(10/1) On September 18th, Carroll Valley’s Planning Commission held an open house at the borough building to discuss the newly proposed zoning plan for Carroll Valley. The revisions to the zoning ordinance have been years in the making, with hard work set forth by the Planning Commission members. Residents of the borough and property owners were invited to attend the open house in order to learn more about the proposed zoning changes as well as ask zoning related questions.

The borough’s current zoning ordinance was adopted back in 1976, meaning it has been nearly 43 years since any changes were made to the existing ordinance. The Planning Commission hopes that the newly proposed zoning ordinance will be more user friendly while meeting both the current and future needs of the borough and its residents.

The overarching goal of these revisions is to accomplish four key objectives. The new changes hope to: protect individual property owners from harmful or undesirable uses of adjacent properties; correct inconsistencies throughout the code from previous revisions; assist economic growth by helping to reserve adequate and desirable sites for commercial uses; and provide an orderly and systematic transition in land use that benefits all property owners throughout the borough.

There are three main changes proposed in the revised zoning ordinance. Firstly, the new ordinance utilizes three types of Residential Zoning Districts, which reflect the different types of neighborhood characteristics that have developed over the past 43 years. Within the current zoning ordinance these three residential areas all fall within the same zoning district, but will now be separated into three separate entities. These separate districts will be: R1 Residential/Conservation, R2 Residential Low Density, and R3 Residential Medium Density.

The second proposed change would allow for the simplification of the Commercial District that is located near the Rt. 116/Rt. 16 intersection. As it currently stands, there are two different types of commercial districts in this area with different sets of rules for each. A simplification of rules and the division within the Commercial District will be revised.

Lastly, the new ordinance includes the creation of a Community Core District located at the Rt. 116/Sanders Road intersection. The Community Core District will be classified as a multi-use district and is intended to provide an area that would permit uses that may complement the nearby existing commercial-recreational uses through several ways. It is the hope that this new district will provide a mixture of neighborhood serving non-residential functions clustered closely together as well as provide a zoning district with higher density residential options to ensure that development occurring within this particular zoning district is of a scale and design that enables a variety of transportation modes to be used. Additionally, this new district hopes to promote the development of an internal street system that focuses on local travel and connectivity between developed sites rather than accommodating higher velocity thru traffic while encouraging property design that focuses on building design, placement and pedestrian scale. Planning Commission members also hope that this new district will help encourage a consistent architectural approach that is both reflective of and enhances the existing Carroll Valley community.

Each zoning district will have new individualized site requirements, such as building setbacks, impervious area maximums, and lot size, all based upon the character of the neighborhood. Permitted uses within each district, although similar to the existing ordinance, have been modified to reflect the character of each neighborhood/zoning district.

Residents of the borough should not expect to see any changes to their property’s tax assessment if the zoning changes are accepted. As described, the tax assessment is based upon the use of the property as opposed to the zoning district in which it is located. Additionally, if the property’s use is already established before the zoning changes are made, and the use is allowed under the old/current zoning, it will be grandfathered in and will be permitted to continue.

The newly revised zoning ordinance must come before Borough Council for approval. Further news regarding this topic will follow in future editions.