Present were President Ken Robertson and Councilors Kurt Bastion, Alfonse Ciaccio, Diane Thompson, Darryl Jannone, and Chris Thoren, Junior Council member Jessica Pavey, Mayor John Vineski, Administrator Amy Seeley, Solicitor David Brann, and Jerry Schmidt formerly of the Planning Commission and now a member of the Zoning Board.
Mrs. Seeley said there were three main changes to the zoning map: the boundary lines of the designated districts were shifted to line up with the lot lines; two lots formerly zoned residential were incorporated into the commercial district. The homes on the lots in question were razed some time ago and the lots are vacant and border the lot once occupied by the Preston Mill. The third change is that under the previous map "flood plain" was a separate district; now the flood plain overlays the relevant places in the various districts.
"Anything in the floodplain is governed by the Floodplain Ordinance," she said.
The Borough Planning Commission (Al Hess, Jerry Schmidt, Bonnie Browning, and Carl Sutton). Mrs. Seeley and Ray Stolin-as of the County Planning office had worked on the new Zoning Ordinance for the past two years. The original ordinance was adopted in 1976 and was badly out-of-date. It had 39 pages, this one, nearly 200. "A lot of time and energy was put into this," Mrs. Seeley said.
She highlighted the major changes in the Ordinance:
• It incorporates the Joint Comprehensive Plan which the Borough adopted in conjunction with Canton and Granville townships.
• the definitions are more thorough, and more uses are listed.
• the same districts (Residential I and II, Mobile Home parks, Central Business and General Commercial) are used. A use table has been added to make it easier to see where a business is allowed or if extra regulations are needed.
• Some setbacks are changed.
• Many more uses are allowed, including natural gas industry and group homes, that were not in the Original Ordinance.
• The Borough's fence Ordinance (adopted three years ago) was incorporated into the Zoning Ordinance.
• Off-Street parking and loading regulations are more in-depth.
• The section on signs is more detailed, and includes electronic and lighted signs. Dimensions of signs have not been changed.
• Non-conforming uses are better able to be regulated.
• Updated forms have been introduced for administration and enforcement.
Mrs. Seeley said, "This gives a nice structure and a good foothold to start off. If you want residential areas to stay residential, this is what you need to have in place."