County planning commission urges Packard Township to reject CANDU rezoning request

The Carbon County Planning Commission voted to recommend that Packard Township not adopt a proposed zoning amendment that would rezone two tax parcels from C-1 (conservation/light) to I-1 (light industrial). The request was submitted by Greater Hazen Community Area/New Development Organization, incorporated (identified in materials as CANDU). The commission said the application lacked sufficient detail and raised environmental and procedural concerns.

Commission staff said the combined acreage of the two parcels is about 30 acres and that documentation submitted by the applicant was difficult to read and incomplete. Staff flagged earthmoving visible in aerial imagery, questions about current ownership and recent purchases by NP Hazen Holdings 2 LLC, and the possibility of future consolidation of parcels that would require separate review. The commission also noted that the application asserts the rezone would “make the zoning of the premises consistent in all three municipalities,” but county staff said zoning district minimum-lot-size requirements differ between adjacent municipalities and asked the applicant for a clearer justification.

The commission said Packard Township’s I-1 district requires a 10-acre minimum lot size for developments served by on-lot water and a 5-acre minimum where off-site water is available, while Banks Township’s corresponding M-1 designation has a 2-acre minimum. That mismatch, staff said, undercuts the applicant’s consistency claim and warrants further explanation from the applicant about intended future uses and how the request would affect Packard Township residents.

In its review the county planning commission also recommended that Packard Township require the applicant to supply additional studies before adopting any change: an environmental impact report, resource-impact and conservation analysis, site analysis, and an improvement plan addressing potential effects on nearby Quayke Creek and other resources. Staff further observed that Packard Township did not submit a revised zoning map for the adjacent Banks Township changes to the county for review as required under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247), and the commission recommended that county and township procedural requirements be followed before the county issues a formal recommendation.

The commission’s review memorandum identified the current deeded owner in county records as Butler Enterprises but noted title transfers and recent purchases that were not clearly explained in the application. The body of the commission’s comments requested clearer, legible plan sheets, documentation of adjacent owners, showing of contour intervals (not greater than 20 feet), locations of existing and proposed wells and on-lot sewage facilities, and a surveyor’s signature and certifications where missing.

The commission’s action was a formal recommendation letter to Packard Township (vote tally not specified in the meeting record). The county staff report and draft letter list specific items the commission would expect the applicant and township to address before any rezoning is approved.

Packard Township supervisors and the township planning commission previously reviewed the matter; county staff said additional local review materials and public-notice steps required by the Municipalities Planning Code remain outstanding. The commission’s recommendation does not itself change local zoning; it is an advisory review required by state law before most municipal zoning amendments are adopted.

The matter will return to Packard Township for its own hearings and decisions. The county commission asked the applicant to provide clearer materials and for Packard Township to submit its revised zoning map and public-notice documentation to the county as required by Act 247.

The commission’s discussion and technical comments are contained in the county staff review memorandum, which enumerates the application deficiencies and the studies the commission recommended be provided.