Borough Zoning Rule Revisions Slated For Public Hearing

By Andrew Gorosko

The Borough Zoning Commission has scheduled a public hearing for comment on its proposed revisions to the borough zoning regulations, the land use rules that regulate the development, redevelopment, and general use of land in the borough.

The hearing is slated for 7 pm, Tuesday, March 1, at the borough office in Town Hall South at 3 Main Street.

Copies of the proposed rule revisions are available for public review at the town clerk’s office in Edmond Town Hall at 45 Main Street, at the borough zoning official’s office at the town office complex at 31 Peck’s Lane, and at the borough office in Town Hall South at 3 Main Street. The borough zoning regulations comprise 79 pages.

On February 17, after reviewing the proposed borough zoning rule changes, Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members endorsed the revisions. As the borough’s planning agency, the P&Z reviews any proposed changes to the borough’s zoning rules.

P&Z Chairman William O’Neil said, “I think there [are] some good ideas in here, things we [P&Z members] might want to consider…in looking at our regulations.”

 At the February 17 session, Borough Attorney Donald Mitchell, who represents the Borough Zoning Commission, told P&Z members that the land use rule changes would be the first such general revision to the rules since 1997. The borough zoners have made various specific modifications to their rules since then.

The rule changes would fill “some gaps” in the borough zoning rules concerning commercial buildings, Mr Mitchell told P&Z members.

The rule revision project is intended to clarify borough zoning rules, clearly restating the requirements for development, and thus creating a “new baseline,” Mr Mitchell said.

That clarification is intended to “streamline” the rules, making them easier to understand, according to Mr Mitchell. The lawyer said “there’s no wholesale revision of the zoning regulations,” but a clarification of the rules.

On February 18, Mr Mitchell said the proposed changes would better codify and unify the regulations, resolving some regulatory inconsistencies.

Proposed substantive changes concerns rules on parking requirements in commercial areas, and also rules specifying how much of the area of a commercial lot can be developed, he said.

Also, the proposed rule changes concern the borough’s Village District zoning regulations, Mr Mitchell said. Village District zoning is intended to keep new commercial development in aesthetic harmony with the architectural surroundings.

The proposed rules address the definition of a commercial building, as well as the specific uses that are permitted in business zones and in shopping centers.

The proposed zoning rule changes include revisions concerning the minimum required lot area for nonresidential property uses; the special exception requirements for all zones; permitted uses in business zones; the maximum lot coverage limits for large lots containing offices and business buildings; the commercial sign regulations; the minimum parking requirements for banking and publishing uses; landscaping requirements; restrictions on alcoholic beverage outlets; requirements for special exception applications; application fees; the location of certain zoning documents; site plan requirements, and the Village District zoning requirements concerning the preservation of views and architectural compatibility.