GREENSBURG, PA (Feb 1) – The City of Greensburg is continuing efforts to update its comprehensive plan, an initiative recently branded as SHAPE GREENSBURG. By engaging the City’s over 14,000 residents, the plan will highlight what locals value most about Greensburg, as well as what they would like to see improved or transformed. On Tuesday, the City announced that an online engagement platform, called the “Hub”, has been created to share information about the project and invite community members to get involved. The Hub will go live at 4pm on Tuesday, February 1st and residents are encouraged to visit the site.
The City’s Mayor and Council are working closely with the City’s nine-member Planning Commission to guide the SHAPE GREENSBURG project. To broaden input and encourage participation, the group appointed a 53-person Steering Committee made up of key stakeholders from across the City. Committee members act as ambassadors for the project by offering their unique perspectives on relevant planning topics and encouraging public engagement that will help shape the goals and strategies of the plan. The Commonwealth recommends that municipal plans be reviewed every ten years and encourages municipalities to update the plan when appropriate. Greensburg’s current comprehensive plan is more than 14 years old.
Since September of 2021, the City has been working in cooperation with Environmental Planning & Design (EPD), a Pittsburgh-based planning and urban design firm, as the consultant for the project. In addition to considering the attributes of a traditional comprehensive plan, such as transportation, land-use, and public infrastructure, this plan will include a master plan for Parks and Recreation and a plan for addressing Blight across the City. Following the development and review of a draft plan through the summer and early fall, Greensburg City Council will consider adopting the plan in December 2022.
“SHAPE GREENSBURG is a major effort that will enhance quality of life in our city and our region— that’s why we want as many people as possible to participate,” says the SHAPE GREENSBURG Project Coordinator Michael Norcini. “But we want to make the process fun. So, we decided to start in our neighborhoods, where residents can imagine the future together while reconnecting after a couple of fairly solitary years.”
The Planning Commission and Steering Committee have grouped the City’s more than 29 neighborhoods into five Neighborhood Planning Areas. Three rounds of neighborhood workshops are being planned in each area.
“We want people to tell us about their neighborhood. We need to know what makes these places great, where are the challenges, and what we need to do to make them better” stated Greg Mertz, Steering Committee member and City Councilperson.
Workshops will take place the first week of March, April, and May 2022. Attendees will be able to participate either in-person or virtually, for the convenience of residents. Residents may attend any meeting, if they are unable to attend one in their own neighborhood area.
For a map of the Neighborhood Planning Areas, meeting dates and locations and other pertinent information, visit the SHAPE GREENSBURG new online Hub at www.shapegreensburg.com. Information about the project is also available on the municipal website, https://www.greensburgpa.org/planning-development/planning-projects/pages/comprehensive-plan update-project.
Specific questions should be directed to Michael Norcini, SHAPE GREENSBURG Project Coordinator at the City Planning & Development Office at 724-838-4335 or via email at mnorcini@greensburgpa.org