Peters Township removes parcels from conservation zoning district, increasing lot sizes
Peters Township council approved an ordinance that removes numerous parcels of land from the Conservation Residential (CR) overlay zoning district, which will increase the minimum lot size required on those properties.
Prior to their vote at a special meeting June 5, council held a public hearing to present the ordinance. Homes within the CR overlay can be built on quarter-acre lots, as opposed to half-acre lots.
Township Manager Paul Lauer explained that the ordinance applies to undeveloped parcels. Property where developers have filed final preliminary plans for future development are unaffected.
Council plans to begin the process of creating a new comprehensive plan later this year, which may lead to council reconsidering some of the properties that were removed.
“If we vote and pass this ordinance and take all these parcels out of the Conservation overlay, that doesn’t mean necessarily that some of them aren’t going to work their way back in when we redo the comprehensive plan,” said council Chair Frank Kosir Jr.
Kosir went on to explain that council had hoped the CR overlay would lead to smaller homes that could help the township retain its elderly population.
“The concern, at least my concern and I think most people on this council share that concern, is that what we were seeing … was developers taking houses that normally should have been fitted on half-acre lots and instead finding a way to jam them on a quarter-acre lot,” Kosir said.
Monica Merrell was the only council member who voted against the CR overlay when it was adopted in 2016. Merrell attended Monday’s meeting, now as a member of the public.
“I applaud the fact that we’re taking a step back to look at this again, and I hope that it passes so that we can hold off until the comprehensive plan is looked at again,” Merrell said.