UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Municipal resource shortages and turnover of staff and elected officials can make it difficult to apply best practices for blight mitigation consistently. A Penn State Extension land-use webinar will focus on how Westmoreland County, in collaboration with the Local Government Academy, is addressing blight and disinvestment through an intergovernmental partnership.

Presenting the 75-minute webinar at noon Sept. 18 will be Brian Lawrence, executive director of the Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority, and Joy Ruff, executive director of the Local Government Academy. Both are members of the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Leveraging public and private funding, the Local Government Academy is working with municipalities across southwestern Pennsylvania to revitalize communities facing financial and staffing challenges. The initiative focuses on code enforcement, data-driven decisions and community outreach to combat the negative impacts of neglected, vacant and abandoned properties.

Presenters will discuss the leadership efforts of the Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank to build stronger communities through blight demolition; residential and commercial rehabilitation, acquisition, and repurposing of vacant and tax-delinquent properties; accessible and affordable housing; training and education partnerships; historic preservation; and brownfield redevelopment.

“Blight Mitigation: Building Capacity Through Intergovernmental Partnerships” is the third webinar in Penn State Extension’s Summer/Fall 2024 Land-Use Webinar Series that runs monthly until Nov. 20. The series is aimed at informing municipal elected and appointed officials, planners, landowners, farmers, and community organizations about land-use issues and decisions in their communities.

All webinars are recorded and available for future viewing. Other programs in the series include:

• July 17: “Improving Rural Communities Response to Homelessness” (recorded).

• Aug. 21: “Finding the Right Audience” (recorded).

• Oct. 16: “County Planning Districts: An Innovative Approach to Municipal and County Collaboration in Community Planning.”

• Nov. 20: “Local Community Implementation of Active Transportation Plans.”

The cost of the webinar series is $50 for all five sessions, or $95 for all five sessions for those who want to receive AICP certification-maintenance credits from the American Planning Association. The cost also is $95 for all five sessions for professional engineers needing PDH credits. In addition, registered landscape architects can receive continuing-education credits for a fee of $65.

For anyone interested in a particular topic from the series, individual session registration is available for a fee of $15 per session. Those needing assistance can access a scholarship option.

For more information, contact Peter Wulfhorst at 570-296-3400 or by email at ptw3@psu.edu. To register for the webinars, visit the Penn State Extension website.