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Planning commission recommends zoning ordinance reorganization; residents raise map accuracy and outreach concerns
Summary
The commission voted to forward a reorganization of the township zoning ordinance (formatting, use tables and updated definitions) to the county with the commission’s agreed edits. Several residents flagged apparent zoning‑map labeling errors and asked the township to correct maps and improve public outreach before adoption.
The Hford Township Planning Commission on June 11 voted to recommend that the board of commissioners move forward with a reorganization of the township zoning ordinance intended to improve readability and administration.
Consultant Adam Texa of IMAG said the effort is primarily structural: updated definitions, consolidated use tables and bulk‑standard tables, and a shift from prescriptive use lists to broader use categories to make the code easier to use. “The idea here is to make it simpler … to organize it logically and more intuitively and easier to understand and administer,” Texa said.
Why it matters: The reorganization is presented as Phase 1 — a non‑substantive reorganization intended to make the ordinance administratively workable. Phase 2 will consider substantive changes such as where specific new use categories should be permitted. Still, residents at the meeting raised substantive concerns about the map and outreach: several public commenters identified apparent parcel‑level labeling anomalies on the township zoning map and asked that staff investigate and correct any errors before the document proceeds to the county review.
Key details - Scope: The reorganization moves and consolidates definitions and numeric standards into tables, clarifies use categories, and updates several definitions to align with state legal standards, while deferring major use‑district repositioning to phase 2. - Public comments: Multiple residents asked for clearer public notice and for illustrative maps that would show where new use categories might be permitted under the current zoning map. Dory Dowy and Linda Mitchell submitted exhibits alleging that some parcels on the working map display a commercial label over parcels with residential records; they asked the commission to pause forwarding the draft until the original map is published and mapping inconsistencies are resolved. - Consultant responses: Texa and staff said the current reorganization does not alter zoning boundaries and that mapping concerns will be referred to township GIS/staff for investigation. Staff also said the final materials (a summary of comments and the amendment list) will be posted publicly and the package will go to county planning for a 30‑day review before the board hearing.
Public engagement and next steps Residents urged broader outreach; commissioners and staff acknowledged communications challenges and said they will publish the comment summary and revised materials online and send them to the county planning commission for its statutorily required 30‑day review. The planning commission’s motion to recommend the reorganization (with the agreed amendments and renumbering to be handled by the solicitor) passed on a voice vote.
What’s next Township staff will finalize the amended text or publish an addendum (solicitor to advise on format) and post the revised materials and a public‑comment summary to the township website. The package will then go to the county planning commission for its 30‑day review before the board of commissioners schedules a public hearing and adoption vote.
