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GLOSSARY OF PLANNING TERMS
Term
Description
Adult Day Care
A non-residential facility supporting the health,
nutritional, and daily living needs of elderly or
disabled adults in professionally staffed, group
settings.
Affordable Housing Trust
Fund
As of 1993, a fund authorized by county ordinance to
increase the recording fees of deeds and mortgages to
support the county’s local affordable housing efforts.
The funds raised are deposited in the general fund of
the county, and the increased revenues must be used
to fund affordable housing.
Agricultural Area Security
Law (Act 43 of 1981)
This legislation allows for the creation of joint
municipal agricultural security areas, which promote
more permanent and viable farming operations over
the long term.
Agricultural or
Undeveloped Land
As shown on the Existing Land Use Map, generally
land that is undeveloped and not wooded.
Mostly
this is farmland, but vacant land in urban areas is also
included. Farmhouses, barns, and other buildings on
farms are included in this category.
Airport Hazard Zoning Act
(Act 164)
Passed in 1984, this state legislation restricts the
heights of objects around airport areas to provide for
safe aircraft flight paths. Ultimately this requires
zoning overlay districts at a local level for affected
municipalities.
Ambulatory Surgery
Center
A facility which provides day-surgery services for
patients who require less than 24-hour medical
attention.
American Community
Survey
An ongoing statistical survey by the U.S. Census
Bureau, sent to approximately 250,000 addresses
monthly (or 3 million per year), which gathers
information previously contained only in the long
form of the decennial census.
Affordable Housing
In general, housing for which the occupant(s) is/are
paying no more than 30 percent of his or her income
for gross housing costs, including utilities.
Term
Description
Arterials
A federal highway functional classification, arterials
are either “principal” or “minor,” and provide greater
mobility for longer trips, but offer more accessibility
than expressways. Principal arterials in the county
include roads like Bethlehem Pike (PA 309), Old
York Road (PA 611) in Upper Moreland, and US 202
Dekalb Pike.
Best Management Practices
(BMPs)
A term used to describe water pollution controls,
frequently for stormwater management, in which
structural or engineered control devices and systems
ameliorate the negative effects of polluted and/or
excess stormwater.
Brownfield
Abandoned or underused industrial and/or
commercial facilities available for re-use, at which
expansion or redevelopment may be complicated by
real or perceived environmental contamination.
Collectors
A federal highway functional classification,
collectors are either “major” or “minor” and channel
traffic to or from higher classification roads.
Examples of major collectors include Conshohocken
State Road in Lower Merion and Susquehanna Road
in Abington.
Community Supported
Agriculture (CSA)
A locally-based economic model
of agriculture and food distribution in which a
network or association of individuals pledge to
support one or more local farms, with growers and
consumers sharing the risks and benefits of food
production. CSA members or subscribers pay at the
onset of the growing season for a share of the
anticipated harvest; once harvesting begins, they
receive weekly shares of what is in season.
Continuing Care
Retirement Communities
(CCRCs)
Communities with a mix of independent and personal
care units, as well as nursing facilities that offer a
tiered approach to providing for the needs of aging
residents.
