Board votes to advertise zoning amendment easing conditional-use deadlines

The Board of Commissioners on Aug. 13 voted unanimously to advertise an amendment to the township zoning ordinance intended to reduce the number of extension requests for conditional-use approvals that require later subdivision or land-development steps.

Township Solicitor Kristen told commissioners the ordinance currently requires applicants to obtain a building permit or a use-and-occupancy certificate within 12 months of conditional-use approval. "The way the ordinance reads is that they have to obtain a building permit or a use and occupancy certificate within 12 months of the date of conditional use approval," she said, and argued that outside agency permits and land-development complexity often make that window impractical. She recommended modeling the township language on the Municipalities Planning Code to vest applicants at filing and allow a six-month period to file required land-development applications in appropriate cases.

During discussion, Kristen also proposed procedural edits to driveways and property-maintenance appeal language to avoid routing appeals to the board in situations that are properly handled through the common pleas or district-court process. After questions from commissioners, Chair called for a motion to advertise the amendment. The motion to advertise "ordinance 20 26-dash 9" was moved and seconded and carried 5–0.

If approved after advertisement and any edits recommended by the planning commissions, staff said they will return the amended language for a public hearing and a subsequent adoption vote.

The advertisement vote does not itself change the code; it initiates the legal advertising and referral steps required before a hearing and final vote.