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JOIN THE BROWNFIELD COMMUNITIES NETWORK Free Membership Join Today!
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Lancaster County Saves a Community Asset
Location:
Lancaster County Planning Commission, PA
Area of Focus:
Brownfields,Smart Growth
Local Contact
Location:
Lancaster County, PA: Lancaster has one city, 18 boroughs, and 41 towns and townships
Member Organization:
Lancaster County Planning Commission (LCPC) combines county policies with federal and state planning responsibilities to support the application of county-wide plans for the future. LCPC provides leadership in the management of growth and change in the county; balancing a desire to preserve the uniqueness of Lancaster County with the need to change the economy, ecology, and built environment.
Member Contact Information:
Mary Gattis-Schell, Economic Development Planning Division, Lancaster County Planning Commission
Phone: 717-299-8333
Email: gattism@co.lancaster.pa.us
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Mary Gattis-Schell, a Senior Planner with the Economic Development Planning Division of the Lancaster County Planning Commission (LCPC), and her colleagues, joined NALGEP in January of 2006. Mary was also a participant at NALGEP's Brownfield Communities Network Summit in July of 2006, where she joined her colleagues from around the country to learn and discuss the most pressing issues and innovative solutions to brownfields.
Mary specializes in land recycling and urban revitalization, and her primary responsibilities at LCPC include:
•identifying land recycling opportunities in Lancaster County's urban communities,
•serving as a liaison between regulatory agencies and property owners,
•assisting prospective purchasers and developers with brownfields transactions,
•assisting municipalities with implementing community-based land recycling strategies, and
•managing all aspects of both federal and state funded brownfields assessment projects.
She is currently overseeing creation of a multi-municipal revitalization strategy for approximately 600 acres in Lancaster's urban core, an area which includes numerous brownfields.
One of Mary's first projects when she arrived at LCPC in 2000 was to revitalize the 3.5 acre Roberto Clemente Park, in the heart of downtown Lancaster. The project's goal was to transform this largely underutilized and misused inner-city park, into a safe community asset for the surrounding residents, the majority of whom are minority and low-income. Led by the Inner City Group, a community development neighborhood consortium in the City of Lancaster, LCPC joined the effort utilizing their EPA Brownfield Pilot funds to assist in the assessment and cleanup, as well as public outreach. After five years of work, the Park was finally reopened in May of 2005. In addition to a state-of-the-art baseball diamond, the park includes a walking path, giving residents and visitors a safe communal place to play.
Prior to joining the Lancaster County Planning Commission staff in 2000, Mary served as an independent consultant, focusing primarily in the areas of solid waste management, industrial recycling, and ISO 14000 Environmental Management System administration.
Mary has a Bachelor's in Business Administration from Belmont University in Nashville, TN and is a graduate of the Lancaster County Planning Commission’s Master Planner program. She is currently pursuing a masters degree in Community and Regional Planning from Temple University.
Updated Date: 08/03/2010
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