Zoning changes recommended for Peters Township
Peters Township Council plans to vote Jan. 22 on a resolution to amend the municipal zoning ordinance.
The changes, as explained during a public hearing preceding council’s Jan. 8 reorganization meeting, would affect only the 74 acres in the Village Residential district, encompassing the Hackett neighborhood in the southeastern corner of the township and containing about 112 properties.
Provisions of the amendment are to:
- Eliminate the lot size minimum of .32 acres and have no minimum.
- Change the front setback from 10 feet minimum and 15 feet maximum to 20 feet minimum and 25 feet maximum.
- Change the side yard setback from 5 feet minimum to 7.5 feet.
During Peters Township Council’s Jan. 8 reorganization meeting, James Berquist was elected chairman for 2018.
Berquist, who represents District D and is starting his fourth term on council, served as vice chairman last year.
At-large council member Frank Kosir Jr. was elected new vice chairman.
Council voted to retain John Smith of Smith Butz Attorneys at Law as solicitor; Gateway Engineers as township consulting engineer; Lennon, Smith, Souleret Engineering Inc. as alternate consulting engineer; and Traffic Planning and Design Inc. as township traffic engineer.
The latter pertains to township regulations stipulating the presence of sprinklers in some residences.
“What the sprinkler ordinance says is that if you have homes that are located closer than 15 feet apart, they become classified as patio homes and therefore require sprinklers,” township manager Paul Lauer said. With a 7.5-foot setback, “all homes will be at least 15 feet apart. That is a dimension that the fire department has told us is safe in terms of constructing homes and not requiring sprinklers.”
The minimum lot size for the VR district, as established when the township adopted a new zoning ordinance in August, has resulted in numerous noncomforming lots. Some are as small as one-tenth of an acre, according to planning director Ed Zuk.
He and Mark Zemaitis, township director of engineering, have met with potential developers about potentially building homes on part of the 20-plus acres that remain undeveloped in Hackett.
“We looked at their conceptual plan, and had these .32-acre lots with these smaller homes on them, it was consuming areas that could be buffers, that could be open space, that could be central greens,” Zuk told council. “So reducing the lot size from .32 acres to no minimum lot size will allow the 35 percent lot coverage in the village residential district to dictate lot size.”
Regarding the other proposed change, Zuk wrote in a memo to council:
“The increased front setback will allow vehicles to be parked in the driveway and not interfere or encroach into the sidewalk.
Peters Council Planning Commission has recommended that council approve the zoning ordinance amendment.
