"The Vision 2020 process has permitted residents to help sketch a path for community development that maintains and improves, in a comprehensive manner, our outstanding quality of life in Centre County."

Ronald J. Woodhead, Director
Centre Region Parks & Recreation
Emailed and faxed to Julie Nelson 1/17/02
 

"The Vision 2020 process provided an excellent opportunity for representatives of groups who may not regularly interact to come together and turn their hopes, fears and expectations into a vision for the community from which future generations will benefit. This plan will allow business and community leaders to implement and respond to change in the future within a defined context and not simply in an reactive manner."

Ann M. Stacey
Director of Community & Strategic Development
Hayes Large Architects
Emailed to Julie Nelson 1/18/02
 

"I have been involved in the Vision 2020 project since before there was a Vision 2020 project. I was a member of the original steering committee of the I-99 Community Partnership for Sustainable Development, whose task it was to lay the groundwork for a long-term planning effort to deal with the expected impacts on our community of Interstate 99. Our principal concern was to address the anticipated impetus for growth that the interstate highway would bring, and to do so in ways that would protect our local environment, make use of opportunities for economic development, and preserve our quality of life. I was involved in this early effort because I was an elected official, but my commitment to its goals and its work was rooted in my concerns as a citizen and resident of the Centre Region. As I viewed the I-99 Partnership, the key was to find ways of sustaining economic development while preserving those aspects of our community that make this such a good place to live, work, and raise children. The central term in all this, as I saw it, was "sustainability." Our mission was to look for modes of economic development that could be sustained for the indefinite future, not that would consume our local resources in such a way that we would eventually lose our quality of life.

"The I-99 Partnership eventually gave birth to the Vision 2020 project, in which I have also been involved from the outset. I think one of the most important aspects of these efforts has been the desire to include all the "stakeholders"--all the various interests and groups--who will be affected by I-99 and by the land-use policies that are followed as we try to manage its impact. This has meant that representatives of diverse, and often competing, interests have been involved from the outset. Landowners, homeowners, local elected officials, professional planners, real estate professionals, developers, farmers, transportation specialists, business owners--all have had representation at the various meetings and work sessions that have sought to craft sound land-use, economic, development, environmental, and transportation policies that can be adopted and implemented by the municipalities through which the new interstate will pass.

"Many months have passed since the beginning of the Vision 2020 process, and many, many hours have been spent by the people involved in an effort to fashion both broad principles and specific policy options that can be considered by local elected boards and councils as they seek to control the growth that I-99 will inevitably bring. The next step is for the municipalities themselves to take up the challenge. Now is the time for the municipal boards and councils to consider the land-use, environmental, and other pressures that I-99 will bring, and to adopt sound land-use and other policies that will enable them to preserve farmland and open space, to anticipate and plan for expected transportation impacts, and to regulate development so that the areas along the I-99 corridor don't turn into another Breezewood, Valley Forge, or Sharon.

"My own thought about all this is that the ultimate issue facing us all--elected officials and residents both--is to recognize that unlimited population growth is not sustainable, and to find ways of responding to the pressure for growth that will allow us to sustain our present quality of life. We can't grow forever. The question is, how much growth do we want? How much can we handle before we lose our identity as a community? How many people can live here before we lose the things that are precious to us--our rural character, our clean air, our low crime-rates, our dark night-time skies, our peace and quiet? Both residents and local elected officials need to reach consensus about these questions, and then develop land-use regulations and planning tools that will allow them to manage growth--and ultimately to restrict it--so as to hold onto what we have. I think that elected officials, working with each other and with our citizens, have an important job to do. Now is the time for them to take responsibility for carrying this process forward. If we wait too long, it will be too late."

Christopher Johnstone
Patton Township Supervisor, 1996-2002
Emailed to Julie Nelson 1/20/02
 

"The time to plan is now. What we and future generations find here is up to us. We need only look to communities like Carlisle (I-81 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike) and Breezewood (I-70, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and I-99) to see the impact of uncontrolled development at major highway interchanges on the quality of life in a community. What we all like about living here is how nice it is here. Vision 2020: Living With I-99 provides Strategies to implement a Land Use and Sustainability Plan that will enable us and our children to still think it’s nice here in the year 2020."

Walter F. Ebaugh, President
The ClearWater Conservancy
Excerpt from a letter to Julie Nelson 1/21/02
 

"The [Vision 2020] process involved enough people from a good diversity of backgrounds/ perspectives that it enabled a strong variety of ideas to be voiced. This diversity also allowed for an interesting and productive exchange, synergy and evolution of ideas. I think the outcome is very strong and reflects that diversity of opinions.

"Several of the strongest concerns voiced early in the process are interdependent – uncontrolled development (also listed as increased housing development) and loss of rural areas (farms and forestlands; also listed as destruction of natural resources). When these are considered with a couple of the goals: promoting tourism and attracting "good jobs" where quality of life is important – well then to me that says we must move forward – QUICKLY – in identifying those areas that must be protected from development and at the same time identify those areas where development is most desired. (Strategy 1: Growth Area and Resource Area Delineation; Strategy 23: Infrastructure Investments to Designated Growth Areas; Strategy 5: Agricultural Preservation Models)

"Via PSU and County GIS (mapping) information, provide all municipalities with the maps (at a more detailed scale) that we saw during TAC process, such as development suitability, ecological composite, etc. This will enable municipalities to begin to assess how well regulations they currently have work with regards to these aspects, albeit at a rough, first-blush vantage point.

"Municipalities (contiguous) that are most interested in moving forward should develop a multi-municipal agreement (which still allows them to retain autonomy over their regulations) but affords then access to state funds (which are now given out to municipalities that work together in their planning efforts).

"There are many actors in the still to be written script for the future of our region. And I for one feel that the lead role (the most important character) is the role that the municipalities can play. As elected officials we put our trust in you to maintain the health, safety and welfare of our communities. We are now more fortunate than other communities who have been in our shoes (or are currently facing similar situations) – we now have a collective vision and an expertly prepared guide for what needs to be done! Each municipality should target what aspect of this vision they feel is most important and then work diligently to make it a reality.

"The longer we wait, the less we will have to work with/ to protect! This area has now been studied to near death—it is time for ACTION!! Growth and development will continue, the question is will we get our act together in time to influence it… and have the result be a region we will be proud of in five, ten, and more years? We know what the alternative scenarios are… and this collectively developed vision says that we DO want a good quality of life for future generations. Therefore we must get going right away…!!"

Kelleann Foster
RLA, Associate Professor Landscape Architecture Department
Pennsylvania State University
Emailed to Julie Nelson 1/22/02
 

"The Vision 2020 process provides an opportunity to plan for the eminent growth along the I99 corridor. With this type of planning we will be able to maintain balance between development in the region and retaining the quality of life we now enjoy in the Centre region. The Vision 2020 project involved a cross section of the community and considered a broad spectrum of issues related to the I99 corridor development. The information derived from this process can be a tool to use now and in the future."

Karen Dickinson
CBICC Research Park
Emailed to Julie Nelson 1/23/02