[Go To Article]

Upper Makefield Townsihp

BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

www.upper-makefield.com

• Board of Supervisors
• Boards & Commissions
• General Information
• Departments
• Resources

You Are Here: Website Home / General Information / 2005 Open Space Plan and Goals & Objectives

Action Steps to achieve objectives

• Identify farmland and key parcels of land that are at risk for development or which block expansion of development into critical areas.
• The majority of properties preserved through purchases were predominantly farm fields. With the exception of the Marrazzo property, the Kudra property (noted again below), the Ogborn property along Taylorsville Road which was donated by the Ogborn family, and to some extent, the Ryan property on Buckmanville Road, the land that has been preserved, and the properties currently under negotiation, are primarily open farm fields.

• Identify those parcels of land that can be protected with non-acquisition based methods or interests acquired at below market value.
• Several smaller tracts were acquired through donations.

• Protect critical habitats along the Delaware River, the Canal and smaller streams.
• • Evaluate the natural habitat in these areas.
  • Complete a parcel identification survey in these areas.
  • Develop protection strategies and identify potential access points to those areas where habitat is less critical.
• The Floge tract along the Delaware River was preserved, and the Marrazzo tract along the Delaware Canal was one of the township's first acquisitions. The township has worked on several other properties along the canal, including a 31-acre tract that has been in discussion since 2001.

• Protect wetlands and floodplains and promote effective, environmentally appropriate management strategies.
• The township acquired fee-simple interest in the Kudra property that forms a portion of the Timber Knoll wetlands.

• Develop strategies to link recreational and historic properties and provide access to those resources.
• • Waterways, streams, creeks and the river
  • Utility corridors
  • Highway buffers and right of ways

The EAC developed a methodology to evaluate and prioritize properties for preservation. The acquisitions to date successfully reflect this prioritization. In order to focus on the goals and action steps that had previously had a lower priority than farmland, the ranking criteria should be adjusted to complement the goals.

Recommended Prioritization of Goals for 2005 calls for two top priorities which are:

Increase in Watershed Protection efforts and continuing Farmland Preservation

Other priorities continue to be:

• Establish Greenway Corridors
• Enhance Biological Diversity
• Protect Significant Viewsheds
• Establish Recreational Open Space