In September, many areas in Montgomery County were ravaged by Hurricane Ida, and now the Montgomery County Planning Commission and the Montgomery County Commissioners are seeking to repurpose the damaged areas in Perkiomen Township, writes Rachel Ravina for The Reporter.

Montgomery County Planning Commission representatives can now apply for grant funding through the Pennsylvania Department of Natural Resources’ Community Conservation Partnerships Program to acquire these damaged bits of land thanks to authorizations from Montgomery County Commissioners.

The land parcels are “adjacent to the Perkiomen Trail, the Rahns Road trailhead and existing County preserved open space.”

The county and a real estate professional are in discussion with the landowners of are three homes/parcels that sit on two acres of land near Routes 113 and 29.

Trails and Open Space Planning Manager Bill Hartman said, “Depending on the number of parcels we ultimately acquire, and the corresponding appraised land value, the grant request will be determined accordingly.”

When the land is acquired, Hartman said that the parcels of land “would be returned to a semi-natural state to accommodate future trailhead expansion, and improvements including ADA compliant access, and to establish additional public open space, especially for people using the trail.”

Read more about areas of land to be repurposed from Hurricane Ida in The Reporter.