Commission reviews annual report draft and provides feedback on neighboring municipal plans

Planning staff presented the Planning Commission with a near‑final draft of its 2024 annual report and briefed commissioners on intermunicipal plan reviews for West Reading Borough and Berne Township.

Jerome said the annual report—required by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, section 207—includes ten sections covering commission membership, approved plans, pending land‑development applications, denied or withdrawn applications, municipal improvement agreements, conditional uses and the commission’s activities for 2024. He said the only outstanding task before transmission to City Council was inserting resolution numbers.

Intermunicipal reviews - West Reading Borough: Staff reviewed a comprehensive set of zoning amendments focused on a downtown overlay district that uses form‑based concepts (retail frontage, commercial frontage, downtown signage and supplemental regulations). Jerome said the changes principally affect the borough’s downtown overlay and recommended the draft be submitted to the Berks County Planning Commission; the Planning Commission may provide a recommendation to West Reading at its May 27 meeting. - Berne Township: Berne Township submitted a draft comprehensive plan to adjacent municipalities as required by state law. Staff found the Berne draft generally consistent with Reading’s comprehensive plan and noted it did not address sanitary sewer connections into the city; staff recommended the Berne draft go to the Berks County Planning Commission for review.

Next steps Jerome said staff would add the missing resolution numbers to the annual report and bring the item back for formal adoption so the report can be transmitted to City Council. Commissioners had no substantive objections and scheduled the item for reaffirmation at the May 27 meeting.