Donegal continues zoning process
Donegal Township and West Alexander residents came out in droves last week for the fourth workshop on proposed zoning changes.
The latest draft of zoning districts in Donegal Township
Carolyn Yagle with Environmental Planning and Design takes audience questions.
Droves of Donegal Township residents turned out Wednesday for the fourth workshop on redrawing zoning maps in a township used to having practically no zoning rules.
The latest proposal from Environmental Planning and Design engineer Carolyn Yagle is to have five zoning districts: residential, village, nonresidential and two agricultural districts. Yagle said her company’s suggestions and design work, for which the township paid $24,000, should be finished by the end of summer. But more workshops are expected, and supervisors could still reject the final proposals that were prompted by concerns of allocating areas for oil and gas drilling.
According to the latest draft ordinance posted on the Donegal Township website, the village, residential and agricultural areas would all allow family homes. One of the major differences, however, according to Yagle, is that “agricultural two” areas would permit supporting oil and gas activities – like pipeline or compressor stations – and drilling also would be permitted in “agricultural one” districts. Oil and gas wells would be allowed through a conditional-use appeal process in virtually all districts, as would public parks by permitted rights.
“We’ve based this zoning restructuring on the comprehensive plan from several years ago that outlined the community’s preferred direction for general land use and infrastructure services. That was adopted by resolution, so the community is looking at how that can be incorporated to an ordinance-based document plan,” Yagle said.
The draft ordinance says nonresidential zones would allow adult-oriented establishments, cemeteries, industry and other strictly nonresidential infrastructure. Group-home facilities also would be permitted.
Wastewater impoundments, however, would be restricted to “agricultural two” zones under conditional-use permit processes. The “village” districts would be mixed-use, which could allow for both residential and retail, as well as places of worship.
There has been general pushback from some residents on redoing zoning altogether. The complaints have ranged from keeping Donegal “zoning free,” an appeal to what some residents said they moved to the rural area for in the first place, to residents not having a direct say in zoning decisions by way of a ballot initiative instead of a vote by township supervisors.
“We’re months away from even considering a vote,” said supervisors Chairman David Ealy, “because these sessions are to answer questions. And there seem to be a lot of unanswered questions yet, so we’ll be doing this for a while.”