Centre County planning panel grants conditional approval for six‑lot Yearick subdivision in Potter Township

The Centre County Planning Commission on June 16 conditionally approved the Earl N. Yearick, Jr. Estate Subdivision and Lot Addition Plan, which proposes six lots on a 69.759‑acre tract along General Potter Highway in Potter Township. The motion to grant conditional final approval was made by Vice‑Chair Andrea Pandolfi, seconded by Deb Simoncek, and carried.

Staff recommended conditional approval subject to completing technical and legal items identified in the planning office attachment. The plan, prepared by PennTerra Engineering, shows three existing residential lots, one existing vacant farmland lot and two existing commercial lots, and proposes a private street and lot additions to replot several parcels. Key outstanding items include documented resolution of existing waterline easements, recorded lot‑addition/replot deeds and any necessary instruments extinguishing prior easements recorded in the County Recorder of Deeds, and execution of access easements referenced in the plan.

The planning staff also required submittal of supporting approvals before final release: an approved PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit for each access onto General Potter Highway, a completed Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Request for Planning Waiver & Non‑Building Declaration (including the $25 processing fee), and written concurrence from the Potter Township Engineer and Potter Township Zoning Officer. Technical plan edits requested by staff include labeling variable right‑of‑way widths, contour elevations, DEP‑required 100‑foot well isolation distances, a turning template showing emergency‑vehicle maneuverability for the proposed turnaround area, and clarification of building and waterline status for existing structures.

The planning office noted that certain recorded easements (for water service and building/access) may need to be extinguished or otherwise documented in recorded instruments; staff instructed applicants that the approved plan will be released for recording only after those legal documents are provided and acceptable to the county. The plan requires the signature blocks of the Potter Township Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, and final signature of the Centre County Planning Commission, before the county will accept the final plan for recording.

Next steps: the applicant must submit the requested engineering, legal, and permitting documents and obtain the township signoffs listed in staff comments. The commission’s action was explicitly conditional; no final recording was authorized at the June 16 meeting.