Board weighs new submission criteria: fewer paper copies, renderings and time limits for approvals

Township Manager Julia Hila summarized a draft ordinance that would update submission criteria for sketch plans, conditional-use applications and land-development plans. She said the draft focuses on three changes: removing obsolete zone references in the code, reducing paper-copy requirements while requiring a digital copy of plans, and adding a requirement for visual renderings or elevations so reviewers can see how proposed buildings will look.

Hila also presented proposed expiration rules to encourage applicants to move projects forward. The draft included provisions tying conditional-use approvals to subsequent land-development submissions or associated zoning/building permits; board members raised legal and practical concerns about the proposed one-year submission windows and cited the Municipal Planning Code (MPC) protections that can extend a developer’s rights up to five years from a preliminary approval.

Supervisors debated whether conditional use should expire if a final plan is not submitted and whether the clock should start at preliminary or final approval. Members suggested treating different project types differently (for example, differentiating small residential projects from major commercial developments) and asked staff to confirm MPC constraints. The board directed staff to research statutory timing, revise the draft language (including replacing unclear references to 'preliminary' or 'final' where needed), and prepare a chart or flow diagram that shows when conditional-use approvals, preliminary approvals and final approvals expire or trigger required follow-up.

Manager Hila said staff will circulate the revised draft to the planning commission and the EAC for comment and to the township’s solicitor for legal confirmation before bringing a revised ordinance back to the board. No votes were taken at the work session.

Ending: Staff will research MPC timing language, update the draft to reflect the board’s direction, and return with clearer language and a flow chart for public outreach and future consideration.