FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
State Rep. Bob Freeman                                     D-Northampton www.pahouse.com/freeman

Freeman Elm Street bill clears Senate committee

Goes to full Senate for a vote

HARRISBURG, Sept. 17 – State Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Northampton, today said his bill to revise the Elm Street program was approved by the Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee and will now go to the full Senate for consideration.

House Bill 2233 would allow the Elm Street Program to continue beyond its current sunset date of 2011. The program is an urban residential enhancement initiative that targets older established neighborhoods for revitalization. In 2004, Gov. Ed Rendell came to Easton to sign Freeman's original bill into law. The bill had passed the House and Senate unanimously.

Freeman said more than two dozen neighborhoods have been designated as Elm Street communities, and more than 100 municipalities have been eligible for similar improvements in their neighborhoods through Elm Street residential reinvestment grants.

Currently, the program provides up to five years of financial assistance for municipalities to hire an Elm Street manager to work with local officials and community groups to establish a plan for revitalizing targeted neighborhoods. House Bill 2233 would allow Elm Street managers to continue for up to an additional five years, if necessary.

The measure would also have Elm Street managers work to promote the establishment of consumer services, such as banks, grocery stores and pharmacies, in older urban residential neighborhoods.

Grants are used for administrative costs, and infrastructure and structural improvements such as sidewalk repairs, tree plantings and building façade work. The Elm Street manager also focuses on marketing plans; promoting home ownership and other housing options; addressing social and economic concerns in the targeted neighborhoods; and assessing current zoning codes and comprehensive plans to ensure their compatibility with revitalization efforts.

The Elm Street Program is administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development, and is similar to the existing Main Street Program. Main Street focuses on revitalizing downtown commercial districts while Elm Street targets residential districts close to those commercial districts.

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