Somerset Township residents raise concern over proposed zoning changes
A large crowd turned out in Somerset Township this month to learn more details about a proposed zoning ordinance change that could add several types of businesses as conditional uses to the municipality’s agricultural district.
Bill Pollock, chair of the township planning commission, points out the A-1 district makes up about 80% of the land.
“You can’t live off a farm anymore,” Pollock said. “It is really a residential district now. The farms have been broken up into smaller lots.”
The proposed ordinance would potentially allow for commercial businesses including microbreweries, wineries and medical marijuana processors. Other proposed uses include a hunting club range, dog kennels and museums.
A call to the Somerset Township office was referred to their solicitor, Jim Liekar. According to Liekar, they began the process of updating the township code about a year-and-a-half ago. He said it had not been changed since its adoption in 1985.
“They’ve had some issues enforcing ordinances,” Liekar said. “Definitions were outdated. There are different kinds of uses that were never defined.”
Pollock had hoped the updated ordinance would not change zoning in the township, and was disappointed when he saw the proposal. To better inform the community about potential changes, he created the “Somerset Residents for Transparency” group on Facebook, and organized a town hall at the Somerset Township building Feb. 12.
“Our biggest concerns are that it brings potentially objectionable business uses right into the middle of our residential district. It negatively impacts neighbors with noise, traffic, and having businesses directly next to residences affects property values as well,” Pollock said.
The planning commission meets March 25 and will vote on whether or not to recommend adopting the ordinance to the township supervisors. James Bockstoce, chair of the board of supervisors, is also one the three members of the planning commission. Darrin Javornicky and Pollock currently plan to vote against recommendation if the ordinance is presented in its current form.
According to Pollock, township officials met Thursday morning to discuss potential changes to the current proposal.
“As a result of our town hall meeting and getting the word out … It looks like the supervisors are going to issue a revision to this and respond to a lot of the concerns that we have,” Pollock said.
Between now and the March 25 meeting, Pollock plans to hold another town hall at the Cokeburg Fire Department Social Hall. He said he is waiting for revisions to set a specific date and time.
“We will want to get that back out to the residents before any final vote. We want to get their opinions in the most efficient way possible,” Pollock said.