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Planning board recommends UDO text amendments correcting errors, moving some landfill activity to special-use review
Summary
The Town of Harrisburg Planning and Zoning Board recommended approval of H2024-03, a package of corrections and targeted changes to the Unified Development Ordinance, including making demolition-landfill uses subject to special-use permits in most zones and clarifying institutional use rules for large religious facilities.
The Town of Harrisburg Planning and Zoning Board on Jan. 21 recommended that the town council approve H2024-03, a set of corrections and minor edits to the Unified Development Ordinance intended to fix errors, update links and adjust several use-table entries.
Shelly Dehart, planning staff, told the board "This is H202403. This is a request to amend various chapters of the Unified Development Ordinance," and summarized changes that include restoring a missing residential development type in a table, removing outdated language that said the Planning and Zoning Board acted as the Board of Adjustment, and correcting internal links.
The amendments would change how demolition-landfill activities are handled: the agricultural (AG) zoning district would no longer allow the activity outright but would require a special-use permit, and most nonresidential districts would likewise require a special-use permit for demolition-landfill operations. Dehart said the town has only one property zoned AG and that two landfill-type facilities currently operate in the Employment Center (EC) zone; the EC district would be left exempt so existing operations would not be made nonconforming.
The proposal also clarifies institutional zoning. The office-institutional (OI) district would explicitly permit religious institutions with more than 350 seats by special-use permit (the town uses the term "special use permit" while the state has recently used "conditional use permit"). A related text change in the public-assembly section would support that OI change.
Dehart told the board the proposed changes respond to errors found in prior UDO drafts and are consistent with the town's land-use plan and the UDO's decision criteria. She noted a recent state law, identified in the meeting as Bill 382, limits local governments' ability to remove or reduce uses that property owners currently hold a right to, which influenced the recommendation to require special-use permits rather than fully remove certain uses.
A board member moved to recommend approval of H2024-03 to the town council; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. The board recorded no amendment to the motion and no public comment on this agenda item was taken.
The recommendation now goes to the Town of Harrisburg Town Council for final action; if adopted by council the amendments would take effect immediately, per the town's standard procedure for text amendments.
Votes at a glance: The Planning and Zoning Board adopted a motion recommending approval of H2024-03 to town council by voice vote; the chair announced the motion carried.
