Committee votes to advertise proposed comprehensive plan after county planners outline eight-chapter roadmap for Cheltenham

County planners Khloe Moore and Adam Shance presented the draft Cheltenham Township comprehensive plan to the Building & Zoning Committee on March 9, outlining an eight-chapter document that frames the township’s vision for land use, economic development, neighborhoods, sustainability and transportation.

Moore and Shance described the plan’s public engagement process (surveys, virtual workshops, open houses) and said the plan includes a future land-use map, a zoning review recommendation, a detailed implementation table and lists of potential grant programs. Shance summarized demographic findings and forecasting work, noting that DVRPC projects Cheltenham could approach about 40,000 residents by 2050 and that the forecast indicates a need for roughly 1,344 additional housing units by that year.

The plan recommends strategies for filling vacant commercial spaces, strengthening neighborhood services, expanding trail and sidewalk connectivity, improving stormwater management and listing priority transportation and stormwater projects to support grant applications. The implementation chapter ties each recommendation to potential partners, priority levels and likely timelines.

Commissioners praised the plan’s thoroughness and said they want to ensure the document is used to guide code updates and a 3–5 year action program. "There's so much good stuff in this... how do we actualize that in a 3 to 5 year plan?" Commissioner Sheremy Walls said. Commissioners Stein and others thanked the planning staff for public engagement and asked that the board use the plan to prioritize tangible next steps.

The committee voted to advertise the proposed comprehensive plan for adoption and public review; the motion will be revisited at a legislative meeting for formal adoption.