Ray H. Ott, Jr., AICP

Ray is a Certified Planner with over 35 years of experience in the fields of community / town planning, land planning, recreation planning and historic preservation. With a graduate and undergraduate background in economics at Penn State University, he also has an expertise in fiscal impact analysis and community revitalization. An active member of the historic preservation community, he has spoken at state preservation conferences on topics ranging from the historic resource survey of Pennsylvania’s state parks, for which he served as project manager, to downtown revitalization. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), American Planning Association, Pennsylvania Recreation & Park Society, and the Society for Commercial Archeology.

Prior to forming Ray Ott & Associates, Ray served as a principal with the planning and design firms of Kummer & Ott Associates and Cee Jay Frederick Associates, and as a Regional Planning Coordinator with the Chester County Planning Commission.

He served for 10 years on the board of directors of the Society for Commercial Archeology, a national organization formed in 1977 to document and advance the appreciation of America’s roadside/commercial built environment. In West Chester Borough he served on the Planning Commission, the Historic Review Board, and Borough Council, where he also served a term as President. As President of the West Chester Area Economic Development Corporation, he was largely responsible for the Borough’s participation in the Main Street Manager Program. He has also served as Chairman of the West Chester Borough Business Improvement District Authority.

Education

Pennsylvania State University

  • Masters Program in Economics (1976-77)
  • Bachelor of Arts, Economics (1973)
  • Bachelor of Arts, Latin American Studies (1973)

Awards

Home Builders Association of Chester and Delaware Counties.
Community of the Year: Best Single Family, Claremont Village Eagleview – Land Planner; Pyramid Award (2001)

Preservation Award: West Chester Historical Board for Sharples House & Carriage House Restoration/Development Plan (1987)

Heritage Commission of Delaware County -”Pennsylvania/Delaware River Coastal Zone Resource Protection Plan.” Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of outstanding contribution to historic preservation in Delaware County (1982)