Peters to form gas drilling committee
Peters Township Council agreed Jan. 26 to form a committee comprised of council and members of the township planning commission to study how the township zoning ordinance can be changed to accommodate natural gas drilling.
David Ball, council chairman, said it is not a given that Peters has to have a zoning ordinance that allows drilling, but the township needs to have sound reasoning behind whatever it decides to do. The township held a public hearing Jan. 19 to gather input from residents about gas drilling and proposed changes to its zoning ordinance that would permit drilling in industrial zoned areas, which combine roughly 150 acres throughout the township.
“What we do has to be right and thought out,” Ball said. “None of us are geophysical engineers.”
The township is in a bit of a Catch-22 when it comes to zoning. Because of changes in state law, Peters must eliminate the Mineral Extraction Overlay District, which would have allowed drilling in 15 areas of the township, all zoned residential. Further complicating matters for council, as well as the township as a whole is its reputation as a residential community.
To date, no gas wells have been drilled in Peters. There are, however, gas wells in neighboring communities.
“We need to plan and then say, ‘This is what we want to do,'” said Ball, who asked fellow council members to serve on the planning committee. Council members Monica Merrell and Robert Lewis agreed to be part of the committee, which will include three still-not-named members of the township planning commission.
In other business, council approved the Bower Hill Traffic Calming project. This plan includes the installation of speed bumps, a raised intersection, yellow center lines and center line rumble strips along Bower Hill Road.
Ed and Linda Schwartz, who live in the 200 block of Bower Hill and have been residents of the township for 35 years, told council that their stretch of road has become a haven for speeders and has become dangerous for them and their neighbors.
“I agree with you,” Merrell told the Schwartzes. “I live off Bower Hill Road and I agree with your issues with the speed,” along the road.
Michael Silvestri, Peters Township manager, said Bower Hill Road is scheduled to be paved this summer and that road improvements recommended in the Bower Hill Traffic Calming project will be made.
Council also agreed to purchase three new cars for the police department from Day Auto Group at a cost of $87,063.