Bellefonte commissioners adopt 2025 Comprehensive Plan

The Town of Bellefonte unanimously approved Ordinance 2026-01 on Feb. 9, adopting the 2025 Bellefonte Comprehensive Plan.

At the commission meeting, Andrew Ritchie moved to accept the second reading and approve the ordinance; Dave Brenner seconded and the motion passed with all in favor. Commissioners who spoke during the vote gave brief reasons for their support: Dave Brenner called the update "a more thorough representation of plan for development," Logan Ritchie said the plan "meets needs of the residents" as a five-year framework, Andrew Ritchie said the revised plan is up to date, and Brandon Dougherty said it "will improve quality of life in Bellefonte." Scott MacKenzie cited the Planning Commission's approval under the leadership of Jim Paradise.

The vote implements the updated comprehensive plan as the town's guiding document for land-use and development decisions. Commission discussion and the recorded reasons for the vote focused on the planbeing a current, five-year policy framework; no amendments were proposed during the meeting.

The Planning Commission approved the updated plan on Feb. 2, and the Town Commission's action completes the local adoption step. The commission directed Scott MacKenzie to prepare related zoning-resolution language requested earlier by the Planning Commission for consideration at the March meeting.

The ordinance passed by unanimous voice vote; commissioners did not record individual roll-call tallies in the minutes. The commission did not set an effective date in the meeting minutes; implementation steps noted included preparing a resolution on zoning-code enforcement items for the March agenda.

Moving forward, the Planning Commission will deliver a list of zoning-code restrictions it asks New Castle County Code Enforcement to enforce, and Scott MacKenzie will prepare that list as a resolution for the March meeting.