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Silver Spring committee forwards woodland-buffer guidelines to staff and votes to shrink panel
Summary
At its June 3 meeting the Silver Spring Township Conservation and Preservation Committee voted to forward a public woodland buffer guideline proposal to township staff for review and approved a charter change to limit voting membership to seven, among other routine agenda items.
The Silver Spring Township Conservation and Preservation Committee met June 3, 2024, and approved minutes from May 6, moved a woodland buffer guideline from public comment to staff review, and voted to reduce the committee’s voting membership to a maximum of seven, the minutes show.
Those changes could affect how conditional-use negotiations proceed where commercial or industrial parcels border residential zones, committee members said. The charter revision, which the committee voted to forward to the Board of Supervisors, would explicitly include one representative from the Planning Commission among the seven voting members and make the Board of Supervisors liaison and the Cumberland County advisor non‑voting participants.
The meeting opened with the membership and attendance recorded and the May 6 minutes approved on a motion by committee member Joe Leardi, seconded by Randy Duncan. The minutes were to be forwarded by Secretary Hrzic to township staff for publishing.
During the public comment portion, member of the public Clarence Bouchat presented a proposal for woodland buffer guidelines and said he was not proposing an ordinance change but rather offering guidelines that could be used in negotiations on conditional-use requests where nonresidential properties abut residential zoning. Committee member John Murphy moved to forward the matter to township staff for review and comment; Randy Duncan seconded the motion, which the committee approved.
On committee governance, Joe Leardi moved to change the committee’s composition so it would have a maximum of seven voting members, including one Planning Commission designee and six additional voting members; the Board of Supervisors liaison and the Cumberland County advisor would be non‑voting. John Murphy seconded the motion, and the committee approved forwarding the proposal to Chris Guarino and the Board of Supervisors for consideration.
There was no update on the Collander Pollock House. Committee members Cliff Jarrett, Joe Leardi and Linda Melham will continue revising Sections 4 and 5 (and possibly Section 6) of a draft ordinance ahead of the August meeting. Discussion of the MS4-related Yorlett property was tabled until the July meeting.
Randy Duncan reported that at a recent Planning Commission meeting all but one development plan had been withdrawn; the minutes did not specify counts or the identity of the remaining plan.
The committee adjourned at 6:35 p.m. on a motion by Linda Melham, seconded by John Murphy.
Next steps: the woodland buffer guidelines will be reviewed by township staff, the charter change will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors, ordinance revisions will continue before August, and the Yorlett MS4 item will return in July.
