Dauphin County planners ratify staff comments, advance reviews and reject two small Swatara rezoning petitions
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Summary
At its Feb. 2 meeting the commission ratified multiple staff comments on subdivision and zoning matters, authorized starting formal review periods (including a Williams Township 90‑day review), ratified sewer review for a 253‑unit Oakville project, and supported staff in opposing two small Swatara Township rezoning petitions for multifamily use.
Dauphin County Planning Commission members on Feb. 2 voted to ratify a series of staff comment letters and move multiple land‑development plans into the formal review process, while also signaling concern about a pair of small rezoning petitions in Swatara Township.
Commissioners ratified staff comments on a batch of January 2026 subdivision and land‑development plans (covering mostly single‑family residential projects plus larger items such as Hershey Lodge additions and a Harrisburg storage‑unit project) and authorized staff to proceed with formal reviews. The commission also accepted a Williams Township submission for review and began the 90‑day statutory review clock.
Staff described a sanitary sewer application tied to the Oakville Plan Community Development (253 units) that would install a gravity main and lift station to connect to the Ruby Drive system; staff’s role was to confirm application filing and capacity letters, and the commission ratified the staff comments on the sewer module.
The commission considered two petitions from Swatara Township to rezone two small parcels on Pleasant View Drive (one parcel is 0.22 acres) from single‑family to multifamily to allow duplexes. County staff recommended not supporting the map amendment because it would create a piecemeal change that could disrupt neighborhood character and would open the parcel to all uses permitted in the multifamily district. The commission voted to ratify staff’s recommendation not to support the rezoning petitions.
Other actions included authorizing staff comments on several township zoning and subdivision ordinance drafts (Humboldt Borough, Lower Swatara Township) and approving staff recommendations on intergovernmental reviews, including Millersburg’s $500,000 PennDOT multimodal grant application for the Millersburg Streets Revitalization Project and a Capital Region Water riverfront park request. Staff also reported receipt of approximately $1.9 million in CAP funds for the regional program and about 120 responses to a county comprehensive‑plan QR‑code survey; staff aims to produce a draft plan by late 2026 and pursue adoption in mid‑2027.
Commissioner Pomeroy recorded an abstention on one item he said he could see from his window; another commissioner recorded an abstention on the intergovernmental review packet. The meeting adjourned with the next meeting scheduled for March 2.
Next steps: staff will continue formal reviews under the 90‑day clock where initiated, transmit comment letters to the affected townships, and report back as edits or legal actions emerge.