Setting boundaries

Lancaster County is often held up as an example of the power of intermunicipal cooperation. But not everybody in the county is Working together. At least not yet.

In 1992, the Lancaster County Planning Commission proposed the implementation of growth areas designed to focus development to appropriate

That might change soon, however. The planning commission is in the early stages of updating its growth-management plan, and the commission might renew efforts to get municipalities more involved, said James Cowhey, the commission's deputy director for community planning. For example, the county might take a look at drafting growth areas for some of the rural townships that it did not address in 1992.

"Our way of operating is to collaborate with the municipalities," Cowhey said. "It's the only way to get our plan implemented."

It is not surprising that some municipalities throughout the state might remain wary of working with county governments, said Neil Kinsey, a local government policy specialist with the Governor's Center for Local Government Services in Harrisburg.

"That's natural," said Kinsey, who also is a supervisor in East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County. "You've got brothers and sisters that don't like each other."

In the case of Lancaster County's growth areas initiative, the nonparticipating municipalities fall into three groups. There are six townships that the county has not targeted for growth areas because these townships remain relatively rural. Two townships have not adopted growth boundaries that the county drafted for them. Finally, eight boroughs have not adopted target populations for 2010. These are populations that the county thinks are ideal for the boroughs, based on their available land and infrastructure, Cowhey said.

Even though some municipalities are not participating in the implementation of

growth area's kinsey said, there are many examples of intermunicipal cooperation in Lancaster County. For example, 12 municipalities are working together to create a comprehensive plan for Lancaster city and the surrounding

suburban area.

"Clearly the trend is in that direction, to cooperate," Kinsey said. "It just makes sense."

Kinsey also said that municipalities might be not participating in implementation of growth areas for reasons other than animosity toward the county.

Most municipalities not actively involved in the growth areas initiative did not return calls for comment. But officials with two boroughs that have not adopted target populations said they were unaware that the county wanted them to approve such populations.

"We weren't aware that they were looking for any type of action," said Michael Hession, Denver Borough manager. "There was no conscious decision not to take action."

Hession said the borough has a cooperative relationship with the county planning commission. A community planner from the commission regularly attends borough meetings and is helping Denver craft a regional comprehensive plan, along with Adamstown Borough and East Cocalico and West Cocalico townships.

Cindy Schweitzer, secretary/treasurer for Adamstown Borough, also said she was unaware of the concept of target populations. Schweitzer acknowledged that

there was some tension between the borough and the county in the early 1990s. However, she said, communication between the commission and the borough has improved during the past year or so.

"The relationship has gotten better, she said.

Part of the reason why some municipalities might not know about their lack of participation in the growth initiative is because the county has not made a concerted effort recently to get them involved, Cowhey said. The county is always willing to help municipalities get more involved but has not pushed them into the process, he said.

"It's on our agenda to talk with them, but it's not part of a campaign," he said. "It's not a blitzkrieg sort of thing."

Kinsey said he expected more cooperation in the future. The number of municipalities that do not cooperate will shrink, he added.