MINUTES of MEETING

Durham Township Planning Commission

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Township Building Meeting Room

 

Attendees:           Ken Klein, Pete Thomson, Tom Harbin, George Helwig, Jim Pavlica & Cindy Skoriak

 

Quorum:             Yes

 

Secretary:           Joseph M. Kulick

 

Absent:                Lois Oleksa

 

Zoning Officer Peter Bent was also present.

 

Meeting called to order by Chairman Ken Klein at 7:39 PM.  All in attendance stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.

 

Approval of Minutes from 10-05-2010 Meeting:   (No Regular Meeting in November)

Jim Pavlica made a motion to accept the Minutes as presented and Tom Harbin seconded the motion. Cindy Skoriak abstained since she was not present at the meeting. All others agreed. Motion passed and Minutes were approved.

 

Also, on a Motion from Pete Thompson and Seconded by Jim Pavlica, the notes from the two past work sessions of 11-03-2010 & 11-16-2010 were reviewed and approved.  All agreed.   Motion passed. 

 

New Business: 

 

Review of Draft Open Space Plan Update:

 

Jeffery Marshall V.P. of Heritage Conservancy, our Open Space Plan consultant firm, was in attendance to present the townships’ draft Open Space Plan Update to the commission.  This update is required by the county every ten (10) years; ours was last updated in 2000, this in order to qualify for the county’s Municipal Open Space Grant Program.  He (Marshall) noted the importance of spending the allocated county grant money ($329,607) on the “best” property to preserve.  He also noted the required township match of 25% required for all acquisitions.  The grant money is available for use until December 31, 2014, after which it is returned to a pool for use by other open space programs. 

 

Mr. Marshall noted the incorporation of a “Property Evaluation Matrix” in the plan. The townships’ Open Space Committee developed the criteria for this rating.  He also noted the importance of proper zoning as an alternative method to protect the townships’ natural resources.

 

Pete Thomson then made a motion to recommend preliminary approval to the Board of Supervisors of the Durham Township Open Space Plan Update, with the addition of the language, “that the township focus on the use of acquisition methods in partnership with other funders and that the use of non-acquisition methods should only include those which do not place a burden on property owners”. Tom Harbin seconded the motion and all members agreed.  Motion passed unanimously.  There were no further comments or questions.

 

Old Business:

 

Zoning Ordinance Update:

 

The commission revisited the DZO; page 77 (g) and added the language, “and collected in an appropriate container”.

 

The commission resumed the update by starting at draft ZO page 101: Article 5:

  1. At draft ZO page 101; 500: C: Front Yard Requirements; Replace all with EZO page 5-41 & 5-42; Section 523-524-525 & 527 as amended by Durham Ordinance 1996-2 #5
  2. At draft ZO page 101; 500; D; Eliminate entire section with exception of (c) on page 102 but delete “with a height of less than 15’ and a maximum building floor area of 300 square feet”
  3. At draft ZO page 102; 500; F; delete last sentence & add EZO Sec 521 & Sec 522 as amended by Durham Ordinance 1996-2

 

Session stopped at: G. Exceptions to Minimum Lot Size; page 102.

 

No Work Sessions were scheduled due to the holiday season. There were no further comments or questions. 

 

Comments / Questions from the Floor:  None

 

Closing:

 

A motion to Adjourn was made by Jim Pavlica and seconded by George Helwig, all were in favor.  Meeting adjourned at @9:38 PM.  Next public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 04, 2011, Reorganization Meeting.

 

Minutes Submitted By:  Joseph M. Kulick, Recording Secretary

Minutes APPROVED at 01-04-2011 Meeting