"How do we build Pennsylvania's first sustainable community in South-Central Pennsylvania as a model to be replicated by other grassroots organizations across the United States?"

I. Program Need

Across the United States, individuals and grassroots organizations struggle to protect natural and human communities by opposing individual projects which have an adverse impact on those communities. By fragmenting their approach to building truly sustainable communities, these individuals and organizations are forced to concentrate their efforts on opposing and defeating permits and individual development plans rather than on developing and implementing a comprehensive and holistic vision for building a sustainable community. That collective inability to enunciate a "big picture" vision for the growth of truly sustainable communities means that a default vision continues to be defined solely by those entities - mostly corporations - who remain in control of the economic levers for those communities. Unfortunately, those entities are increasingly more in the business of encouraging certain development "at any cost" that lines private pockets rather than in providing for the long term health and welfare of communities.

Focused on building a community vision of sustainability - as opposed to a vision charted solely by corporations and industry - the Legal Defense Fund decided in 1998 to construct and host a process whereby sustainable communities could be fostered within Franklin County, Pennsylvania.

The vehicle for that evolving process is the Franklin County Coalition. In March of 1998, the Legal Defense Fund hosted a meeting among citizen and environmental organizations from nine of the fifteen rural municipal regions that comprise Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Those groups represented a wide spectrum of progressive interests, including a fair tax coalition, a civil rights organization, and several environmental groups. From that first meeting - through three successive meetings - those organizations drafted the Franklin County Coalition Declaration of Principles - sixteen statements defining a "vision" for the Franklin County area. Those statements range from expressions of the need for comprehensive land use planning to statements urging local governments to exclude corporations that have a consistent history of violating the law from doing business in certain areas. After the drafting process was complete, those organizations then officially endorsed the principles and began circulating the document to a listing of over 500 locally owned businesses and community organizations in Franklin County. A copy of the Franklin County Coalition Declaration of Principles is included with this funding proposal.

To date, the Coalition has grown to include eighteen community organizations, over thirty locally owned businesses, and over a thousand individual members. Its goal is to become a political force within the County that advocates for sustainability and democracy.

Over the past several years, the Coalition has used the Principles to develop Voter Guides for County residents. In those Voter Guides, the Coalition quizzed local governmental candidates on key issues important to the Coalition and the Legal Defense Fund. During each election cycle, over 5,000 of these Guides have been printed and distributed through the locally owned business endorsers of the Principles and at voting places throughout the County on election day.

In December of 1999, the Coalition used the Principles to produce a draft Manual for Building Sustainable Communities in Franklin County, which contains nine (9) Ordinances which can be used to implement several key Principles at the local governmental level. Those local laws include Ordinances aimed at requiring the installation of solar hot water heaters into new housing units, requiring purchasing of recycled paper office supplies, banning corporate owned farms, and ensuring easy access to local government records. The Manual was then updated in March of 2000 and October of 2001 to reflect the latest developments in land use planning and Ordinances for local governments in Pennsylvania.

In mid-2002, the Manual was distributed to every elected municipal official in rural Franklin County, and revisions and updates will be distributed to those officials on a bi-annual basis.

The Fund sees this "visioning" process as creating an evolving coalition capable of defending the health, safety, and welfare of a region by transforming basic public opinion on environmental and quality of life issues. In response to requests from groups in neighboring counties, the Fund has begun the extension of the project into Perry, Fulton, Cumberland, and Adams County, Pennsylvania. In November of 1999, the Legal Defense Fund convened a gathering of groups in Perry County to build a "Perry County Coalition," which concentrates on open government and land use planning issues in that County. In mid-2000, the Erie County Quality of Life Coalition was officially launched to replicate some of the projects previously initiated by the Franklin County Coalition. In 2002, the Adams County Citizens Alliance (ACCA) was launched, using the Franklin County Coalition as its structural and organizing model.

In addition to its hosting of the Franklin County Coalition, the Legal Defense Fund has also initiated several specific sustainability projects, which are outlined in greater detail in this grant proposal. Those projects include environmental ordinance-drafting services for municipal governments, the construction of a biodiesel processor at Wilson College to highlight the use of renewable fuels for farmers, partnering with the South-Central Farmers Market Association to stimulate purchasing from local farms, and the hosting of a farmland and forestland Conservancy to protect and preserve land from development.

II. Major Program Accomplishments During the 2002 Program Year

• Assisted in the growth of a Farmers' Market in Shippensburg and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and supported the work of the South-Central Farmers' Market Association in selling local farm products directly to local restaurants;
• Hosted the First Annual Winter Banquet for the Franklin County Coalition in March of 2002. Keynote speakers at the Banquet included the Executive Directors of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) and Common Cause/Pennsylvania. The Banquet featured literature tables for all of the organizations comprising the Coalition;
• Partnered with Fulton Farm at Wilson College to begin construction of a processor to make biodiesel fuel from the waste fryer grease produced by the college cafeteria. The biodiesel will be used to fuel the Farm's irrigation pumps, and the operation of the processor will serve as a renewable fuel demonstration project for area farmers;
• Won several procedural victories on behalf of individuals and community organizations in Franklin County in a federal court lawsuit filed against the Federal Highway Administration to stop a proposed Exit project which will condemn prime farmland in the County for the construction of an interstate interchange;
• Assisted an organization in Peters Township, Franklin County to develop an Ordinance dealing with the land application of Class B Sewage Sludge in the Township, and assisted the group with educating the public about land applied sludge;
• Published four editions of Franklin Green - the Legal Defense Fund's newsletter for Franklin County Coalition members. The Legal Defense Fund also continued to publish editorials in all of Franklin County's newspapers which have set aside editorial space for Coalition writers;
• Assisted another municipal government in North-Central Pennsylvania with the adoption of an Ordinance focused on eliminating agribusiness corporate involvement in farming. Thus far, ten municipal governments across five Counties in Pennsylvania have adopted the Ordinance by unanimous votes;
• Assisted a dozen additional municipal governments in Pennsylvania with the adoption of Legal Defense Fund-drafted environmental protection Ordinances;
• Assisted with the formation of the Adams County Citizens Alliance (ACCA) in Adams County, Pennsylvania to oppose the development and siting of big box retail and distribution warehouses in the County;
• Incorporated the Antietam Creek Watershed Association, Inc., an organization dedicated to protecting and preserving water quality and quantity within southern Franklin County;
• Produced two organizing and educational videotapes dealing with corporate factory farms and the land application of sewage sludge, and distributed those videotapes to over three hundred local governments and community organizations in the Eastern United States; and
• Assisted the Franklin County Association of Township Officials, the Cumberland County Association of Township Officials, the Clarion County Association of Township Officials, and the Fulton County Association of Township Officials in Pennsylvania to draft a Resolution opposing state legislation that sought to eliminate the authority of local governments to regulate and control factory farms and the land application of sewage sludge.

III. Projects for the 2003-2004 Program Year

(1) Ordinance Drafting for Rural Municipal Governments

For the 2003-2004 program year, the Fund will continue to provide a Local Ordinance Drafting service for local governments in Pennsylvania. In Program Year 2002, this project continued to be effective at implementing environmental protection Ordinances at the municipal level. The two most popular ordinances drafted by the Fund are: (1) The Southampton Township Farm Ownership Ordinance - modeled after the statewide laws of nine midwestern states which prohibit corporate ownership and control of farms; and (2) The Rush Township Sewage Sludge Ordinance - which grants authority to municipal officials to regulate the content of sewage sludge applied to farmland and mine reclamation sites.

The Southampton Ordinance was developed in March of 1999, and has been successfully adopted by ten municipal governments across five Counties in Pennsylvania: Wells Township, Belfast Township, Thompson Township, Ayr Township, and Licking Creek Township in Fulton County, Pennsylvania; East Wheatfield Township in Indiana County; West Providence Township and East Providence Township in Bedford County; South Newton Township in Cumberland County; and Windham Township in Bradford County. The Ordinance is currently being reviewed by an additional dozen municipal governments in southcentral and northcentral Pennsylvania. The Ordinance has also been used as a model Ordinance by groups in California, Colorado, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, and Oregon.

The Rush Township Ordinance has been adopted by eight municipal governments in Pennsylvania, including Rush Township, Marion Township, and Burnside Township in Centre County; Marion Township, Porter Township, Limestone Township, and Toby Township in Clarion County, and by Buffington Township in Indiana County.

Other Legal Defense Fund-drafted ordinances available for adoption include (1) The Corporate Ownership and Disclosure Ordinance - requiring corporations doing business in a local area to file their articles of incorporation and bylaws with the local government; (2) The Solar Ordinance - requiring the installation of solar hot water heaters in all new residential housing developments; (3) The Local Recycled Paper Ordinance - requiring local governments to use high content, chlorine-free recycled paper for office operations; (4) The Noxious Odors Control Ordinance - regulating noxious odors released from large agricultural operations; (5) The Water Impact Ordinance - requiring any new uses which will use large quantities of water to certify that their operation will not adversely impact existing water supplies; (6) The Fly Swarm Production Ordinance - requiring corporate factory farms to install systems designed to control fly swarm production; (7) A Corporate "Three Strikes and You're Out" Ordinance, which enables municipal governments to exclude criminal corporations from doing business in a locality; and (8) A Township Environmental Impact Statement Ordinance, which requires an environmental impact statement to be prepared for major corporate actions undertaken in a municipality.

Collectively, over forty municipal governments in Pennsylvania have adopted Legal Defense Fund-drafted Ordinances.

During Program Year 2003-2004, the Fund will continue to expand its services to include customized environmental Ordinance drafting for those local governments unable to afford specialized environmental counsel. In particular, the Fund will seek to expand assistance to groups and municipal governments working in North Carolina and New York to stop the corporatization of agriculture. During Program Year 2002, the Legal Defense Fund hosted an extern from the Michigan State - Detroit Law School, who prepared legal Memoranda concerning the expansion of the Legal Defense Fund's anti-corporate farming Ordinance to municipal governments in New York and North Carolina.

Two of the Legal Defense Fund's Ordinances have been featured by the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) as Model Ordinances for passage by Township Supervisors in Pennsylvania. All of the Legal Defense Fund's Ordinances have been made available through the Legal Defense Fund's website, to allow for easy access by organizations and governments.

(2) The Franklin County Coalition

For the 2003-2004 Program Year, the Legal Defense Fund is committed to continuing to build and strengthen the Franklin County Coalition. As of November, 2002, the Coalition has grown to include eighteen (18) nonprofit organizational members and over a thousand individual members. By the conclusion of the 2003-2004 Program Year, the Legal Defense Fund anticipates the endorsement of Coalition Principles by five additional community organizations and ten additional locally owned businesses.

In mid-2002, the Legal Defense Fund published and distributed its updated Manual for Building Sustainable Communities in Franklin County. That Manual - containing a variety of municipal Ordinances used to implement the Coalition's Principles - will be updated in 2003 to include new tools and Ordinances that become available. The Manual will continue to be distributed to community groups within the Coalition, other citizen groups, and all local government officials.

Public education will continue to be a focus of Coalition efforts during Program Year 2003-2004. Currently, three of the five newspapers in Franklin County reserve a monthly column for a Franklin County Coalition writer. Those articles have ranged from green energy issues to support for various land use proposals across the County. These articles have been essential for the growth of the Coalition - enabling citizens to become involved by contacting the authors of those various articles. The newspapers currently carrying Coalition articles are: The Chambersburg Public Opinion, the Greencastle Echo-Herald, and the Shippensburg Sentinel. Other County newspapers, including the Waynesboro Record-Herald and the Hagerstown Morning Herald, have also committed to carrying Coalition articles on a regular basis.

On January 23, 2003, the Coalition will hold its first formal Board of Directors meeting, at which individuals elected by their respective Coalition organizational member will take direct votes to support issues relevant to Franklin County. The bi-annual Board meetings will thus be used to drive the Coalition's sustainable vision into certain issue areas important to Franklin Countians.

On March 8, 2003, the Coalition will host its Second Winter Banquet for members of the Coalition and community activists. Featured speakers will include the President of the Pennsylvania Farmers Union (PFU), and two community activists of statewide importance. The first annual Winter Banquet, held in 2002, drew over a hundred attendees, and featured the Executive Directors of Common Cause/Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). The events are used by the Coalition to attract new members, distribute literature about organizational members of the Coalition, build membership for those groups, and feature issues important to the residents of Franklin County.

The Coalition is also planning to prepare a 2003 Primary Election Voter Guide, which will survey candidates for municipal office in Franklin County on issues of importance to the Coalition. The Voter Guide will be mailed to individual voters throughout the County and will be made available to Coalition organizational members and the public through the local business members of the Coalition.

(3) The Franklin County Forest and Farmland Conservancy, Inc.

The Franklin County Forest and Farmland Conservancy was formed in April of 1999 by the Franklin County Coalition and the Legal Defense Fund to serve as a vehicle to preserve forest and farmland within Franklin County that is threatened by urban sprawl and development. Unlike other land preservation programs, the Conservancy seeks to use its development rights purchasing power in a comprehensive plan to target lands located in-between municipalities within Franklin County, Pennsylvania which are experiencing sprawl. Its Board of Directors, working with Wilson College's Environmental Studies Department, finalized the preparation of a comprehensive mapping program, which contains zoning, tax, and agricultural protection parcel designations. After focusing in on a specific geographic area (usually land surrounding a major thoroughfare in between two expanding municipalities), the Conservancy will purchase land in a strategic fashion - to contain sprawl and development within Conservancy-drafted growth boundaries. Individuals currently serving on the Board include the Chairman of the Franklin County Commissioners, an engineer, and several leaders of the Franklin County community. First round purchasing of acreage will occur when adequate funds have been raised.

In addition to purchasing of development rights, the establishment of the Conservancy also enables the Sustainable Communities Program to accept donations of development rights and land from landowners within Franklin County.

(4) The South-Central Farmers Market Association - Building Retail Markets for Family Farmers

The Legal Defense Fund incorporated the South-Central Farmers Market Association in 2001 as a state nonprofit corporation and obtained federal nonprofit status for the organization during the 2002 Program Year. The purpose of the Farmers Market Association is to build direct retail outlets for family farmers in Pennsylvania's Cumberland Valley. That has included the establishment of farmers' markets in Shippensburg and Chambersburg, support for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiatives, and the building of a restaurant market for direct purchasing from local farmers. During the 2003-2004 Program Area, the Legal Defense Fund will continue to support these initiatives, and will continue to partner with the Farmers Market Association to build a demand for the supply of locally produced farm goods.

(5) A Renewable Fuels Project - Demonstrating a Biodiesel Processor

During Program Year 2003-2004, the Legal Defense Fund will be partnering with Wilson College's Fulton Farm and the Pennsylvania Farmers Union (PFU) to develop and construct a biodiesel processor, which will use waste fryer grease from the College to produce biodiesel for the Farm. The biodiesel will then be used as a renewable fuel to run the Farm's irrigation pumps. It is the intent of the Legal Defense Fund to use the biodiesel processor as a demonstration project for area farmers and to educate residents of Franklin County about the beneficial effects of the use of renewable fuels on farms within the County. It is projected that the processor will be completed by early 2003. As a mobile unit, it will then be used "on-site" on County farms, at conferences hosted by the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA), and as an educational tool for students within the County.