| Forks Action Committee |
| Homepage - Last Day of the Month |
| January 31, 2005 |
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| Howell Delivers! Supervisor C. David Howell ran on important issues. One of them, Open Government, was rated in a F.A.C. survey as most important to us, the residents. Howell has succeeded in lobbying the Board to adopt his proposal for Committees to replace the long term liaison roles that Supervisors have traditionally played. He feels that Committees (each with two Supervisors - who rotate to another committee after two years) will allow the Township to better face the future, will provide "transparency" to our government, and will insure continuity in the management of Township affairs as there will always be one Supervisor on a Committee who has been on it for a year when the new one joins for his/her two-year stint. The department heads and managers voiced their support at the BoS meeting on 1/19/06 and it passed in a 5:0 vote. We look forward to seeing this in action. Thank you David Howell! |
We learned today (1/17/06) that the weekend high winds knocked down the new 35' blue spruce tree (donated by the Dockers and transplanted just a week ago.) The root ball was exposed and it could not be saved. The park crew had to cut it up. |
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The first of two public hearings on the new Zoning Ordinance was held by the Planning Commission
on 1/24/06. Some residents and some developers, both with concerns regarding the changes were there. Charlie
Schmehl from Urban Research & Development Corporation (the Township's paid consultant on this project) was there to
give the summarized version, with highlights, and to answer questions from the audience.
According to Schmehl and PC members, the new ordinance is about Open Space and preserving the Township's rural
character. According to Attorney Dennis Benner, representing Kings Mill LLC, the new ordinance is "confiscatory" and
deprives our children of being able to afford houses in Forks. According to Sarah Mausolf's article in the Express Times,
(after the meeting) Benner labeled some of those who opposed the sketch plan that was presented last August for 800+
homes on 400- acres as "zealots" who failed to consider appropriate alternatives. And, according to Joe Nixon (Morning
Call) Benner said that the new zoning represented an ''anti-development mentality,'' deprived the land of its value, and
contributed to a lack of affordable housing.
Also, Benner said that Kings Mill submitted a plan to the Township in December 2005 for 185 houses. He said too, that they
now own about 500 acres in the Farmland Preservation District. He said that this was a "material" portion of the FP District.
The plan will be subject to the old Zoning Ordinance.
The new ordinance changes minimum density requirements across all zoning districts. The most controversial is the
change to the FP District lowering density to one home per 3 acres unless a "cluster" option is proposed. For a "cluster"
development, the lot sizes can be as small as one acre as long as an equal parcel is reserved for open space. This keeps it
very much like it was at two acres per unit, only now, one acre will have a house and the other acre will remain as open
space. A resident and farm owner asked what that meant to his land in Act 319 (Act 319 has a 2 acre restriction for
development - per year) and was told that he could develop on a one acre parcel as long as another acre of the farm was put
under a conservation easement. In fact, he was told that he can develop any number of one acre parcels (one at a time) with
conservation easements on equal acreage in the rest of the farm.
The new Zoning Ordinance applies only to new projects and not to projects that are already in progress or already submitted
to the Township. Also, the increased lot sizes do not apply to existing lots but any new project on them must conform to the
new rules in every other way. Some uses are prohibited in certain districts now, like auto sales and auto repair in the
Heritage Corridor (Bushkill). However, if the use already exists, it may continue.
Part 2 will be the Supervisors' Public Hearing on Tuesday, 2/7/2006 at 7:00 PM. The final part will be the vote by the BoS at
their meeting on 2/16/06 at 7:30 PM. If you have questions about how the new ordinance will affect you, come to the Public
Hearing on the 7th. If you wait until the regular meeting on the 16th, it may be too late.
Also, using an educated guess we think that Kings Mill will be on the 2/9/06 PC agenda. So if you want to know how the
Kings Mill plan has evolved, come to the PC meeting on 2/9/06 at 7:30 PM. We believe that the clock begins ticking when a
project is submitted and if the PC doesn't review it within a 90 day window, it is deemed approved by them and goes
un-reviewed to the BoS.
Please read our blog for more meeting details! Don't forget to read some of the other posts there... and the Comments too.
Don't be afraid to join in the discussion(s) and add your own Comments.
on 1/24/06. Some residents and some developers, both with concerns regarding the changes were there. Charlie
Schmehl from Urban Research & Development Corporation (the Township's paid consultant on this project) was there to
give the summarized version, with highlights, and to answer questions from the audience.
According to Schmehl and PC members, the new ordinance is about Open Space and preserving the Township's rural
character. According to Attorney Dennis Benner, representing Kings Mill LLC, the new ordinance is "confiscatory" and
deprives our children of being able to afford houses in Forks. According to Sarah Mausolf's article in the Express Times,
(after the meeting) Benner labeled some of those who opposed the sketch plan that was presented last August for 800+
homes on 400- acres as "zealots" who failed to consider appropriate alternatives. And, according to Joe Nixon (Morning
Call) Benner said that the new zoning represented an ''anti-development mentality,'' deprived the land of its value, and
contributed to a lack of affordable housing.
Also, Benner said that Kings Mill submitted a plan to the Township in December 2005 for 185 houses. He said too, that they
now own about 500 acres in the Farmland Preservation District. He said that this was a "material" portion of the FP District.
The plan will be subject to the old Zoning Ordinance.
The new ordinance changes minimum density requirements across all zoning districts. The most controversial is the
change to the FP District lowering density to one home per 3 acres unless a "cluster" option is proposed. For a "cluster"
development, the lot sizes can be as small as one acre as long as an equal parcel is reserved for open space. This keeps it
very much like it was at two acres per unit, only now, one acre will have a house and the other acre will remain as open
space. A resident and farm owner asked what that meant to his land in Act 319 (Act 319 has a 2 acre restriction for
development - per year) and was told that he could develop on a one acre parcel as long as another acre of the farm was put
under a conservation easement. In fact, he was told that he can develop any number of one acre parcels (one at a time) with
conservation easements on equal acreage in the rest of the farm.
The new Zoning Ordinance applies only to new projects and not to projects that are already in progress or already submitted
to the Township. Also, the increased lot sizes do not apply to existing lots but any new project on them must conform to the
new rules in every other way. Some uses are prohibited in certain districts now, like auto sales and auto repair in the
Heritage Corridor (Bushkill). However, if the use already exists, it may continue.
Part 2 will be the Supervisors' Public Hearing on Tuesday, 2/7/2006 at 7:00 PM. The final part will be the vote by the BoS at
their meeting on 2/16/06 at 7:30 PM. If you have questions about how the new ordinance will affect you, come to the Public
Hearing on the 7th. If you wait until the regular meeting on the 16th, it may be too late.
Also, using an educated guess we think that Kings Mill will be on the 2/9/06 PC agenda. So if you want to know how the
Kings Mill plan has evolved, come to the PC meeting on 2/9/06 at 7:30 PM. We believe that the clock begins ticking when a
project is submitted and if the PC doesn't review it within a 90 day window, it is deemed approved by them and goes
un-reviewed to the BoS.
Please read our blog for more meeting details! Don't forget to read some of the other posts there... and the Comments too.
Don't be afraid to join in the discussion(s) and add your own Comments.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
On January 19, 2006 the Board of Supervisors started early with a 6:00 PM Executive Session to discuss a
personnel matter as well as a "threatened litigation." (We have no idea what litigation is threatened.) At 7:00 PM they began
their Workshop to discuss Vice Chairman Howell's proposal for Standing Committees. And, at 7:30 PM they held the regular
meeting. Please read Sarah Mausolf's (Express Times) and Joe Nixon's (Morning Call) reports on the meeting. It was an
important one. Open government is on its way!
Some of the night's highlights include:
And, in the big event of the night, the Supervisors voted to enter the 21st century and change the way they have been doing
things! They voted 5:0 to adopt Vice Chairman C. David Howell's proposal for Standing Committees as a replacement for the
liaison structure! Kudos to our Supervisors. They asked questions, they learned, they were intrigued and they decided to
give it a chance. We are proud of them.
Please read our blog for more meeting details! Don't forget to read some of the other posts there... and the Comments too.
Don't be afraid to join in the discussion(s) and add your own Comments.
personnel matter as well as a "threatened litigation." (We have no idea what litigation is threatened.) At 7:00 PM they began
their Workshop to discuss Vice Chairman Howell's proposal for Standing Committees. And, at 7:30 PM they held the regular
meeting. Please read Sarah Mausolf's (Express Times) and Joe Nixon's (Morning Call) reports on the meeting. It was an
important one. Open government is on its way!
Some of the night's highlights include:
- There is a new part-time front desk position in the PD that will be advertised soon.
- Chief Dorney has received grants to attend both a police development executive course administered by Penn State
as well as the advanced level course (in May). Corporal Grifo will be officer in charge while he is away. - A resident on the Kesslersville & Newlins (and Destiny Lane) intersection telephoned Township Manager Kichline
and would like a guardrail to protect his property from vehicle accidents at that intersection. Ackerman offered big
rocks from his farm. - A district PennDot official called DPW Director Sandt and told him that the stop control device on Bushkill specified by
Engineer Fred Hay may be in place in a week. Trouble is, Hay did not give PennDot any specifications! - Big Woody's will be the sports bar in Towne Center I, the commercial development currently under construction
across from Zucksville Road. - NIMS training - National Incident Management System - for Township Supervisors and Township employees is to be
conducted. - The Township debt is now below $9,000,000.
- Forks Township will continue its participation in the Two Rivers Council of Governments.
- Knollwood Estates Phase 2 (113 lots) has been working with PA DEP to get the culvert crossing in the flood plain
swale just right. The Fish Commission wanted a fish ladder there. That was straightened out. Ackerman remarked
that he'd never seen fish swim in grass. - The Estates at Sterling Hill will bring 135 homes to the Arndt/Mitman area.
- Bryan Weis was reappointed as Deputy Fire Chief.
- There may be a tag sale of left-overs from the old Municipal Building once the move is complete.
- THE NEW MUNICIPAL BUILDING WILL BE OPEN FOR BUSINESS ON MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2006!
And, in the big event of the night, the Supervisors voted to enter the 21st century and change the way they have been doing
things! They voted 5:0 to adopt Vice Chairman C. David Howell's proposal for Standing Committees as a replacement for the
liaison structure! Kudos to our Supervisors. They asked questions, they learned, they were intrigued and they decided to
give it a chance. We are proud of them.
Please read our blog for more meeting details! Don't forget to read some of the other posts there... and the Comments too.
Don't be afraid to join in the discussion(s) and add your own Comments.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Planning Commission held their first meeting of the year on January 12, 2006. The meeting began
with the elections of chairman, vice chairman, and secretary. Vito Tamborrino was elected in a 5:2 vote. Erik Chuss is the
vice-chairman (7:0) vote and Dean Turner is Secretary (also a 7:0 vote). They welcomed their newest member, Carl Dicker.
Dean Turner asked if it was the PC's role or the BoS' to appoint the PC Solicitor and Engineer. Tamborrino said it was the
BoS role. Karl Kline (Solicitor to the Board) said that it had been taken care of at their meeting. Here are some highlights:
The Zoning Hearing Board's first meeting of 2006 was held on January 9, 2006. They elected John
Pappas as Chairman, Robert Egolf was elected Vice Chairman, and Ron Asteak, their newest member, was elected
Secretary. Michael Shay was retained as Solicitor. The purpose of this meeting was to hear the variance requests of CVS for
its new project in the new commercial development near Uhler Road and Sullivan Trail. CVS wanted three variances, one to
have more than one principal use on one lot, another for relief from the off-street loading requirements for the fast food
restaurant (second use on the lot), and the third was for relief of the landscaping requirements around the CVS loading area.
The Zoning Hearing Board considered each request separately and voted "no" on each in 2:3 votes with Asteak, Pappas, and
Egolf casting the dissenting votes. Zoning Officer Tim Weis noted that under the new zoning ordinance two uses on one lot
will be permitted. (That is true but the other two variance requests will not be.)
On January 4, 2006 the Elected Auditors met to set the rates of pay for Supervisors who work for the Township in
other capacities. This applies at the moment to three of our Supervisors, John Ackerman, David Hoff, and Donald Miller.
Each was given the same 4% raise that all other Township employees got for 2006. Ackerman sometimes helps plow
snow, Hoff is the Secretary/Treasurer of the Board, and Miller is the Community Center Co-ordinator. Our elected auditors
are Wayne Docker, Elizabeth Casapulla, and James Craig.
with the elections of chairman, vice chairman, and secretary. Vito Tamborrino was elected in a 5:2 vote. Erik Chuss is the
vice-chairman (7:0) vote and Dean Turner is Secretary (also a 7:0 vote). They welcomed their newest member, Carl Dicker.
Dean Turner asked if it was the PC's role or the BoS' to appoint the PC Solicitor and Engineer. Tamborrino said it was the
BoS role. Karl Kline (Solicitor to the Board) said that it had been taken care of at their meeting. Here are some highlights:
- Zoning Officer Tim Weis said that some of the projects on the agenda with approaching deadlines granted time
extensions to the Planning Commission. - Planner Dean Turner took exception to the continual time extensions for Knollwood Estates Phase 2 (Preliminary
Subdivision) and motioned that it be rejected based on Hay's letter from last summer. The vote to reject was 7:0. This
will now go to the BoS to decide whether or not to reject the time extension. A letter will be sent to the developer. If
the Board rejects it also, the developer must resubmit plans in order to continue. If not, the plans return to the PC for
recommendations. - Planner Jim Wideman noted zoning ordinance sections to substantiate his request to dismiss the Courts At Newlins
Road. It was on the agenda as Land Development and was one of the projects granting a time extension (to 2/28/06
according to Weis) until it was noticed that it wasn't at the Land Development stage. It was still at the Sketch Plan
stage and could not be voted on since it was supposed to be there only for opinions and suggestions. - CVS withdrew their Conditional Use Request (also dropped from the 1/19/06 BoS agenda). As a result of the Zoning
Hearing Board denial of their variance requests, it is likely that CVS will abandon the idea of putting a fast food
restaurant as a second use on the parcel under discussion. The project is called Forks Commons. - Resident Joe Kressley (sic) from Meadowlane Drive addressed the PC to let them know that the treeline that Segal &
Morel (Riverview Estates West) promised to "not touch" is being touched. The three large trees that he will lose are
on the developer's side of a 30' wide stone fence-row. He asked that the PC in the future require that developers
detail the width of fence-rows and large trees within them when considering projects. Dean Turner noted that as he
recalls, the new zoning ordinance will do just that. Weis will talk to Segal & Morel to see if something can be worked
out and remind them that they agreed to save the trees. Kline advised Weis to take the position that the trees are to
be saved.
The Zoning Hearing Board's first meeting of 2006 was held on January 9, 2006. They elected John
Pappas as Chairman, Robert Egolf was elected Vice Chairman, and Ron Asteak, their newest member, was elected
Secretary. Michael Shay was retained as Solicitor. The purpose of this meeting was to hear the variance requests of CVS for
its new project in the new commercial development near Uhler Road and Sullivan Trail. CVS wanted three variances, one to
have more than one principal use on one lot, another for relief from the off-street loading requirements for the fast food
restaurant (second use on the lot), and the third was for relief of the landscaping requirements around the CVS loading area.
The Zoning Hearing Board considered each request separately and voted "no" on each in 2:3 votes with Asteak, Pappas, and
Egolf casting the dissenting votes. Zoning Officer Tim Weis noted that under the new zoning ordinance two uses on one lot
will be permitted. (That is true but the other two variance requests will not be.)
On January 4, 2006 the Elected Auditors met to set the rates of pay for Supervisors who work for the Township in
other capacities. This applies at the moment to three of our Supervisors, John Ackerman, David Hoff, and Donald Miller.
Each was given the same 4% raise that all other Township employees got for 2006. Ackerman sometimes helps plow
snow, Hoff is the Secretary/Treasurer of the Board, and Miller is the Community Center Co-ordinator. Our elected auditors
are Wayne Docker, Elizabeth Casapulla, and James Craig.
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For those of you who read the newspaper accounts of the 2006 Board of Supervisors Re-Organization Meeting,
no, they were not exaggerated. Sarah Mausolf (Express Times) and Joe Nixon (Morning Call) got it right. No Board
Chairperson was elected at the 1/3/2006 meeting. It wasn't for lack of trying though! Read their articles for the blow-by-blow
details.
The evening began at 5:30 PM with interviews of 6 of the 7 candidates for the Planning Commission as well as the candidates
for the Vacancy and Zoning Hearing Boards. The interviewed candidates were exceptional and highly qualified but
unfortunately could not all be appointed. During the Re-Org meeting, the Board announced the re-appointments of John
Castrovinci and Vito Tamborrino (not interviewed) to the Planning Commission. They appointed Carl Dicker to the unexpired
term on the PC. Ron Asteak was appointed to the unexpired term on the Zoning Hearing Board and Henning Holmgaard was
appointed to the 1 year term on the Vacancy Board. Alex Banas (not interviewed) was re-appointed to the Recreation Board.
The regular Board of Supervisors meeting had only one item to deal with, approving the Minutes of the 12/15/05 meeting as
revised. They were approved and the meeting was adjourned. Apparently the Penn State football game was on many of their
agendas.
Please read our blog for more meeting details! Don't forget to read some of the other posts there... and the Comments too.
Don't be afraid to join in the discussion(s) and add your own Comments.
no, they were not exaggerated. Sarah Mausolf (Express Times) and Joe Nixon (Morning Call) got it right. No Board
Chairperson was elected at the 1/3/2006 meeting. It wasn't for lack of trying though! Read their articles for the blow-by-blow
details.
The evening began at 5:30 PM with interviews of 6 of the 7 candidates for the Planning Commission as well as the candidates
for the Vacancy and Zoning Hearing Boards. The interviewed candidates were exceptional and highly qualified but
unfortunately could not all be appointed. During the Re-Org meeting, the Board announced the re-appointments of John
Castrovinci and Vito Tamborrino (not interviewed) to the Planning Commission. They appointed Carl Dicker to the unexpired
term on the PC. Ron Asteak was appointed to the unexpired term on the Zoning Hearing Board and Henning Holmgaard was
appointed to the 1 year term on the Vacancy Board. Alex Banas (not interviewed) was re-appointed to the Recreation Board.
- At 7 PM President Judge Robert A. Freedberg swore-in our newest elected officials, Supervisor C. David
Howell, Auditor James Craig and Tax Collector June Vail. Immediately after that, the Board adjourned for
an Executive Session to discuss a personnel issue. They took no action and resumed the meeting only
to find themselves in the predicament described so aptly by Mausolf and Nixon, Chairperson-less. They
were able to proceed when Solicitor Karl Kline noted that Ackerman would stay on as Chair until a new
one can be elected. C. David Howell was elected Vice Chairman. All the other appointments are
detailed in our blog meeting notes.
The regular Board of Supervisors meeting had only one item to deal with, approving the Minutes of the 12/15/05 meeting as
revised. They were approved and the meeting was adjourned. Apparently the Penn State football game was on many of their
agendas.
Please read our blog for more meeting details! Don't forget to read some of the other posts there... and the Comments too.
Don't be afraid to join in the discussion(s) and add your own Comments.
| Thank You To Our Exceptional Neighbors! We want to thank each and every one of you who applied for the announced appointed boards and commissions vacancies. Unfortunately the Board of Supervisors wasn't able to appoint you all. We are proud of you for stepping forward and volunteering your time and expertise. We are also very proud that you are our neighbors. You are all so well qualified. Wow! For those of you who were unable to attend the interviews, there were a total of seven applicants (including the two incumbents) for the three slots on the Planning Commission. One of the applicants is an archeologist by trade and has spent the last 25 years of his career as a cultural resource manager working with planners and engineers! Another has years of experience serving on school boards in neighboring NJ. Still another is a small business owner and Delaware River Keeper. Another is a civil engineer who is involved in the planning aspects of government; his specialty is sewer &, water, especially storm-water. And, yet another is a chemical engineer with an MBA in Finance, Accounting, and Strategy! WOW! These are our neighbors. They are willing to give of themselves to make Forks a better place for all of us. BRAVO and thank you! We hope you will try again for the next openings. Our township needs you! The outcome? The two incumbents were reappointed. One of them, John Castrovinci, Forks Elementary School Principal, came to be interviewed like all the other new candidates. The other? No, he did not. Our newest Planning Commission member is Carl Dicker. He's a 15 year Township resident and storm-water specialist! Ron Asteak was appointed to C. David Howell's unexpired term on the Zoning Hearing Board. He gets his feet wet on Monday, January 9th with the CVS variance request. What a night! Read about it on our blog and in our meeting summary below. |
In case any of you wonder how our website and blog are doing lately, here are some graphs to view. Double click on the
images below for larger views. We are excited at the traffic we are getting. Thank you all! Tell your friends!
images below for larger views. We are excited at the traffic we are getting. Thank you all! Tell your friends!
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