Planning Commission
Summary
The Halifax Township Planning Commission met on Monday, March 1, 2021, at 7:00 PM. Members Jake Gruver, Dwight Hoffman, and Randy Paul were present at roll call, with Flo Mallonee joining at 7:10 PM; Chad Lebo was absent. Engineer Cathy Lee and Solicitor Bruce Warshawsky (via phone) also attended. The session focused on two active land development plans and an ongoing question about how the township's transition from UCC to IBC building codes affects the classification of cabin structures.
- DDGJ Land Development — waivers approved: The commission unanimously approved waiver requests for SALDO sections 606, 607, and 404, provided appropriate notes are included on the final drawings (3-0, prior to Flo Mallonee's arrival).
- DDGJ Land Development — recommended for approval: After discussing outstanding engineer comments dated February 22, 2021, the commission voted 4-0 to recommend approval of the plans, conditioned on all engineer comments being adequately addressed. Developer Bill Burch is working through drafting corrections and plan clean-up.
- Hornungs Land Development — accepted for review: Plans submitted January 28, 2021 were formally accepted for engineering review on a 4-0 vote.
- Sponsler Subdivision — cabin/building code question unresolved: The commission discussed uncertainty about when Halifax Township adopted IBC regulations to replace the older UCC code, and whether IBC includes any carve-out for "cabins" as a distinct category (the UCC did; IBC may not). Randy Paul will research the issue and report back at the next meeting.
- SALDO updates under review: Cathy Lee and Bruce Warshawsky will examine the 14-day submission timetable requirement and the feasibility of separating stormwater management regulations from the SALDO into a standalone document. The commission also discussed but took no action on SALDO definitions (structure vs. tent, permanent vs. temporary, sinkhole, impervious) and stormwater sections 508–510.
Who was there
Jake Gruver (Planning Commission Member / Secretary) · Dwight Hoffman (Planning Commission Member) · Randy Paul (Planning Commission Member) · Flo Mallonee (Planning Commission Member) · Cathy Lee (Engineer) · Bruce Warshawsky (Solicitor)
Meeting business
APPROVE MINUTES
Dwight Hoffman motioned and Randy Paul seconded to approve the January 5, 2021 minutes. Motion carried 3-0.
OLD BUSINESS
Discussion regarding UCC regulations being replaced by IBC regulations sometime after 2006, with uncertainty about when Halifax Township adopted IBC. IBC may not have a carve-out for "cabins" separate from other residential buildings. Randy Paul will research further and report back at the next meeting.
Waiver requests for sections 606 and 607 were discussed along with section 404, which had not yet been formally requested. Jake Gruver motioned and Dwight Hoffman seconded to approve all three waiver requests contingent on appropriate notes being included on the final drawings. Motion carried 3-0.
Bill Burch is working on addressing engineer comments dated February 22, 2021 but has not had time to respond to all of them; discussion covered major issues, drafting errors, and general plan clean-up. The commission determined a time extension was not needed since original plans were submitted January 5, 2021 and the February meeting was missed. Jake Gruver motioned and Dwight Hoffman seconded to recommend approval of the plans conditioned on all February 22, 2021 engineer comments being appropriately addressed. Motion carried 4-0.
Plans were submitted January 28, 2021. Dwight Hoffman motioned and Jake Gruver seconded to accept the plans for review. Motion carried 4-0.
NEW BUSINESS
Clarification is needed on the date UCC regulations were replaced by IBC sometime after 2006. As discussed earlier, IBC has no exceptions for "cabins" that existed under UCC.
PROJECTS
Several SALDO-related topics were discussed: sketch plan fees will not be charged for draft discussion plans but will apply when formal engineer comments are needed; Cathy Lee and Bruce Warshawsky will review the 14-day submission timetable and the possibility of separating stormwater management regulations from SALDO; definitions for terms such as structure vs. tent, permanent vs. temporary, sinkhole, and impervious were discussed but no action was taken; review of sections 508/509/510 on stormwater management had no action taken.
ADJOURN
Jake Gruver motioned and Flo Mallonee seconded to adjourn at 8:04 PM. Motion carried 4-0.
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