Meeting Minutes

MERCER COUNTY REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION
Tuesday - April 25, 2000 - 7:30 p.m.
MCRPC/COG Offices

MUNICIPALITY	PRESENT	ABSENT
FARRELL CITY		Jerry Miller
		Mark A. Petrillo
HERMITAGE CITY	Rita Ferringer	James Pat White
	James A. Rollinson
SHARON CITY		Pat Miller
		Frank Smeraglia
CLARK BOROUGH	Michael Leonetti	Russell Shaffer
FREDONIA BOROUGH	Larry McAdams
	Patricia McAdams
GREENVILLE BOROUGH		Burroughs Price
		Earl Butterfield
GROVE CITY BOROUGH	Clifford McCandless
JACKSON CENTER BOROUGH	Lee Tharp	Angel Tharp
JAMESTOWN BOROUGH	Darryl Pinney
MERCER BOROUGH		Jim Carnes
		Jerry Johnson
NEW LEBANON BOROUGH		Janice Good
		Mary A. Ziegler
SANDY LAKE BOROUGH		Carol Paul
		Robert W. Kaltenbaugh
SHARPSVILLE BOROUGH		Alex Kovach
		Bob Piccirilli
STONEBORO BOROUGH	Samuel A. Scott	Brian Reiser
WEST MIDDLESEX BOROUGH		Linda Bollinger
		Joseph Walsh
WHEATLAND BOROUGH	Ray Foster
	Thomas R. Stanton
FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP		Jane Clark
		Mont Clark
FINDLEY TOWNSHIP		Elliott Lengel
		John B. Courtney
HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP		Pamela Brown
		Russell L. Dawes
JACKSON TOWNSHIP		W. Jerry Vernam
		Mary Gealy
JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP		Robert F. Angermeier
		Joanne Brown
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP	Dave Beatty
	Ron Faull
NEW VERNON TOWNSHIP	Frank Cochran
	Albert W. Law
OTTER CREEK TOWNSHIP		Richard Straub
		Paulette Young
PERRY TOWNSHIP		Richard Marshall
PINE TOWNSHIP	Fred Brenner
	H. Thomas Paxton
PYMATUNING TOWNSHIP	Joseph A. Selnekovic
	James F. Rowe
SHENANGO TOWNSHIP	John Draskovic	Kristen Robinson
S. PYMATUNING TOWNSHIP	Mike Nashtock	Mourice Waltz
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP		Larry T. Gruntz
		Judy L. Hassler
WILMINGTON TOWNSHIP	Jeff Hoy
	Charles Garrett
WOLF CREEK TOWNSHIP	Jim Morton
	Mark Smith
MERCER COUNTY	Richard A. Mackell	Jean Hodge
	Paul E. Mehalko	Patricia Meehan
	Ethel Friede
	Tom Jack
	James L. Hogan
BOROUGHS ASSOCIATION	David George
SUPERVISORS ASSOCIATION	Kenneth Seamans
COUNTY COMMISSIONER	Brian Shipley

STAFF	OTHERS PRESENT
Dennis G. Puko, Executive Director Julie Widel, Assistant Director Daniel Gracenin, Senior Planner Lisa Holm, Planner Jeremy Coxe, Planner Carmen Reichard, Program Administrator Don Blakesley, Recycling Coordinator	Attorney Robert G. Kochems, Solicitor Barb Conroy, Springfield Township Brent Mortimer, CBF Contracting Attorney Milford McBride, Grove City David A. Gordon, Grove City Richard Wilson, Wilmington Twp. Kristin Blakesley

CALL TO ORDER

Mr. Jeff Hoy, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.

PRAYER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Mr. Ron Faull, Vice-Chairman, led the Commission in the prayer and Pledge of Allegiance.

ATTENDANCE SIGN-IN

An attendance sign-in sheet was passed around and representatives present were asked to mark their attendance. A quorum was present.

MINUTES OF THE MARCH 28, 2000 MEETING

A motion was made by Mr. Mehalko and seconded by Mr. George to approve the Minutes of the March 28, 2000 meeting with no additions, corrections, or deletions. The motion passed.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

A motion was made by Mr. Beatty and seconded by Mr. Mackell to approve the March 2000 Financial Statement as presented. The motion passed.

PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ANY AGENDA ITEM

There were no public comments.

STAFF REPORTS

Mr. Blakesley stated that the recycling poster contest was a success with over 1150 entries received from 16 different elementary schools throughout the County. He noted that we had doubled the entries received from last year. He also noted that the winning posters are displayed at the Shenango Valley Mall or they are posted on our web site at www.mcrpc.com.

Mr. Gracenin stated that the MPO meeting would be held on Tuesday, May 9^th at 10:30 a.m. at the MCRPC/COG offices.

ZONING & SUBDIVISION REVIEW COMMITTEE REPORT

Committee Chairman, Sam Scott reported that the Committee met last week, a quorum was present, and took action on the following items:

1. Major Subdivision - Woodland Professional Center – Pine Township – Final Plan – Phase I – 1 lot with infrastructure improvements – At the request of the applicant this plan is being held until next month so the contractor can install the sewer and water lines prior to final plan and avoid the need to obtain bonds.

2. Subdivision Modification Request – Grove City Shops (Seneca Realty) – Pine Township – Mr. Scott reported that the Committee reviewed this subdivision modification request which is located at the corner of George Junior Road and Route 58. He noted that the preliminary plan for this subdivision was reviewed last month and was discussed by the Committee. Due to the PennDOT highway permit requirements and local parking requirements for these commercial lots, the width for access to lot #5 is 30 feet, and the Mercer County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance requires 50 feet. It is important to note that the proposed commercial development of these properties will afford this lot additional access over common parking and access areas on adjacent properties. A motion was made by Mr. Scott and seconded by Mr. George to approve the modification request for 30’ of access to lot #5 of the subdivision plan for Grove City Shops, also known as property of Seneca Realty. The motion passed.

3. Final Plan – Grove City Shops (Seneca Realty) – Pine Township – Mr. Scott noted that the Committee reviewed this final plan for the Grove City Shops. The plan meets all the requirements of the Mercer County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. Bonds with the Township are in place for the completion of infrastructure for this project. A motion was made by Mr. Scott and seconded by Mr. Paxton to approve the final plan for Grove City Shops, Seneca Realty. The motion passed.

4. Modification Request – William Gordon Subdivision – Pine Township – Mr. Scott noted that the Committee reviewed this request for modification of the 50’ access for lots of sufficient size for further subdivision. The subdivision was previously approved for a single, non-building lot of approximately 5 acres. The subdivision is for 2 building lots. The current 40’ access drive is also used by the properties that are adjacent to it. A motion was made by Mr. Scott and seconded by Mr. Hogan to deny this modification request as presented. In discussion, Mr. Paxton, Pine Township Supervisor, requested that the Commission approve this modification request. Also, Attorney McBride spoke on behalf of the Gordon’s stating that additional development is impractical and the owners are willing to sign a restrictive covenant agreeing that the property cannot be further subdivided and no adjacent owners or any other owners in the subdivision may have be granted access to the 40’ drive. After brief discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Paxton and seconded by Mr. Shipley to approve this modification request with a restrictive covenant being added to this plan. The motion passed.

5. Subdivision Modification – McClimans Subdivision & Walker Subdivision – West Salem Township – Mr. Scott noted that the Committee reviewed these requests together as they are each for the subdivision of non-residential properties that will be conveyed to West Salem Township for Sewage Pump Station sites. Each of the lots are approximately 5,000 square feet, which does not meet the lot area requirements of the Mercer County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. The County Ordinance requires 10,000 square feet minimum lot size. He stated that these lots would be for the use and benefit of the community. He also stated that other requirements of the County Ordinance are met. A motion was made by Mr. Scott and seconded by Mr. Selnekovic to approve the modification request to the lot area requirements for both the Walker Subdivision and McClimans Subdivision. The motion passed.

POSITION STATEMENT ON PLANNING LEGISLATION AND FUNDING

Mr. Puko noted that the Commission was requested by the Pennsylvania Planning Association to support Governor Ridge’s "Growing Smarter" package of legislative changes and funding for planning. He stated that the Commission has been following proposed changes for planning in PA and recently reviewed SB 300, HB13 and HB 14. Basically, the Governor is looking to do four core things: 1) planning should be consistent from one level to another; 2) protection from curative amendments and exclusionary challenges; 3) locally designated growth areas; and 4) transfer of development rights. After further discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Hogan and seconded by Mr. Mehalko to prepare and approve a position statement which supports the Governor’s proposal and elements of existing bills that give local governments more tools to address land use and community/economic development priorities. The motion passed.

PICNIC AND DINNER MEETING FOR 2000

Mr. Hoy asked for suggestions on where we can hold the 2000 picnic and dinner meeting. It was suggested that we try to hold this year’s picnic at the COG Chestnut Run Swim Beach. It was then suggested that we try to hold this year’s dinner at Grove City Elks Club or the Reynolds VFW.

OTHER BUSINESS

Mr. Hoy stated that Don Blakesley’s daughter is here this evening auditing the Commission’s work this evening.

Mr. Puko noted that an RFP was put out to hire a consultant to help us during Julie Widel’s leave of absence. The Commission is looking to hire a consultant to assist in the preparation of a revised/updated Sharon City Zoning Ordinance and a revised/updated subdivision and land development ordinance for Mercer County. He noted that only two consulting firms submitted an RFP – Mackin Engineering from the Pittsburgh area at a cost to do both services at not to exceed $14,900 and Graney, Grossman, Ray & Associates to perform both planning services at an amount not to exceed $10,800. He stated that the Commission has roughly $12,000 in available funding to select and engage in hiring a planning consultant.

After brief discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Stanton and seconded by Mr. Pinney to approve Graney, Grossman, Ray & Associates to assist in the preparation of a revised/updated Zoning Ordinance for the City of Sharon and a revised/updated subdivision and land development ordinance for Mercer County. The motion passed.

ADJOURNMENT

With no further business or discussion, the meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.

Submitted and Certified By:

Larry McAdams, Secretary - MCRPC

 

 

Mercer County Regional Planning Commission
2491 Highland Road, Hermitage, PA 16148
mail@mcrpc.com    www.mcrpc.com

 

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