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Municipal Planning Grant Program

Notice of Funding Availability for Erie County Municipalities 

Erie County Municipal Planning Grant Program 

Deadline for submission is August 9, 2024

 

Overview 

The Erie County Department of Environment and Planning is announcing the availability of a total $250,000 in County funding for municipalities from the Municipal Planning Grant Program for the purpose of creating and updating community and economic development planning documents.  

Funding is competitive. The willingness of the municipality to provide matching funds will increase the likelihood of being funded.  

Applications are limited to municipalities in Erie County. Projects should be ready to start within one year and be completed within two years from the contract date. 

Eligibility and Intent 

Cities, towns, and villages in Erie County are eligible to apply. 

Eligible planning documents developed with these funds may include the following:  

  • New or Updated Comprehensive Plans 
  • New or Updated Zoning Ordinances   
  • Site Development Feasibility Studies, Technical Planning Studies, Feasibility Studies
    • Studies related to the redevelopment of large sites of community importance, including predominantly vacant sites with existing infrastructure, such as: retail plazas, malls, and office parks with high vacancy.
  • Economic and Community Development Plans 
    • Plans intended to increase the economic viability and vitality of communities, including those related to downtown revitalization planning, transportation planning related to downtown parking, and placemaking.
  • New or Updated Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plans 
  • Implementing Recommendations of Existing Plans   

Revisions to comprehensive plans and zoning codes should address the following as applicable within the context of a comprehensive plan or zoning code update. The recommendations of independent studies should identify specific comprehensive plan and zoning updates to address the issues and revisions should be completed as part of the project. The following should be considered as applicable to each municipality:  

  • Agriculture and Planning for Food 
    • Farmland protection and development pressure
    • Healthy food access planning
    • Zoning amendments to zone for agriculture
    • Agricultural-friendly renewable energy siting
    • Planning for urban agriculture and community gardens 
  • Housing Affordability
    • Zoning amendments to reduce impediments to affordable housing in areas with existing infrastructure:
      • Increasing density- increased density allowance for affordable housing
      • Lowering parking requirements for affordable housing
      • Removal of zoning impediments to multi-family developments
      • Adjusting zoning to allow accessory dwelling units
      • Review of existing community building stock for adaptability for residential  
  • Economic Development
    • Reimagining underutilized and predominantly vacant sites with existing infrastructure, including retail plazas, strip malls, malls, and office parks.
    • Advancing light industrial sites with utilities- identification of capital improvements, integration of sites within comprehensive plans and zoning amendments to improve marketability.
    • Identification of new industrial zoned land with utilities.
  • Urban Center and Downtown Revitalization
    • Downtown revitalization planning
    • Placemaking
    • Walkability improvements
    • Parking
    • Right-sizing parking requirements to create additional developable area to expand the tax base
    • Shared parking planning
    • Parking requirements relief mechanisms (i.e., integration of parking waivers within the zoning code)
    • Instituting parking maximums
    • Transportation corridor and Complete Streets initiatives
  • Climate Resilience and Environmental Planning
    • Updating zoning to protect sensitive environmental sensitive areas (i.e., floodplains, aquafers, stream corridors, wetlands, wildlife corridors)
    • Increasing zoning requirements for green infrastructure as part of site developments
    • Identification of infrastructure needs related to climate change (i.e., capital planning to identify municipal assets which will need to upgraded or replaced to address extreme weather events)

How to Apply 

User accounts are required to access the application, please allow 1-2 days for an account to be created. Once an account is created, the application link will be emailed to you. You can request an account here.

Contact 

Questions regarding proposed projects may be directed to Mark Rountree, 716-858-8008 or mark.rountree@erie.gov 

For technical questions regarding accounts or the online application, contact Sarah Gatti at sarah.gatti@erie.gov or at 716-858-6014.

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Round 2

The following municipalities received Round 2 funding:

Round 1

The following municipalities received Round 1 funding:

Additional funds were allocated through the Agricultural Planning Grant Program. 

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