Chestnut Hill Named "Great Place in America"

Chestnut Hill residents residents who believe their neighborhood to be on of the best in the country now have an award to prove it.

Representatives from the community were on hand at the Philadelphia City Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday to accept an award for being one of the American Planning Associations 10 "Great Places in America" for 2012.

"The APA's great places in America program recognizes 10 great places … 10 grew neighborhoods that exemplify excellence in planning, charter and cusodianship," David Schaaf, a designer for the PCPC said. "These places … have a true sense of place, cultural interest, community involvement and a vision of the future. Such a place is Chestnut Hill"

According to its website, the APA selected Chestnut Hill due to a number of factors, including its ability to preserve its history, citing "efforts to protect the architectural heritage of [the area]," adopting land use guidelines to "ensure compatibility of new developments with existing architecture," and the continued advocacy of the Chestnut Hill Community Association to "protecting neighborhood character."

"What makes Chestnut Hill truly worth of an award of national magnitude is that there continues to be an active community of interested citizens that maintains, perceives and reinvents the communities assists," Schaaf said.

Representatives from the Chestnut Hill Business Association, the historical society and the Community Association were on-hand to accept the distrinction for the neighborhood.

To view the full criteria to be named a great place and to see the APA's summary of the neighborhood, check out the APA website.