Office of Community Planning and Grants

Office of Community Planning and Grants
Grants: 570-268-4193
Planning: 570-268-4103

Duties:

The Bradford County Office of Community Planning and Grants has been established under the Bradford County Commissioners to provide technical planning assistance to Bradford County municipal governments. The office includes two separate divisions of expertise: community planning and Community Development Block Grant Administration.

The Community Planning Division meets and coordinates with the Bradford County Planning Commission which consists of a nine (9) member board that regulates subdivision and land development activity throughout 46 of 51 municipalities.

The commission engages in updating the subdivision/land development ordinance, county comprehensive plan, reviewing zoning ordinance amendments, reviewing Act 537 plans, reviewing DEP major sewage Planning Modules and any other issues pertinent to planning in Bradford County. Planning staff assists local municipalities with establishing planning commissions, writing comprehensive plans, providing GIS generated maps, and other technical assistance requested by municipalities.

The staff manages and prioritizes the 52 county-owned bridges, performs environmental review for Community Development Block Grants, prioritizes municipal bridge and highway projects, develops storm water management plans for watersheds and assists in the coordination of Council or Governments.

The Community Development Block Grant Coordinator plays a vital role in distributing grant funds, through Bradford County Commissioners, to municipalities that qualify as low to moderate income municipalities or to projects that meet Community Development Block Grant eligibility criteria. On the average, Bradford County receives approximately $350,000 for projects that may include some of the following: rehabilitation of historic structures, handicap accessibility to public buildings, economic development projects, public infrastructure development, housing rehabilitation, park facilities and recreation centers. Staff conducts environmental review of these projects to insure that they do not impact environmental resources negatively.