Todd Gressey, representing the Planning Commission, told the Finance & Administration Committee that he and Adam Shantz completed a working draft for a recodified zoning ordinance and transmitted it to borough staff and the planning commission for review.

Gressey said the draft focuses on organization and structure rather than new policy, and that staff and planning commissioners will test the code by applying it to current applications to see whether cross-references and language work in practice. A review meeting was scheduled for Dec. 4 to gather those findings. Gressey also said the recodification process produced a separate list of potential policy-based amendments; while recodification itself aims to improve clarity and usability, the policy items are intended to be flagged for council consideration rather than embedded automatically.

Committee members asked about whether an expedited review process for conforming affordable-housing applications could be codified. Staff explained statutory constraints in the Municipalities Planning Code (MPC) and the Uniform Construction Code (UCC) limit what the borough can change about definitions and statutory review timelines; staff suggested internal policy changes (clearer application forms and internal turnaround targets) as practical steps to speed review for qualifying projects.

Gressey recommended sharing the recodification draft with the borough solicitor for a legal review of structure and drafting conventions before any legislative action. The committee agreed to review staff feedback after the Dec. 4 session.

What happens next: Staff and commissioners will test the draft against pending or recent applications, report findings at the Dec. 4 review, and return recommendations about whether and how to proceed legislatively.