The Harrisburg City Council set a second reading for amendments to Chapter 9 of the city’s zoning ordinance that create a new R1C “compact” single‑family residential district, add a rural residential district limited to 10 acres, clarify annexation zoning, and remove the city’s existing R4 language.

The changes, presented during the council’s public hearing and first reading, aim to add a distinct compact‑lot option and to update and streamline several sections of the zoning code. Planning staff told the council the R1C district would be a standalone district with a 50‑foot lot‑width minimum and would not automatically apply to existing R1 property; any R1 land would need a formal rezoning to R1C.

Planning staff said the draft also creates a rural residential (RR) district — limited to a 10‑acre maximum lot size — and clarifies how land annexed from county jurisdiction may receive city zoning at the time of annexation to speed the process. Staff also recommended adding recreational facilities as a conditional use in the light industrial district. The ordinance language collapses some material from the R4 chapter because, staff said, that language was “outdated and irrelevant” and some functional elements were incorporated into the new R1C district.

Resident Jason Churchmont of 47157 South Clubhouse Road, who addressed the council during public comment, urged the council to preserve an explicit high‑density category for multifamily housing rather than rely on the R1C language. “The ability of the pocket neighborhoods, as the ordinance is written, is misleading to the public regarding density and will make a rezone from R1 to R1C seem minor, but it is a large shift,” Churchmont said. He said changes to detached housing lot requirements could allow “30% more homes as written,” and that the pocket‑neighborhood component could allow “117% more.” Churchmont recommended removing the pocket‑neighborhood language from R1C and retaining a separate high‑density zone for apartments if the city intends to accommodate them.

Staff and planning commissioners told the council the R1C model mirrors compact single‑family districts used in other municipalities and that keeping it as a separate district avoids unintentionally subjecting all R2 property to 50‑foot frontage rules. The planning commission recommended several edits during its review, including limiting the rural residential maximum lot size to 10 acres.

Council members voted to set a second reading of the ordinance for July 15, 2025. The motion to set the second reading was approved during the meeting; specific roll‑call tallies were recorded in the council minutes.

The city’s packet and staff presentation identified the ordinance as amendments to Chapter 9, Sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Zoning Ordinance and noted that the proposal was referred to and recommended by the planning commission. The draft ordinance includes language intended to preserve both the option to assign county zoning at annexation and the alternate route of a separate rezoning process if an applicant prefers.

Questions remain about where multifamily apartment uses will be located after the R4 language is removed; the transcript records residents asking that the code explicitly state whether apartments would be mapped into R3 or remain in a distinct high‑density classification. Council and staff discussion addressed that the R1C is limited to single‑family detached compact lots and is not intended to be a catchall for multifamily uses.

Pending the second reading and any amendments, the council’s action will return for final consideration on July 15, 2025.