic areas such as agriculture, historic resources, natural resources, housing, traditional neighborhood development, form based code, transfer of development rights, and establishing mixed-use, diverse, walkable communities)
- Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance and Amendments (to include amendments specific to topic areas such as bicyclist/pedestrian circulation, natural and cultural resource protection, woodland inventories, and forestation/woodland management plans)
- Official Map and Ordinance
- Urban Center Revitalization Plan
- Resource Protection/Stewardship Plan (addressing topics such as open space, natural resources, parks, scenic resources, historic and cultural resources)
- Environmental and Community Sustainability/Resilience Plan/Study (to include energy conservation, clean energy transition)
- Community Design Guide (addressing topics such as housing, historic resources, and villages)
- Village Master Plan
- Heritage Interpretation Plan (in accordance with Preserving Our Places, CCPC, 1998)
- Historic Resource Survey (in accordance with PHMC standards)
- Housing Plan/Study
- Economic Development Study
- Transportation Corridor Plan/Study
- Streetscape Master Plan
- Multimodal Plan/Study
- Trail Feasibility Study
- Plans/Ordinances that support transition to renewable or alternative energy
- Agricultural Economic Development Plan
Eligibility Criteria
Meeting eligibility requirements is not a guarantee of grant funding under the Vision Partnership Program.
- Eligible Applicants
- The VPP cash grant program is open to all Chester County municipalities which have endorsed or acknowledged Landscapes3. Eligible applicants include a single municipality or a multi-municipal group, which may consist of two (2) or more contiguous municipalities or two (2) or more municipalities when located in the same school district. The application shall identify and be submitted by a lead municipality in the case of a multimunicipal group application.
- To ensure proper grant administration and promote successful completion of projects, municipalities are encouraged to complete VPP projects funded under previous rounds before applying for additional VPP funding. However, the Chester County Planning Commission may consider approving municipalities to undertake more than one VPP funded project at a time on a case-by-case basis.
- Municipalities involved in a multi-municipal comprehensive plan shall not be eligible for VPP funding to undertake a full comprehensive plan update at the same time as the contract term of the multi-municipal plan. Partial updates to a specific comprehensive plan section, such as the historic resources plan, may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
- General Project Eligibility
- The project shall advance one or more of the Landscapes3 goals and objectives, and implement one or more of the Landscapes3 recommendations at the municipal or multimunicipal level.
- Projects enabled by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (MPC), Act 247, as amended, such as comprehensive plans (or elements thereof) or ordinances, shall demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the MPC. Projects not adopted under the provisions of the MPC are defined as “Planning Studies” for the purposes of VPP.
- General project types that may be eligible include plans, ordinances, ordinance amendments, and planning studies.
- Projects shall be supported by a municipal or multi-municipal comprehensive plan that was adopted within the prior ten (10) years, unless the municipality has undergone the formal review process as outlined in Section 301(c) of the MPC or the applicant provides documentation identifying why the urgency of the proposed project supersedes the need for an update of their comprehensive plan.
For more information, visit Chester County.
