HARRIS TOWNSHIP Planning Commission Meeting Minutes March 19, 2018

Transcription

1 HARRIS TOWNSHIP Planning Commission Meeting Minutes March 19, 2018 Members in Attendance: Staff in Attendance: Public in Attendance: Jeff Duerr, Chairman Bill Wallace, Vice Chairman John Wainright Bob Igo George Harrigan Amy Farkas, Township Manager Todd Shea, Zoning/Ordinance Enforcement Officer Mark Boeckel, Senior Planner Debbie Lang, Administrative Secretary None CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Duerr called the March 19, 2018 meeting of the to order at 7:00 PM. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Mr. Igo moved to approve the minutes of the February 20, 2018 meeting. Mr. Harrigan seconded the motion. The minutes were unanimously approved as submitted. PUBLIC COMMENT: There was no one present to discuss items that were not on the agenda. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Mr. Igo moved to approve the agenda format and times allotted for each item. Mr. Wallace seconded the motion. The agenda was approved unanimously. 6. OLD BUSINESS: a. RESEARCH ON LIMITED RETAIL USES IN CAMPGROUNDS: Mr. Boeckel said at last month's meeting, the Planning Commission received a presentation from Randy Aikens regarding his interest in establishing a small retail store and kitchen facility/cafe on his rental cabins property located along Bear Meadows Road. As was discussed last month, Mr. Aikens' property contains five rental cabins that are permitted as "seasonal dwellings." Mr. Aikens' original development plan also proposed the construction of several pavilions along with an office and vending area. Retail and kitchen/restaurant uses would not be permitted in conjunction with the existing use. Page 1 of 5

2 As Staff indicated last month, it could be possible for Mr. Aikens to change the use of his property from seasonal dwellings to a campground. It is not uncommon for campgrounds to include limited retail uses similar to those described by Mr. Aikens. Staff noted that they are unaware of how other municipalities regulate campgrounds and associated retail uses and whether or not similar regulations would benefit Mr. Aikens. At the Planning Commission's request, Staff conducted preliminary research into how other Pennsylvania municipalities regulate campgrounds and any associated retail uses. Mr. Boeckel reviewed his memo that was included with the agenda packet. He said what the Planning Commission needs to decide is how campgrounds will be defined, the minimum lot size for this use and supplemental regulations for accessory retail uses permitted in conjunction with campgrounds. He said a general store use is basically invisible from the road in most of the ordinances he researched. Mr. Igo asked how many acres Mr. Aikens has at his site. Mr. Boeckel said he has a little over nine acres. Chairman Duerr said Woodward Cave has a general store and it cannot be seen from the road. He said you have to enter the campground to see the store and he likes that. Mr. Harrigan said he did not see how a five cabin general store would work. He said he felt products would go bad before they were sold. Mr. Wallace said he agreed stock rotation would seem to be an issue. Mr. Wainright said people using the campground would be no further from the Weis store than the people are in Bear Meadows. The Planning Commission and Staff briefly discussed the Agricultural and Natural areas. Mr. Boeckel said the plan submitted by Mr. Aikens for this parcel was for five seasonal dwellings with an office and a vending area. In response to a question from Chairman Duerr, Mr. Boeckel said if Mr. Aikens wished to add tent sites on this parcel, he would have to apply for a change in use. Chairman Duerr said he felt the Planning Commission should be rethinking campgrounds as a use but not necessarily for this site. He said he felt ten to twenty acres should be the minimum size for a campground. Mr. Wallace said he is leaning more to ten acres than twenty acres because it will provide more of a sense of place. The group discussed cabins, tents and RV sites. Mr. Wainright asked if the KOA campgrounds are the extreme form of campground commercialization. Mr. Boeckel said that is correct and that KOA campgrounds are usually very large. Mr. Wallace asked if we should consider a minimum and a maximum size. Mr. Boeckel said we can do that but he was not sure how many parcels would qualify. He said we could discuss all this when we talk about the Natural area. Mr. Boeckel said he will work on the definition and the variable some more and bring that back to the Planning Commission. Mr. Igo asked about signage and Mr. Boeckel said there cannot be any sign advertising a store at the campground site. Chairman Duerr asked how we would know if someone was staying there year round. Mr. Boeckel and Mr. Shea said it would be difficult to determine this. Mr. Wainright said if we want to allow a campground in our rural districts, all these questions need to be addressed. Mr. Igo said Staff should look at lot size, commercial size, etc. Chairman Page 2 of 5

3 Duerr said Staff should make a list of the regulations we want to discuss. Mr. Wallace asked if the Board of Supervisors could grant Mr. Aikens request. Mr. Shea said the Board of Supervisors would need to adhere to the zoning regulations. Ms. Farkas said Staff will put all these items discussed into a list and bring it back to the Planning Commission for further discussion. b. DRAFT RURAL RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICT: Mr. Boeckel said in relation to the Designated Rural Areas Project, Staff has begun drafting a Rural Residential zoning district that would be applied to rural portions of the Township that primarily contain large lot residential uses. This proposed district would primarily apply to properties in the Regional Growth Boundary that are currently zoned Agriculture or Rural Commercial as well as to properties on the edge of the Regional Growth Boundary and around the existing communities of Linden Hall and Shingletown. A copy of the draft regulations as well as a proposed map of the district is included with the agenda. One significant issue that needs to be addressed within the Rural Residential district is the minimum lot size for new single family dwellings. The proposed Rural Residential district primarily consists of large-lot residential properties with a few small agricultural parcels. Because the district would include land areas inside the Regional Growth Boundary, the size of residential lots vary from less than one acre to up to 10 acres. Since the majority of the properties in the proposed district are already developed, future residential development in the district would be limited to the several existing agricultural properties as well as minor subdivisions of existing residential lots. While the Planning Commission has spent a considerable amount of time creating Conservation Design regulations for the future Agricultural zoning district, these regulations were not intended to apply to the Rural Residential district. Where there are only several parcels within the proposed district that are greater than 10 acres in size, Staff would recommend establishing a minimum and maximum lot size for future residential lots both inside and outside of the Regional Growth Boundary and not require any open space dedication. Agricultural uses would also be allowed in the district on lots that meet minimum area requirements. The Planning Commission should discuss the draft district regulations and provide feedback to Staff. Mr. Boeckel said this would be a new zoning district. He said most of this area is already developed with single family homes. Mr. Wainright asked what determined the lots that were selected for this district. Mr. Boeckel said most of this district was already developed as residential or were near farms. The intent was to cluster together similar use properties. Mr. Wainright asked if we will run into problems with why one property was in this district and another one wasn t. Mr. Boeckel said he did not think that would be a problem and Staff would be able to explain the reasoning behind why the lines were drawn where they were. Chairman Duerr asked if anything would be grandfathered in. Mr. Shea said Staff hasn t looked at it that closely since this is just in draft form but there usually is a property or two that is grandfathered when a change like this is made. Page 3 of 5

4 Mr. Wainright said he felt the permitted uses of bed-and-breakfast facilities, family care facility, public parks and churches and other places of worship should all have a minimum size of 1.5 acres with on-site sewer service. Mr. Boeckel said we could look at that. Mr. Harrigan said he agrees with Mr. Wainright. Mr. Harrigan asked about the lot sizes in Rockey Ridge. Mr. Shea said the lots in Rockey Ridge vary in size. Mr. Wainright said it is unusual zoning in the Rockey Ridge subdivision. Mr. Shea said this development is in the Agricultural zoning district. He said some of it is also in the Corridor Overlay District. Mr. Wainright asked how many properties there are on the east side of the Township that could fall into this district. Mr. Boeckel said there are very few. Mr. Wainright asked how many properties there are on the west side of the Township. Mr. Boeckel said there are a few on Bailey Lane. Mr. Wainright asked what happens if we don t create this district. Ms. Farkas said these properties are in underlying zoning districts and need to be reclassified. Mr. Shea said years ago, these properties were in rural residential areas. He said this draft district is a better representation of what we currently have. Mr. Boeckel said we will refine the rural residential regulations as discussed and bring it back to the Planning Commission for final review prior to incorporating it into the new zoning regulations. In response to a question from the members, he said the next section to work on will either be rural centers or designated agricultural areas. c. AGENDA FOR APRIL: Ms. Farkas said the April agenda will include rural centers regulations, campgrounds, possibly a land development plan and the agricultural security area. Mr. Wallace said he may not be at the April meeting. 7. REPORTS: The report of zoning permits issued in January was circulated for review. CRPC: Mr. Hammerstedt was not present to provide a report. CCMPO: Mr. Wainright said the group did not meet. 8. RECENT ACTIONS BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: The Board of Supervisors approved the Planning Module for the Misty Hill Drive Lot 5 (Oelkers) Minor Subdivision Plan. The Board approved the University Wine Company Phases 1 and 2 Final Land Development Plan. The developers of Kaywood North have completed the conditions of their preliminary plan approval. The Board of Supervisors signed their plan on March 12 th. The Agricultural Security Area update has been delayed slightly, as Staff just received a request from a property owner to be added to the area. The Agricultural Security Area Committee will Page 4 of 5

5 meet to consider the request. The Agricultural Security Area update will then be forwarded back to the Planning Commission for a recommendation before being sent to the Board of Supervisors. The open houses for the Village Commercial District will be held on April 10 th at 12:00 PM, April 17 th at 3:30 PM and April 19 th at 7:00 PM. Letters will be mailed to property owners within the proposed district, inviting them to attend and provide feedback on the draft regulations. 9. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Planning Commission, Mr. Igo moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Harrigan seconded the motion and Chairman Duerr declared the meeting adjourned at 8:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, Amy Farkas, Township Secretary Page 5 of 5