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Lancaster County Board of Zoning Appeals elects chair, reviews variance standards and UDO timeline
Summary
At an organizational meeting after the board’s reconstitution, the Lancaster County Board of Zoning Appeals elected Charles Deese as chair, chose Mr. Falconberry as vice chair, approved routine agenda items, and received staff training on variance standards, ex parte communications, recusal rules and the Unified Development Ordinance rewrite.
Charles Deese was chosen as chair of the Lancaster County Board of Zoning Appeals during the board’s organizational meeting, and Mr. Falconberry was named vice chair, after members voted and one nominee withdrew. The board also approved its agenda and minutes and received a staff-led training on variance standards, impartiality, evidence requirements and the ongoing Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) rewrite.
Development services director Allison Harden opened the meeting and corrected a terminology point for the record, saying “these are board members rather than commissioners.” Harden told the reconstituted panel that an ordinance passed in December 2024 reduced the board from seven members to five, that the county council appointed the four members present in January and that one seat remains open. Harden said the board handles special exceptions, appeals of administrative decisions and variances and reviewed where to find those standards in the UDO (chapter 9, including sections 9-2-12 through 9-2-14).
The board handled routine organizational business early in the meeting. A motion to approve the…
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