Jul 6, 2016 3 min read

CARMICHAELS – A subdivision and land development ordinance regulating how property can be divided and developed is expected to be adopted Monday by Cumberland Township supervisors.

The ordinance, prepared during the last two years, addresses how property can be divided through lot splits and subdivisions and how it can be developed in regard to factors such as access to a roadway and utilities and management of storm water and erosion.

Those same requirements are now regulated in the township by the county’s subdivision and land development ordinance. Township property owners who want to develop property now must go to the county planning commission for approval.

By administering its own subdivision and land development ordinance, the township will be able to make the process more convenient to residents, supervisor Bill Groves said.

A resident won’t have to travel to Waynesburg to visit the county planning office or attend a county planning commission meeting, he said.

“It can all be done right here,” Groves said.

A person planning to develop a property also at the same time will be able to obtain information at the township building in regard to the township’s zoning ordinance and building codes.

By being in charge of the various aspects of development, the township will be able to offer residents “one-stop shopping,” Groves said.

The township’s proposed ordinance is very similar to the county’s ordinance, said township code enforcement officer Ann Bargerstock, who with the assistance of Mackin Engineering, prepared the ordinance.

“This will be nothing new for developers, they will just be in a different venue,” she said.

Any person who wants to build only needs to come to the township.

It will be more convenient, Bargerstock said.

“It will also allow the township to better control what happens in the community,” she said.

The subdivision and land development ordinance deals with how a property is divided and how it is physically developed. It also spells out the process and requirements that must be met for plan approval.

A subdivision and land development ordinance is different from zoning ordinance, Bargerstock said. Zoning regulates the use of land in regard to its location.

The township zoning ordinance, for instance, has zoning districts designated for residential, industrial, commercial and agricultural development. The subdivision and land development ordinance includes provisions that deal with dividing property through lot splits and subdivisions.

A lot split is required when a property owner wants to divide a property into two parcels, perhaps to deed part of the land to a relative or to sell it to another person, Bargerstock said.

Creation of a subdivision involves the dividing of a property into two or more lots and may include construction of a new road or other public improvements such as sewer and water infrastructure.

In regard to land development, the ordinance primarily addresses construction or improvements involving multi-family, commercial or industrial buildings, Bargerstock said. It does not cover construction of a single-family home or a farm building.

A property owner who wants to construct a warehouse, for instance, would come to the township and receive a list of requirements that must be met to have the plan approved, she said.

Specific requirements of construction are more likely to be addressed by building codes. “This (the land development ordinance) is more about the land and how land is developed,” she said.

The overall goal of the township enacting a subdivision and land development ordinance is to “provide for harmonious development,” Bargerstock said.