Township officials worry about historic district proposal
Supervisors from four Fayette County townships creating a multi-municipal comprehensive plan are concerned that measures to protect the county’s historic resources would instead hamper development for the municipalities. Officials from Franklin, Jefferson, Menallen and Perry townships sent a letter last month to the Fayette County Office of Planning, Zoning and Community Development asking that the planning office “give credence to our local planning effort so as to provide consistency with our multi-municipal comprehensive plan and for the protection of the public health, safety and welfare of our residents,” the letter state.
The letter, signed by one supervisor from each township, states the supervisors are specifically “concerned that proposed measures to protect historic resources would instead hamper the desired development pattern for our four townships.”
The letter continues that historic measures can enhance communities and preserve community character if enacted in a thoughtful manner, but states, “our fear is that the enactment of a historic district that is overly restrictive will serve to thwart our plans to improve the quality of life for residents and strengthen municipal capacity to provide necessary services.”
Fayette County Commission Chairwoman Angela M. Zimmerlink, who has been spearheading efforts to enact a historic provision in the zoning ordinance, responded to the supervisors with a letter dated Sept. 8. Zimmerlink cautioned the supervisors not to get the mindset that protecting the county’s historic resources and districts would negatively impact the growth or economics of the townships.
“Protecting such vital assets benefits the economics of the area in that it promotes the county’s historic and cultural heritage in tourism and economic development programs, protects and stabilizes and improves property values and protects and enhances the county’s attractiveness to visitors and serves as a support and stimulus to its economy,” Zimmerlink wrote.
Zimmerlink continued to write that the county is at the initial stage of implementing the historic protection and the process will be “an open one with input from municipal officials, historical societies, etc. After a careful and in-depth review, decisions will be made. The county looks forward to receiving your input,” Zimmerlink wrote.
In January, the county commissioners approved a motion to advertise a request for proposals for the multi-municipal comprehensive plan for the four townships. The $150,000 comprehensive plan is being paid for, in part, with a state grant administered through the Fayette County Office of Planning, Zoning and Community Development. In addition, each township also contributed $2,500. Mackin Engineering Co. of Pittsburgh was chosen to complete the plan.
In June, Zimmerlink and Commissioner Joseph A. Hardy III voted to have the county planning office pursue the establishment of a historic district ordinance.
The commissioners are expected to vote this month to approve the updated countywide zoning ordinance that currently affects 32 out of 42 municipalities. Last month, the commissioners heard a request from a group of individuals interested in historic preservation to reserve a spot in the zoning ordinance for a historic provision.