Zoning & Subdivision
Review Committee
Meeting Minutes
Tuesday
July 15, 2003 7:30 p.m. at the MCRPC Offices
2491 Highland Road Hermitage, PA (724) 981-2412
|
Members Present
|
Others Present
|
|
Samuel Scott, Chairman
|
Andrew
Dash, Planner - MCRPC |
|
Fred Brenner |
Gary
Dovey, Student Intern - MCRPC |
|
Chuck Garrett
|
Barb
Brown, Springfield Township |
|
Clifford McCandless
|
Judy
Hassler, Springfield Township |
| Ron
Faull |
Randall
Magee, Springfield Township |
| James
Hogan |
Jessica
Gilmore, Springfield Township |
|
James Rollinson |
Gloria
Lambert, Springfield Township |
Mr. Scott, Chairman, called
the meeting to order at 7:20 p.m. A quorum was present. A motion was
made by Mr. McCandless and seconded by Dr. Brenner to approve the Minutes of
the May 20, 2003 meeting with no additions, corrections, or deletions. The
motion passed.
N E W B U S I N E S S
1. Zoning Ordinance Text
Amendment Springfield Township
Mr. Dash explained that Springfield Township has proposed an amendment to
Section 416, Commercial Recreation. This amendment would define three types of
commercial recreation: Indoor, Outdoor and Intensive. The Township felt that
the previous definition was too broad and did not take into account the
various types of commercial recreation and their impact on the community. Mr.
Dash stated that the only concern he had in reviewing the ordinance was that
the differences between Outdoor Recreation and Intensive Recreation are not
strictly defined, so it is hard to determine what uses are Outdoor and which
uses are Intensive. Ms. Brown stated that the Intensive Recreation includes
motor sports, go-cart raceways, auto raceways, paintball and outdoor concert
performances, and similar pursuits. Outdoor Recreation would include miniature
golf, driving ranges, tennis, team sports such as soccer or baseball, sports
camps and clinics, and similar pursuits, which are not as noisy and dusty. She
noted that the uses would be permitted as conditional uses within the C-1
Commercial zone only and would have specific conditions applied to each type
of use.
A motion was made by Mr. Hogan
and seconded by Mr. Rollinson to approve this text amendment. The
motion passed with Dr. Brenner abstaining.
2. Rezoning Request
Springfield Township Mr. Dash
noted that Springfield Township would like to rezone the Number 2 Mine area
(portions of Number 2 Mine Road, Old Mercer Road, and Brent Road) from Rural
Development (RD) to Village District (V). Ms. Brown stated that the purpose of
this rezoning is to better reflect the character of the area and to address
the fact that most of the properties are small "village-type" lots
that could not meet the setback and lot sizes required under the Rural
Development zoning requirements. Mr. Dash stated that after reviewing this
request, this rezoning meets the 5 zoning amendment review criteria.
A motion was made by Mr.
McCandless and seconded by Mr. Garrett to approve this rezoning. The
motion passed.
3. Rezoning Request
Liberty Township Mr. Dash
explained that Liberty Township would like to rezone additional lands north of
Route 258 and east of Courtney Mill Road from Rural Residential (RA) to Rural
Opportunity (RO). Back in March 2003, MCRPC originally approved this rezoning,
but now the Township would like to add more to the area to be rezoned. The
existing land use is open space/woodlands. He also noted that after reviewing
this request, this rezoning meets the 5 zoning amendment review criteria.
A motion was made by Mr.
Garrett and seconded by Mr. Hogan to approve this rezoning. The motion
passed.
4. Planned Residential
Development (PRD) Review Hermitage City
Mr. Dash reviewed a Tentative Plan of the Planned Residential Development
(PRD) for the Hermitage Senior Citizen Complex. This site is located at the
northwest corner of North Keel Ridge Road and Lamor Road. The Mercer County
Housing Authority is the owner of the property. The development will be
accessed by a drive off Lamor Road on the western end of the property, but a
future second drive is drawn to access Keel Ridge Road, if needed.
Mr. Rollinson noted that the
Hermitage Planning Commission recommended approval of this Tentative Plan,
with the condition that the second roadway access to North Keel Ridge Road be
constructed as part of the project, and not as a "future roadway" as
currently shown.
Mr. Dash stated that this
development consists of 20.09 acres and is zoned R-1-100, Residential
Single-Family. The Hermitage Senior Citizen Complex would consist of 60
single-story apartments located in 12 buildings and would be serviced with
public sanitary sewers and water, which are located along Lamor Road. Mr. Dash
noted that under the PRD requirements, this Tentative Plan meets the minimum
development size, density, building separation, perimeter requirements and
outdoor living requirements. Walking trails and a community center building
meet the Citys open space requirement. Under vehicular access, this
development has one access drive off of Lamor Road and a possible second
access drive to North Keel Ridge Road. The development does not generate
enough traffic to require a second access drive, but the City can mandate a
second access drive if it feels necessary. The Hermitage Police and Fire
Departments have both recommended that a second access drive be constructed
for the development.
In discussion, concerns arose
on the necessity of a second access drive and the turning radius of the drive
on the north end of the proposed development. A motion was made by Dr. Brenner
and seconded by Mr. Garrett to approve the Tentative Plan for the Planned
Residential Development, with the condition that the second drive to North
Keel Ridge Road be constructed as part of the project. The motion passed.
5. Rezoning Request
Hermitage City Mr. Dovey explained
a rezoning request to remove the land of St. John the Baptist Carpo-Russian
Greek Orthodox Church from the Route 18 South Overlay District to the
underlying R-1-100 Zoning District. The site is located on the southeast
corner of Morefield Road and PA 18 and is approximately 10.5 acres in size.
The property is relatively flat, but gently slopes downward towards PA 18.
Currently, the existing land use is a small chapel and cemetery. The proposed
land use would revert back to Single-Family Residential (R-1-100), church,
parking areas and driveway. Access to this site is a two-lane driveway off
Morefield Road, which intersects with South Hermitage Road (PA 18). A single
lane driveway also enters PA 18, approximately 123 feet from the intersection.
He also noted that both public water and sewer service the site.
It was noted that according to
the County Comprehensive Plan, this area is in a wide use land banks section
(PA 18 corridor between Longview Road and Morefield Road) and should not
immediately be targeted for widespread business development. Also, the plan
states that Hermitage and the County should explore means in enhancing the
corridor via landscaping and beautification which would help restore value to
the residential properties and create an attractive gateway leading to the
Hermitage commercial center.
Mr. Dovey stated that after
reviewing this rezoning, he had concerns that if this parcel of land is
removed from the Route 18 Overlay District, that the owner would not be
required to build sidewalks and would be permitted to erect banners; thus
increasing the likelihood of an unsafe pedestrian orientation streetscape.
Also, if the owner would not be required to build sidewalks, this would create
a break in any continuous sidewalk along Morefield Road or PA 18 and would be
unsafe for pedestrians.
A lot of discussion occurred
on this item such as setting precedent and future problems of letting others
out of the overlay district. A motion was made by Dr. Brenner and seconded by
Mr. Rollinson to deny the removal of the land of St. John the Baptist Carpo-Russian
Greek Orthodox Church from the Route 18 South Overlay District to the
underlying R-1-100 Zoning District. The reason for the denial is due to
both the precedent that would be set, allowing other properties to be removed
from the district, which would undermine the purpose of implementing the
district in this area, and the gap in the future sidewalk system and
streetscape that would be created if this property were removed from the
Overlay District. The motion passed.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further
business to conduct, the meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Dash,
Planner
Mercer
County Regional Planning Commission
2491 Highland Road, Hermitage, PA 16148
mail@mcrpc.com www.mcrpc.com
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