Donegal residents frustrated with zoning process
Dozens of residents upset about zoning came to Donegal Township wearing T-shirts that read “Donegal for Life,” with “Life” spelled as the acronym “Liberty, Independence, Freedom and Equality.”
MarkWest spokesman Robert McHale, right, argued before the Donegal Township Board of Supervisors that more allowances should be made for natural gas compressor stations and production stations.
WEST ALEXANDER – Dozens of residents wearing “Donegal for Life” shirts exchanged jeers and cheers throughout a testy special meeting Wednesday as Donegal Township supervisors received yet another version of a draft zoning ordinance.
The board has two versions – each roughly 100 pages and posted to the township website – of zoning ordinances regulating where gas drilling and other development could occur in the township.
Lead planning designer Carolyn Yagle said the two versions are based on hundreds of pages of feedback from residents.
Yet a majority of those present at the meeting in Donegal – the only township without set zoning in Washington County – said they still don’t trust the process and don’t want any zoning at all.
The frustration was heard by the board, in part, as supervisors voted 3-0 to put a referendum on the November election ballot to increase the board of supervisor from three to five members. The motion from Supervisor Douglas Teagarden came after residents shouted for the board to be voted out and wanted better representation for residents.
Confusion also was expressed by representatives from gas companies MarkWest and Range Resources, as they submitted suggestions based on earlier and apparently moot versions of the ordinances that were refined since earlier workshops, according to Yagle. MarkWest spokesman Robert McHale gave testimony that the company would prefer allowances beyond A-2 zoned districts to construct potential gas compressors or production stations. But those references no longer exist in the two newer versions.
In version one, with four zone overlays, gas compressor stations would be allowed in zones 1, 2, and 4 as conditional-use applications, and gas wells would be allowed as conditional uses in zones 2 and 4. Version two of the draft ordinance lists only one zoned district (zone one) for the entire township map, and lists the same conditional uses for gas drilling activity.
Residents also complained that a June 30 deadline was too little time to give additional written feedback on the two new versions. The board extended the deadline for testimony to July 13. The interim draft version would then be sent to county authorities for feedback as it pertains to the township’s comprehensive plan. The board has scheduled a Sept. 15 public hearing on what would be the proposed final version.
Both zoning maps and versions of the zoning ordinances can be viewed online at http://donegaltownshippa.com/local-businesses/.