PLANNING COMMISSION
Regular meetings are held the 1st Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. as needed in the Township Building, 1200 Carsonia Avenue.
Board Members:
Thomas Watcke | Shana Rose | Homer Williams | Joel Reber | Kimberly Alarcon
Corrine Crupi Zana, Secretary
Planning commissions or planning departments may be created by townships. At the direction of the board of supervisors, the planning commission may be given the responsibility to prepare a comprehensive plan for the township, to prepare and make recommendations on an official map and to prepare land use control ordinances including zoning ordinances and subdivision and land development ordinances. In addition, it may be required to prepare building and housing codes and environmental studies and to recommend capital improvements programs for the township. Planning commissions can be very useful as a way for citizens to make their views known on growth, planning and the direction the township is taking. With the planning commission receiving and evaluating input on these topics, citizens are able to have more discussion time on topics that concern them. Meanwhile, meetings of the board of supervisors can remain the forum where decisions are made based on the citizen input received by the planning commission.The Township Planning Commission reviews all plans for the subdivision or development of land within the corporate limits of the Township of Lower Alsace.
UNIFORM CODE BOARD OF APPEALS
Meetings scheduled as needed, and are held in the Township Building, 1200 Carsonia Avenue.
Board Members:
Timothy Heffner | D. Michael Rhodes | Timothy Waldman | Clifford DeFrees | Vacancy
ZONING HEARING BOARD
Meetings scheduled as needed, and are held in the Township Building, 1200 Carsonia Avenue.
Board Members:
Michael Farrara | Charles Snyder | John Eisenhard | Frank S. Piehl, Alternate
Any township which has enacted a zoning ordinance must appoint a zoning hearing board. The board is established to hear appeals on the validity of the zoning ordinance or map or any decision of the zoning officer. In addition, the board has the power to grant variances and special exceptions to the ordinance. The zoning hearing board is either a three-member or five-member quasi-judicial board consisting of residents of the municipality who may hold no other elected or appointed position. The zoning hearing board must appoint its own solicitor to assist in its deliberations, written decisions and appeals. The municipal solicitor may not be the zoning hearing board solicitor since the opinions and decisions of the zoning hearing board may differ from the views of the supervisors. The supervisors may, just as any affected citizen, appeal a decision of the zoning hearing board to the courts.