What does the Lawrence County Department of Planning and Community Development do?

We provide professional planning and technical assistance to Lawrence County’s 27 municipalities in a variety of land use activities, including:

• Comprehensive Land Use Planning: Our goal is to provide the citizens of the County with pertinent planning data in an understandable form in order to facilitate intelligent land use decision-making and policy formulation.
• Ordinance Development: We are available to assist in the creation of any type of land use regulation, which includes zoning ordinances, subdivision and land development ordinances, overlay zoning district regulations, floodplain management ordinances, stormwater management regulations, sign ordinances, and conservation-based ordinances.
• Land Development Reviews: The land development review process for the County includes site plan reviews, subdivisions, rezoning, special exceptions, variances, and future land use map changes. We also manage other land development regulation processes related to natural resources and public facility concurrency management project reviews.
• Training and Education: The Department holds monthly meetings in which the public is invited to attend. We offer assistance with land, transportation, and ordinance issues, and are available to provide training programs to local officials related to planning, zoning, subdivisions, land development requirements, enforcement issues, and much more. Call us to set up a training session!
• Transportation Issues: We provide traffic volume/classification counts and speed study services to local municipalities, developers, and commercial and/or industrial enterprises.
  • Municipal Application for Transportation Funding
• Grant Assistance: We are staffed to provide assistance in researching, applying for, and administering grant and/or loan programs to our 27 municipalities.

The Lawrence County Department of Planning and Community Development reports to and is directed by the Board of Commissioners. The Lawrence County Planning Commission reviews all plans, development proposals, and provides recommendations to the Board of Commissioners.

Our offices are located in the Lawrence County Government Center at 430 Court Street, New Castle, PA 16101. You may also contact our office by phone at (724) 656-2144 or email: amckinney@lawrencecountypa.gov