Council urges changes to Light Business table for McGinnis site; commission weighs setbacks, uses and stormwater

Chairperson Wittenheiser told the Columbia Planning Commission at its Feb. 18 workshop that borough council has reviewed and flagged a number of changes to the Light Business (LB) district permitted-uses table for the McGinnis text amendments and wants the commission to move forward with those changes.

The guidance sent from council, Wittenheiser said, highlights multiple institutional and accessory uses that were previously permitted but that council now recommends changing to “not permitted” or to a special-exception classification. “They’ve given us some guidance here,” Wittenheiser said.

The commission spent the meeting reviewing examples in the packet and debating how to handle uses such as concrete or plaster product manufacturing, chemical products that “are not highly hazardous or toxic,” colleges or university support facilities, community centers, and publicly owned recreation. Several commissioners said the phrase “not highly hazardous” is subjective and recommended handling such uses case by case.

“I’m just thinking that you’re going to have companies…that back up their pollution and say that it is not pollution and that it’s well within what’s legitimate,” a commissioner said, arguing for special-exception review so applicants must appear before the borough and provide operational details.

Commissioners discussed adopting specific criteria for special exceptions (for example, limits on truck routing and hours of operation for warehousing/distribution) rather than relying only on the zoning-hearing board’s general compatibility criteria. A council note included suggested conditions such as requiring heavy trucks to exit to the south and limiting hours of operation to 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.; commissioners flagged those as examples that could be codified for particular uses.

The commission also discussed broader site controls for the McGinnis property: setbacks, buffering to reduce light or noise impacts on nearby residences, and whether to create a separate “campus industrial” or “business park” classification similar to provisions cited from Mount Joyborough that include minimum lot sizes and front-yard setbacks. “If we’re making changes out there, I think we need to look first at the perimeter of that property,” Wittenheiser said, raising setbacks and “light pollution” as concerns.

Panel members asked whether stormwater and sanitary infrastructure on the site would be handled by the borough or by individual developers. A staff member said each business likely must meet stormwater requirements tied to its building coverage and parking, and the commission noted an existing proposed stormwater-management area on the site map in the packet.

Commissioners also returned repeatedly to the question of how far council wants to go with public investment versus selling parcels “as-is.” One member summarized the range of options: selling the land immediately; remediating and selling; or adding streets and utilities before selling. Council, Wittenheiser said, must decide how much infrastructure it wants to provide before development.

No zoning amendment or ordinance was adopted at the Feb. 18 workshop; commissioners continued discussion and asked for clarification on several specific uses, setback standards and objective criteria to govern special exceptions. The commission did not vote on any text amendments during the meeting.

Votes at a glance

The commission voted to approve the minutes of the Jan. 21 meeting as presented. The motion was made by Tiffany, seconded by Justin and approved by voice vote. The transcript records a unanimous voice vote but does not contain a roll-call tally.

What’s next

Commissioners asked staff to keep the packeted council notes in mind and to return with clearer, objective language for any use-specific criteria and for proposed setback and buffering requirements. The commission also requested additional information about stormwater infrastructure responsibilities and any grant conditions tied to site infrastructure before drafting ordinance language for the LB district.