Agenda - Planning Commission - 01/31/2013 - Special

Home

October 10, 2012 I Volume 6 I Issue 19 Zoning Bulletin Tier 4, which reportedly covers 175,000 acres, the Harford County will no longer be allowed to have major subdivisions, or anything larger than five lots. Reportedly, "[t]he bill is meant to reduce the impacts of large residential subdivisions with septic systems on farms, forest lands, streams, rivers and the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays." Source: The Baltimore Sun; http://www.baltimoresun.com PENNSYLVANIA The Luzerne County Council recently "approved a set of resolutions introducing amendments to the county's zoning and subdivision ordinances, which were written to meet new [requirements of the National Flood Insur- ance Program and the state Flood Plane Management Act]. The updates also include increased zoning fees, which will go up about 4 percent, and subdivi- sion and land development fees, which will increase about 5 percent." Under the new requirements, if municipalities that rely on county zoning and plan- ning fail to adopt the amendments, they will be in jeopardy of losing their eligibility for flood insurance and property owners will be rendered ineligible for federal and state disaster aid. Thus, municipalities in Luzerne County that have their own zoning boards will now have to amend their zoning laws to conform to national flood insurance regulations by November 5, 2012, or risk ineligibility for insurance and disaster aid. Source: Citizens Voice; http://citizensvoice.com Revenue from Act 13's impact fees is higher than expected. Reportedly, as of early September, $205.9 million is owed and $197.6 million has been paid from natural gas companies. Supporters of Act 13 impact fees say: "At a time when budget shortfalls are stretching state and local governments to their limits, responsible American natural-gas production is helping to support tens of thousands of good jobs and providing enormous, much -needed revenues for critical services." Opponents of gas drilling, on the other hand, said the roughly $200 million " `doesn't look like that much' if all of the potential impacts of gas drilling are taken into account." Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; http://articles.philly.com WASHINGTON The City of Seattle is reportedly considering legislation that would estab- lish zoning regulations for growing, processing, and dispensing of medical marijuana in Seattle. The regulations would be meant to "better define ap- propriate operations for dispensaries" who now "operate in a grey area be- tween city, state and federal law." The proposed legislation would "limit the off -site impact of larger -scale cannabis -related activity in zones where they may have increased impacts on neighborhood character or security, specifi- cally those zones with a predominately residential or historic character." Source: West Seattle Herald; http://www.westseattleherald.com 12 ©2012 Thomson Reuters