A plan to change the zoning regulations in Benner Township that has been in the works for a couple of years will need more time to be worked through as the public has voiced concerns about what the changes will mean to the growing community.
Over the past few months, the township board of supervisors and planning commission have advertised the proposed ordinance and have taken feedback. They have also sent the proposed ordinance to neighboring municipalities to ask about any concerns.
The zoning changes look to simplify an over-complicated and convoluted ordinance, said township secretary and treasurer Sharon Royer. The plan was to hold a public hearing on the ordinance on April 8, but at a township meeting on April 1, a standing-room-only crowd filled the meeting room and voiced their concerns about the potential changes.
Now, the ordinance is back on the drawing board.
Benner Township is one of the fastest growing municipalities in the area. Fueled by townhomes and new developments in its central location between Bellefonte and State College, the township his grown from 6,187 people in the 2010 census to an estimated 9,309, according to a Penn State Data Center estimate.
But, it remains mostly rural.
Home to Spring Creek Canyon, one of the best fishing destinations in the country, its natural water resources are of great importance to the area. Representatives from ClearWater Conservancy and Trout Unlimited submitted letters to the township concerning the zoning changes.
According to planning commission chairman Nate Campbell the issues stem from the changes in density in the agricultural and forest zone, the lack of environmental regulation in the zoning and the Spring Creek Canyon overlay, which was not in the first submitted new zoning ordinance.
The Spring Creek Canyon overlay provides certain protection to the area surrounding Spring Creek Canyon and determines what may be developed in the area. Much of the regulations have to do with storm water restrictions in order to protect the creek, said Campbell. An overlay has been put back on the table to be included, but it has changed from the previous version.
An environmental section of the zoning ordinance was also taken out of previous drafts of the ordinance, but a new one has been proposed to replace it.
Another big issue is the acreage of homes that are put on farms that are developed in the agriculture and forest conservation zone. The first draft of the ordinance looked to allow 1/3-acre plots, but now is looking at 1.2-acre plots with 30 percent coverage, said Campbell. He noted nothing is set in stone yet. The 2009 zoning ordinance allowed 1/2-acre lots in these areas.
Royer said that some farmers expressed at the meeting they would like to see higher density developments on developed farms so that less farms would need to be used to support the growth.
“That way you can have more homes on less farms,” said Royer.
This looks to have a big impact on the township that is zoned 80 percent forested conservation or agricultural land, and would allow for denser neighborhoods.
Royer said the township is also working to include regulations as developers come into the land to build private water systems. She said in the past they built water systems that weren’t regulated and then after a while, were bought out of the developments, leaving the water authority to deal with water systems that were not up to standards.
For Campbell a big concern is how the township would support so much growth. He said the amount of services needed to support such high development could lead to higher taxes. He said the township doesn’t have the infrastructure in roads and public works systems that are suited for a small town.
He is concerned with recent talk of the state potentially making communities pay for the state police force with a cost that is in proportion with the population.
So far the planning commission has voted “no” to the ordinance twice, and Campbell said it is going to take the supervisors and planning commission to listen to the whole community to find a solution to the changes. He agrees that some of the convoluted regulations can be fixed. He said if there is a regulation that already exists from an outside agency, then there does not need to be more.
“Some of the zoning may have been overreaching, but now the pendulum has swung the other way,” said Campbell. He said he thinks the township has heard some of the concerns of the community and he hopes they listen more, and that if everyone has a say, then a middle ground could be reached.
“We still have some ways to go,” he said.
The next township planning commission will be held on April 11 at 7 p.m. Information about the ordinance can be found on the county website at www.bennertownship.org.
See a larger version of the most recent version of the proposed zoning map here.
