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Harrisburg residents work on plan to revamp the city

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The City of Harrisburg is asking residents to contribute ideas and concerns to its new Comprehensive Plan. The state requires every city...

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- The City of Harrisburg is asking residents to contribute ideas and concerns to its new Comprehensive Plan.

The state requires every city to have one, but officials wrote the city's last plan 40 years.

On Monday night at the Marshall School, the city held the first of six public input meetings on the plan.

"This is long overdue for the city, we are way behind," says Mayor Eric Papenfuse (D). "We're talking about a plan for 20 years so for the next generation. you know once a generation, and if we get this completed next year you'll probably see new changes to the zoning code and you'll see a whole series of goals."

Residents filled huge pages of ideas for city, about everything from better public transit, more maintenance of streets and sidewalks, and bringing more businesses to the city, besides bars.

"I'm hoping that in their plan in everything that they're deciding on doing, that it will give a little bit of hope to the people that are here in my neighborhood," says Loretta Barbee-Dare of Harrisburg.

Some residents say there are changes that need to happen now, through more enforcement of existing regulations for absentee landlords and illegal dumping.

"Something has to give, because our whole city, as far as I'm concerned, is dirty and it shouldn't be that way," says Rafiyqa Muhammad of Harrisburg. "And we have people that do rent, and our homeowners, we're trying our best to keep it clean but we have a large group of people that just don't care."

The Mayor is encouraging residents to come out to several meetings and share their thoughts:
- June 16th (4-7 PM) Hamilton Health Center, 110 S. 17th St.
- June 17th (5-8 PM) Broad Street Market
- June 23rd (5:30-8:30 PM) Boys & Girls Club Hall Manor, 1227 Berryhill St.
- June 24th (4-7 PM) Lincoln School, 1601 State St.
- June 25th (2:30-5:30 PM) Camp Curtin YMCA, 2135 N 6th St.

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