Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Rezoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission urges caution on Liverpool Township rezoning for vehicle dealership after neighbors object
Summary
Neighbors and the county planning staff told the Paragon Planning Commission the proposed rezoning of roughly 69 acres (plus a 12-acre parcel) for a large vehicle dealership would convert prime farmland; the commission voted to send a revised review letter urging further study and procedural checks before approval.
Paragon Planning Commission members agreed to send Liverpool Township a revised review letter urging caution after residents objected to a proposed rezoning that would convert roughly 69 acres (plus an adjacent 12-acre parcel) of agricultural land to a general commercial/industrial district to accommodate a vehicle dealership.
Rhonda Whitmer Sailor, a nearby fifth‑generation farm owner, told the commission she and other neighbors oppose moving or building a new 19,440‑square‑foot dealership on about 20 acres of prime soils across Valley View Road from the current business. “We are here this evening, in response to the application for the proposed rezoning in Liverpool Township of a piece of agricultural ground,” Whitmer Sailor said. She said the existing dealership now operates on a site of roughly 12,000 square feet and is listed as a nonconforming use that may expand up to 50% within its current footprint; neighbors said the applicant’s preferred new building would be far larger than that allowance.
Jason, Perry County planning staff, read a draft recommendation for the county planning commission that would support a township ordinance rezoning only if three conditions were met: the township documents it has reviewed its comprehensive plan within the last 10 years, the township solicitor advises the rezoning does not amount to spot zoning, and surrounding landowners indicate amenability. “If the board determines it has failed to undertake the state‑recommended 10‑year review of the plan … the current future land use plan should still be taken into account,” Jason told the commission.
Commissioners and commenters debated whether the county’s drafted language could be read as permissive because Liverpool Township’s comprehensive plan dates from 2002. Several commissioners asked staff to reword the letter to emphasize that zoning changes should be deferred until the municipality first documents an updated plan review or otherwise demonstrates that procedural checks have been completed. The commission also asked that the letter call attention to the site’s soils and that the applicant provide a draft ordinance to Liverpool Township for review.
The commission then voted to send the revised review letter reflecting those changes and including a specific note on agricultural soils. The vote was taken by voice; the motion carried.
Background and next steps: Neighbors said they already appealed a prior conditional‑use allowance for modest expansion and presented engineering and legal concerns to the township. Staff noted that any future construction would trigger standard development reviews — including a wetlands delineation if applicable and an NPDES permit for land disturbance over one acre — during which environmental and roadway access issues would be examined. The county’s letter is advisory; Liverpool Township’s supervisors may accept or reject the recommendation and proceed with their own process, including a possible ordinance amendment and public hearings.
The commission’s action was limited to sending the advisory, revised review letter; no zoning decision was made by the Paragon Planning Commission.
