Municipal and University officials said this week that the University will not have a formal vote in the approval of the region's comprehensive development plan.

Gary Schultz, the University's representative to the region's planning commission and the Centre Region Council of Governments, said the University should not vote because it is not a municipality. His comment comes after an informal decision Monday by State College Borough Council and borough planning commission members to deny the University a vote.

The plan, a document that assesses the region's resources, will enable planners to project and guide regional development over the next five to 10 years, said Bob Crumm, a Centre Region planner. The plan is scheduled for completion by mid-summer, he said.

Borough Planning Director Carl Hess said he asked officials at Monday's work session if they had considered giving the University an opportunity to join the region's six governments in approving the plan. The idea was rejected because of concern that the University might seek to change the document, he said.

The Centre Region is comprised of the townships of Patton, Ferguson, College, Harris and Halfmoon, and the borough of State College.

Crumm, who was at the work session, said while the comprehensive plan has a section devoted to the University's impacts on the region, the document was designed primarily for local municipal use.

But he added the University's large effect on the region's infrastructure and utilities makes it essential that municipalities work closely with University officials in guiding development.

"Our viewpoint, as well as the borough's, is that through the University's representation on the CRPC we'll continue communication to the greatest extent that we can," Crumm said. "We're very encouraged with the communication we've had."

Schultz, University assistant vice president for operations and services, said he believes his representation on the region's planning commission and COG is an effective means of exchanging planning initiatives.

"I feel very comfortable with it," he said. "I think our planning initiatives are very much in synchronization with each other."

Hess said that if planners had allowed the University to be a part of the final approval process when they began the comprehensive plan three years ago, the University would have played a greater role in its development. He added that by voting for the plan, the University would have a legal obligation to follow the development concepts in the document.

"If they approve the plan, they would be more likely to follow what the plan said about their development," Hess said. "We're concerned that they coordinate development better with the municipalities."

While the comprehensive plan has yet to be finished, the University has already completed a series of studies designed to aid in its own development, Shultz said. These include examinations of stormwater management, utilities, transportation and land use, he said.