Council upholds planning commission denial of rezoning for Westchester parcel

Chester County Council on April 7 voted on first reading to uphold the Planning Commission’s 5–0 recommendation and deny a rezoning request from Kimberly Zarko for a parcel in Westchester (CCMA 25-14).

The applicant sought to rezone roughly 1.5 acres of tax map 040-00-078-000 from Rural 2 (R-2) zoning to Rural 1 (R-1) to create smaller home sites. Planning staff told council the parcel was originally thought to total nearly 4 acres but that a subsequent survey revealed road right-of-way and easement areas had been incorrectly included in earlier calculations.

Planning and Development Director Ward told council the R-2 district in the surrounding area is generally for 2-acre lots and that permitting a 1-acre parcel in the middle of a 2-acre district could set a precedent. Ward said the corrected survey left the rear parcel at about 1.46 acres exclusive of required access easements, meaning the applicant’s option of resurveying to create two 2-acre lots was not available.

Councilmembers debated local planning consistency and precedent. One council member said overturning the planning commission’s recommendation would undermine the commission’s role in applying rules countywide. After discussion, the motion to uphold the planning commission’s recommendation to deny passed (five in favor, two opposed on first reading). Councilmembers asked staff and the applicant to continue conversation ahead of second and third readings to explore any technical fixes or additional information.

The council’s vote preserves the existing R-2 zoning for the area while leaving procedural opportunities for the applicant to address survey or technical issues before subsequent readings.