"Tinicum is fortunate to
have natural areas that are still defined by their
ecological integrity rather than by their degradation."
Brandywine Conservancy
WELCOME TO ECO-Bucks
OUR MISSION:
To maintain a high quality of rural life in Tinicum Township through creative involvement in managing growth and development.
WHO WE ARE:
We are residents of rural Tinicum Township, in upper Bucks County, PA, an hour north of Philadelphia. We take a great deal of pride in our
township. The sense of community as "family" in Tinicum is as strong as
our residents are diverse. We are firemen and farmers and physicians;
we're politicians and pilots and parents; and we're families of all
backgrounds and ages who value our natural surroundings and appreciate the
richness of life here.
In 2005 we formed ECO-Bucks to share our concerns about the impact of
proposed developments on our way of life: on our water and soil and other
natural resources, on our schools and public safety, and on our stable tax
structure.
The photographs throughout this website show the kind of natural surroundings in Tinicum Township that residents value so highly and want to protect.
WHAT WE DO:
ECO Bucks has been supporting the Bridgeton-Nockamixon-Tinicum Groundwater Management Committee by providing the services of a consultant hydrologist who has supported the Committee in the development of a template groundwater protection ordinance, an online drought monitor, and other research related to sufficient potable water for our residents dependent on groundwater.
We have been so fortunate to have a collaboration of our local elected representatives and residents working in support of our mission.
Residents have demonstrated their commitment to our mission by supporting our supervisors. Evidence of this support is volunteer participation on several township committees.
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission consists of 7 volunteer residents appointed to 4-year terms for the purpose of advising the Board of Supervisors in matters relating to planning and zoning, subdivisions and land development applications, planning modules, and proposed ordinances.
Communications Ad Hoc Committee
The Communications Ad Hoc Committee consists of volunteer residents appointed to 1-year terms for the purpose of developing a Township Newsletter.
Environmental Advisory Ad Hoc Committee
The Environmental Advisory Ad hoc Committee consists of up to 7 volunteer residents appointed to 1-year terms for the purpose of advising the Board of Supervisors on environmental matters that impact the Township.
Historical Commission
The Historical Commission consists of up to 7 volunteer residents appointed to 3-year terms for the purpose of preserving the character of the historic properties and buildings in Tinicum.
Joint Bridgeton-Nockamixon-Tinicum Groundwater Management Committee
The BNTGC was created as a joint venture to provide a reliable, safe and adequate water supply to its residents through scientific studies, regulatory review, and educational programs. Up to 2 volunteer residents are appointed to 1-year terms.
ECO Bucks supports this committee by providing the services of a consultant hydrologist.
Land Preservation Committee
The Land Preservation Committee consists of up to 7 volunteer residents appointed to 1-year terms who work to preserve open space and natural resources; support environmental and historical preservation.
Parks & Recreation Board
The Park & Rec Board consists of up to 7 volunteer residents appointed to 5-year terms to help maintain, operate and supervise Township-owned parks, recreation areas, and facilities.
Zoning Hearing Board
The Zoning Hearing Board is quasi-judicial and consists of 3 volunteer residents and 1 alternate appointed to 3-year terms. The Board hears zoning variance requests, special exceptions and appeals to Zoning Officer determinations and renders decisions as permitted by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code and the local Zoning Ordinance.
Building Code Board of Appeals
The Building Code Board of Appeals is independent quasi-judicial body that hears appeals from the decision of the Building Code Official and considers requests from the Building Code. Volunteer residents are appointed to 1-year terms.
Please refer to the Tinicum Township website for meeting times and the names of current appointed members.
click to go to the Township website
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Tinicum Conservancy
click to go to their site
Excerpts from
their site:
Our mission is to protect our rural character and natural resources through community-based land conservation.
Covering just 19,723 acres and home to fewer than 5,000 people, the township is a rich but fragile landscape of cascading streams, scenic vistas, wide-open meadows, contiguous forest and deep, dark hollows.
During the past two decades, the Tinicum Conservancy, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, has partnered with conservation-minded landowners, concerned citizens and local government to permanently protect more than 100 properties covering 5,133 acres or 8 square miles of the township.
click here to view a larger version of the map of protected land in Tinicum Township
To view many of Tinicum's resources see the "Township Maps and Environmental Overlays" section on the Resources page of the Tinicum Conversancy website.
click here to go to the Resources page of the Tinicum Conversancy website
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WHAT WE DO, continued:
Tinicum Township
Comprehensive Plan
Further evidence of collaboration between residents and supervisors was the development of the Tinicum Township Comprehensive Plan where Tinicum's three supervisors, two former supervisors, and eighteen residents participated.
click here to view the Tinicum Township Comprehensive Plan
A comprehensive plan is a municipality's main policy document. The Tinicum Township Comprehensive Plan (2015) details the collective township vision for the future, the historic, environmental, and cultural facilities it seeks to protect, and the steps necessary to achieve this vision.
Public participation was an important part of the process in the development of this plan. A comprehensive plan group, composed of members of the planning commission, the Board of Supervisors, and citizen representatives, assisted in the development of the plan, ensuring that its scope and direction reflected the values of the township.
In addition, a community survey was sent to every family in the township to gather opinions on a variety of planning, policy, and community service subjects. These opinions were directly incorporated into the plan.
The Comprehensive Plan identifies seven Principles.
Notable is the extent to which the Township's committees and commissions are aligned with these principles.
Township organizations ( ECO Bucks, Tinicum Conservancy, Tinicum Civic Association) further support the Plan.
A brief description of the Comprehensive Plans seven principles follows. A detailed description is included on the township's web site: www.tinicumbucks.org
Principle 1. Protect Natural Heritage discusses the preservation and conservation of Tinicum's natural resources.
Principle 2. Protect Water Resources details all aspects of water protection and conservation, including source water protection, storm water management, and wastewater disposal.
Principle 3. Protect Open Space and Agriculture highlights the township's open space preservation efforts and asserts the critical need for the continuation and preservation of agricultural uses.
Principle 4. Preserve Historic, Scenic, and Cultural Heritage emphasizes the importance of the preservation of historical and cultural resources, including the historic mosaic of villages and hamlets unchanged from pre-revolutionary and colonial settlement.
Principle 5. Manage and Enhance Recreational Resources details the township's wealth of recreational resources, as well as the challenges and opportunities presented by them.
Principle 6. Manage Growth surveys those elements that have the greatest impacts on the landscape of Tinicum - housing, commerce, and transportation.
Principle 7. Foster a Sustainable and Resilient Community provides a thorough examination of the many challenges to the township's support infrastructure, including extraction industry, power transmission, hazard mitigation and floodplain management, energy, and waste disposal.
Tinicum Township
Open Space Plan
Tinicum's board of supervisors and ten residents developed the Open Space Plan
click here to view the Tinicum Township Open Space and Multi-Resource Conservation Plan - January 2010
Primary Goal: To preserve the health, safety, welfare and quality of life of Tinicum residents, and to preserve the irreplaceable freshwater, agricultural and natural resources of the township for its residents and for the greater Pennsylvania Highlands community.
INDIVIDUAL RESOURCE GOALS
1. To protect ground and surface water resources of all types, our most essential and most vulnerable natural resources, and to prevent any net export of water resources from individual watersheds.
2. To protect and preserve our irreplaceable farmland, even small parcels, in light of the current and future importance of local production and consumption of human and animal foods.
3. To protect and preserve our forests and woodlands, especially in view of their importance in the mitigation of local and regional climatic changes.
4. To maintain biological diversity by preserving our varied ecosystems, their accompanying flora and fauna, Threatened, Rare, and Endangered (TRE) species and Species of Special Concern (SOC), along with the habitats necessary to support them.
5. To preserve scenic resources which contribute to the rural character and visual quality of life in the Township and provide opportunities for the enjoyment of nature by visitors beyond our borders.
6. To establish greenway linkages to connect hub areas of protected resource-rich and open space both within and beyond the borders of the township.
7. To assure open space for a wide variety of outdoor recreational and educational pursuits.
8. To recognize and protect the cultural heritage and historic resources and the character of Tinicum Township so that surviving resources and their context are preserved for future generations.
9. To promote the type and location of development within Tinicum Township, that will allow orderly growth, and sound and sustainable community development and resource conservation.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Groundwater Stewardship in Bridgeton, Nockamixon, and Tinicum Townships
A two part seminar presented by The Bridgeton-Nockamixon-Tinicum Groundwater Management Committee (BNTGMC) and ECO-Bucks.
The seminar will be held over two Monday evening sessions at Palisades High School’s Audion and is free to the public.
Session 1 Monday 4/8/24 7:30 - 9:00 PM
Introduction to BNTGMC and ECO-Bucks and Water Quality Testing
Session 2 Monday 4/22/24 7:30 - 9:00 PM
Groundwater Withdrawal Ordinance and Monitoring Activities of the BNTGMC.
click here to view the event flyer
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Earth Day Fair
Sunday 4/21/24 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Tinicum Township Community Park
Tohickon Valley Road and 611, Ottsville, PA
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MILESTONES IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Pennsylvania's Environmental
Rights Amendment
On May 18, 1971, Pennsylvania's voters by a four-to-one margin ratified what is now Article I, Section 27 of our state constitution-the Environmental Rights Amendment.
"The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people."
Buck's County Preservation Efforts
In 1995, the Bucks County Commissioners appointed an Open Space Task Force to develop a practical plan to protect natural resource areas and farmlands deemed essential to maintain the unique character of Bucks County. The Municipal Open Space Program was created in 1997 to provide financial assistance to municipalities for open space planning and acquisition. Upon completion and adoption of a local open space plan, municipalities became eligible to receive grants to acquire land in fee simple or through conservation easement to permanently protect natural areas, farmland, or park and recreation areas.
Tinicum Township Open Space Plan
Adopted January 2010
Primary Goal: To preserve the quality of life
enjoyed by Tinicum residents.
See the center column for additional information.
Buck's County Second Open Space Taskforce Report (2007)
click to read the report
EXCERPTS: [underlining added for emphasis]
Introduction
In
its most basic form, open space is land that has not been
developed for intensive human use can also perform many
important ecological, economic, aesthetic, recreational, and
agricultural functions.
The abundance of open space is one
of Bucks County's most attractive features. In fact, the
farms, scenic vistas, parks, rolling hillsides, and stream
valleys that we in Bucks County hold most dear are the very
same qualities that attract individuals, families, and
businesses to locate here. To maintain the quality of life
that so many in Bucks County enjoy, a balance between
development and preserved open space must be achieved.
Open
Space Provides Economic Benefits to Individuals and Local
Governments alike. Farmland and open space impose
significantly fewer costs on local governments than other land
uses... the cost of providing local governmental services (e.g.
sewer, water, streets, refuse collection, etc.) and public
education to residential land uses are greater than the tax
revenues they generate.
Continued Growth Outpaces Land
Preservation Efforts. A larger population will demand more
housing, roads, schools, shopping and employment centers.
Housing projections alone estimate a 26 percent increase in
units by 2020... nearly 60,000 additional units than in 2000. ...
an estimated 2,200 acres of farmland are proposed for new
development each year. At this rate, over a ten-year period,
22,000 acres, or 1/3 of the county's unprotected farmland,
would be lost to development.
Although Bucks County and its
54 municipalities have endorsed and supported sustainable land
use policy, Pennsylvania law does not permit local governments
to prohibit development. As a result, thousands of acres are
left vulnerable to development...
The 2007 Task Force
proposes the continuation of the four existing programs:
Agricultural Land Preservation, County Parkland Acquisition,
Natural Areas, and Municipal Open Space with modifications, as
well as the addition of two new components focusing on
Historic Preservation and the Delaware Riverfront.
RECOMMENDATIONS OF 2007 TASK FORCE:
Allocate $26 million to the Municipal Open Space Program... Any open space or parkland
improved with grant monies shall be placed under deed
restriction to preserve land in perpetuity...
Municipalities
will be required to revise their open space plans, documenting
the following:
- Completed open space projects and
implemented recommendations of the current plan.
- Status of
available open space remaining in the municipality
- Prioritization of acquisition projects
- Prioritization of
any improvement projects
Restrict all Land Preserved by the
County Open Space Program from future development.
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