When communities work together, the benefits can be quite extraordinary and often extend far beyond municipal borders. In Berks County, a series of communities stretch along a busy corridor that serves as a main artery. Each town has at least one or more traffic lights that cause vehicles to back up, particularly at heavy commute hours.

Thanks to cooperation and state assistance, though, the lights will soon be synchronized. That shared desire to improve a quality-of-life issue for their residents made life better for many more people -- some of whom may not even know the name of the towns they are traveling through! Cooperation makes the difference. ...MORE

Pennsylvania communities are working together more than ever before, and we've got the numbers to prove it. Back in 2000, 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania played a lead role in advocating for Acts 67 and 68, the legislation that authorized multi-municipal planning. To follow up on the impact of the important legislation, we have produced a new report, Plan Regionally, Implement Locally: An Evaluation of Multi-municipal Planning and Implementation in Pennsylvania.

While there is still room to improve the multi-municipal planning process, the results are positive. Between 2000 and 2007, 172 multi-municipal planning efforts were undertaken, representing 29 percent of all municipalities in Pennsylvania, and a quarter of our population.

We also developed a number of recommendations to improve the process. Highlights from the recommendations include the following:

• Continue and expand funding for multi-municipal and county planning efforts with increased funding for consistent implementation of plans.
• Improve the availability of information about multi-municipal planning, implementation, and funding and information about existing planning efforts.
• Use the planning process to achieve greater consensus and specificity on the distribution of land uses across the region.

Click here to download a summary of the report.  The full report will be available soon on our website.

The benefits of multi-municipal planning extend far beyond consistent land use. It helps communities establish the relationships necessary to cooperate on a range of infrastructure and service delivery issues. Check out these stories of successful municipal cooperation, as told by the people involved in the process.

The multi-municipal comprehensive planning effort in Lycoming County has proven to be very effective in guiding the new development in the County as well as creating new partnerships between municipalities for things such as sewer and water services. The benefits of good comprehensive planning extend much further than the creation of the plan. It creates a framework for municipalities to build lasting partnerships in all areas of municipal services.

-- Kurt Hausamann, Lycoming County planner

Washington Township along with our neighbors Edinboro Borough and Franklin Township accomplished a major victory in multi-municipal planning by cooperating on infrastructure improvements that will potentially impact the economic vitality of southern Erie County for years to come. The expansion of the Edinboro treatment plant will benefit all three communities and open up commercial and industrial development.

-- Terry Carcella, Washington Township zoning officer