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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Bob Freeman D-Northampton |
  
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Freeman Elm Street bill approved by Senate
HARRISBURG, Oct. 8 – State Rep. Bob Freeman's bill to revise the Elm Street Program was unanimously approved by the state Senate today.
According to Freeman, D-Northampton, H.B. 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 Elm Street bill into law. That measure passed the House and Senate unanimously.
Freeman said since that time, more than two dozen neighborhoods, including Easton's West Ward, 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.
"I’m very pleased that my bill to enhance the Elm Street Program has passed the Senate and has been sent to the governor’s desk for his signature," Freeman said. "The revisions made by my bill will allow this successful urban revitalization initiative to continue to stabilize older urban residential neighborhoods, breathing new life, vitality and opportunity into them."
Today, 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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