This Central Pennsylvania town of approximately 20,000 has a long history dating back to the Revolutionary War. Some of its most famous and popular draws include: historic Dickinson College, the U.S. Army War College, several beloved restaurants, and its car shows. In each iteration of the Strongest Town contest, Carlisle stood out for its diverse and supportive community, and ultimately the borough’s collaborative spirit, willingness to ask hard questions, and ambitious homegrown leadership won it the gold in 2016.
Officials in Carlisle have been looking at how to simplify their zoning codes since winning the Strongest Town contest in 2016. Finally in 2022, through the establishment of a land use reform committee, they carved a dedicated venue to interrogate what in their code has been working and what has been creating unnecessary paperwork for officials and a headache for residents.
What Carlisle’s leadership didn’t anticipate when they launched the committee is that they were poised to influence more than just the borough’s zoning code.
“So we were going to originally just look at zoning ordinance stuff,” Jared Woolston, the director of sustainable community and economic planning, explained. “And just as we were starting out, we got a couple of complaints that made us look at the local permitting process for…keeping chickens. Turns out, it was just way too expensive.”
Those complaints came in at a time when egg prices skyrocketed nationally. Local, small-scale farmers were uniquely positioned to help offset the shortage, yet a lengthy and expensive permitting process stood in the way for Carlisle’s chicken-coop owners.
“So, one of our first projects was knocking that down,” Woolston added. “And we picked up some new small-scale egg farmers along the way, which was the best outcome.”
The committee’s unexpected first mission set the stage for its work. “It’s all about adaptability,” Brenda Landis, who nominated Carlisle in 2016, underscored.
In establishing a land use reform committee in 2022, the borough was hoping not only to usher in changes to their decades-old zoning code, but begin a dialogue with the public and the rest of the city staff on what impact—and fallout—continuing the status quo would have on Carlisle.
On one front, this looks like education. Bringing up parking is a non-starter in many communities, but clarifying what impact mandates have on the look, feel, and affordability of Carlisle is a way to break the ice. It also helps that parking reform is snowballing across the country and they have plenty of proof that it works and that “the sky won’t fall.”
On another front, it means leading by example. Carlisle’s leaders know that sometimes the best way to tell is by showing, and that’s how they’ve been able to advance reforms. When factories began shutting down in recent years, the choice was between blight and hope. With local leaders ready to step in and talk redevelopment, residents listened and now the borough is better off, financially and culturally, because of it.
Carlisle recognizes that what makes the borough special is its people and how they’ve defined Carlisle. Last year, the Downtown Carlisle Association re-envisioned the borough’s new years celebration to be a “Hotchee New Year,” named after an iconic hot cheese dog from Carlisle’s long-standing Hamilton Restaurant. A family of Greek immigrants opened the restaurant back in 1938 and it’s been the pride of Carlisle since. “It was WILDLY successful because we didn't try to replicate something another town did but we went with what we know...and love,” Brenda Landis, the borough’s Deputy Mayor said.
It wasn’t just an opportunity to celebrate the town’s quirks and honor a nearly century-old establishment. Landis described how the borough agreed to move the countdown to an earlier hour in order to include older family members of the Hamilton Restaurant in the festivities. Making sure everyone feels included is core to how Carlisle operates and the latest new year’s celebration is just one example. “That is what is beautiful about Carlisle and why doing things in a silly and scrappy way is embraced. It's our own 'chaotic but smart' over 'orderly but dumb' way of doing things,” Landis said.