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Planning commission chair asks council to table joint zoning minutes, cites errors and outstanding zoning definitions
Summary
Mary Wickenhaus, chair of the Columbia Borough Planning Commission, asked council to table approval of the March 20 joint meeting minutes because they do not reflect agreed changes to the permitted uses table and definitions; council voted to table the minutes.
Mary Wickenhaus, chair of the Columbia Borough Planning Commission, asked Columbia Borough Council to table approval of the joint Council/Planning Commission minutes from the March 20 meeting, saying the draft minutes include errors and omit agreed edits to the zoning ordinance’s permitted-uses table and definitions.
Wickenhaus said the minutes reversed a decision the panel had made about target shooting ranges, noting “we wanted indoor is special exception and outdoor is not permitted.” She said the commission had also agreed to add definitions for data centers, and that other items discussed at the March 20 meeting — including medical marijuana references and changes to permitted uses — were not correctly reflected.
Wickenhaus urged additional review by the planning commission, said she had circulated a document summarizing the March 20 outcomes, and recommended the proposed ordinance changes be sent to Lancaster County Planning for the required review. She also said her commission thought the special-exception criteria could be finalized later so they would not delay the broader amendments.
A solicitor in attendance said nothing legally prevents advertising amendments that leave specific special-exception criteria to be resolved later, but added caution about that approach. Wickenhaus listed several items she said needed correction in the minutes: the indoor/outdoor classification for target ranges, package-delivery and warehouse special-exception language, a new data-center definition, removal of a 40% maximum building-coverage number (replaced by an 85% impervious-coverage cap), and a 20,000-square-foot minimum lot size.
Councilperson Murphy moved to table the joint meeting minutes; Councilperson Giese seconded the motion. The motion to table passed with all in favor.
Council and planning commission members said they will meet off-line as needed to finalize wording before re-submitting the minutes and the proposed zoning amendments for advertisement and Lancaster County review.
