Planning director answers questions

The Frontiersman on Tuesday asked Sandy Garley, borough planning director, to address some of the concerns that surfaced in telephone calls, public comments and literature distributed by groups and individuals who oppose zoning.

One flyer depicts property owners behind bars -- a graphic reference to language in the draft ordinance that would make continued noncompliance a misdemeanor.

"The planning commission moved to take out the misdemeanor for continued noncompliance," Garley said. "The penalties and violations found in today's code MSB 1.45 will apply instead."

What about the recurring rumor of a seaplane ban? Are seaplanes an endangered species in the core area?

Garley said seaplanes are not banned anywhere they are currently used.

"As for lakes on which they are not currently used, those would need to be added to the seaplane overlay district," Garley said.

And the statements that property owners will have to have permits to do anything on their property?

"Accessory uses and grandfathered legal nonconforming uses would not require permits," she said. "And the planning commission has gone to great lengths to minimize the number of conditional-use permits that might be necessary. Permit requirements to change grandfathered uses would depend upon the scope and nature of the proposed use and the district you are in. Most uses in transitional districts would not require permits, while eligible conditional uses in residential districts would require permits to assure that the rights of your neighbors are protected."

What of the threat that anyone can object to a conditional-use permit request and deny property owners the right to use their property as they wish?

"When a permit is required, the planning commission deliberates in a structured public process to assure that the use is not injurious to surrounding properties and in harmony with the comprehensive plan," she said. "The rights of both the requestor and the surrounding property owners are considered carefully. The findings must be defensible in court and directly related to the criteria in the ordinance."

Clouds of anxiety continue to hover around the issue of grandfathered uses. Will your children be able to use the property as you do?

"The grandfather status goes with the land, whether the land is inherited or sold," Garley said. "A permit would be required only to expand the legal nonconforming use or to change to a different one. No permit is required for the grandfather status, but it is in your best interest to register the legal nonconforming use. You will be able to do that with no fee for the first 12 months under the ordinance. We will provide public notices and notice directly to the property owner to let them know of that requirement."

Garley added that the use would no longer be grandfathered if it were discontinued for a period of 12 consecutive months.

"If that happens, a conditional-use permit would be required to reinstate the use," she said.

What if the building that is used for a grandfathered purpose burns down, or another building is destroyed that doesn't conform to setbacks and easements?

"If the destroyed building conformed to existing required setbacks and easements, you will be able to rebuild it and continue the grandfathered use regardless of the extent of the damage, provided you do not expand either the building or the nonconforming use," Garley said.

"If it did not conform to setbacks and easements before the damage, and the damage exceeds 65 percent of the assessed value, it can be rebuilt but must now conform to setbacks and easements," she said. "Another way to explain it is that under the new ordinance, a building will no longer be considered nonconforming because of a use, but only because of setback and easement requirements."

Another cartoon reflects dollar bills sailing out of property owners' pockets, possibly alluding to complaints that additional fees will be a costly result of zoning.

Garley said fees are the same as those found in the current schedule of fees in MSB 17.99. No fee amounts are mentioned in the current draft ordinance, with the exception of registration of a legal nonconforming use in the core area.

"There will be no fee for that registration during the first 12 months under the ordinance," she said. "After the first 12 months, the fee is set at $25 instead of the $500 required for the determination of nonconforming use that is required by existing regulations."

Existing fees that will continue under the core area zoning ordinance include permits for conditional uses and commercial or industrial use development.

"Any request for variance is no different than it is in the existing regulations," Garley said.

Garley explained that there would be a $5 fee charged for property owners to register their acknowledgement of setback requirements and easements that apply to their property.

"This is currently encouraged in the core area," she added, "but will be mandatory for construction of dwelling units in the core area if the ordinance is approved."

Will cottage industries disappear in residential areas?

"The commission has deliberated at great length to preserve the right to have home occupations," Garley said. "With the exception of the three existing single-family residential areas that already have very restrictive, self-imposed zoning, you will be able to have home occupations with you and your family or a business with up to four employees working on the premises at a time, with the exception of certain businesses that create undue traffic or hazardous conditions for the neighborhood."

Will schools in residential areas be able to grow?

"Yes," Garley said. "All schools are placed in public institutional zoning districts, so they will be able to grow and expand to meet public needs, just as fire stations, public parks, and other public amenities."

Will people who do not have the money to contract the building of their homes be able to take longer than a year to build it themselves?

Absolutely, Garley said.

"Once you have obtained your acknowledgement to build a house, you can take as long as you need," she said. "Only in the case of development permits does the developer have to begin construction within a year or get a new permit."

Lots of commercial property is now zoned residential or mixed. Does that mean businesses cannot expand?

"Not generally," Garley said. "There is no prohibition in mixed and transitional districts. Expansion in suburban residential districts will have some limitations depending upon the proposed use, the district, and its potential impact upon surrounding property."

The core area is already developed, and some say this ordinance just penalizes people for using their property as they wish.

Garley paused for a moment before answering.

"It is never too late to plan for future development," she said. "There is no intent to penalize people who have already invested in their lives and property. But we do have to think about where we will put the next 30,000 people who are going to move here, and what impact that development should be allowed to have on the people who are already here."

The borough can't or doesn't enforce existing regulations. Will it need a bigger staff and higher taxes to enforce new ones?

"Code compliance does enforce ordinances on books today. Their approach is to work with people to bring them into compliance. It is not an instantaneous process, but accomplishes the goal not by punishing, but by bringing into compliance. We explain the rules, explain what to do, and work with them. If they do not work toward compliance, only then does enforcement consider infractions of code and fines."

Garley explained that the size of the staff would depend upon what the assembly finally adopts and the length of time allowed for implementation. If implementation is spread over a year, the workload will be spread accordingly and the need for additional staff would be minimal, maybe two people.

She added that the borough spends more than that now when it must go to court.

Does she believe there is a deliberate campaign of misinformation or just misinformed people who are concerned?

"I don't know about that," Garley said. "I encourage citizens to become involved in the process themselves rather than accepting without question information which is provided to them by groups soliciting their support.

"This is an open government in a country of open government, and our processes are there for the public to see," she said. "It's distressing that people believe these things without evidence and without participating and taking part in the process."

As for comments made to this reporter that Garley is an outsider who knows nothing about the Valley, perhaps not even a borough resident, Garley laughed.

"I'm a core area property owner with a house on Outer Springer Loop. I have lived in the borough every day that I have worked for the borough, since June of 1999."