The Rural Area of Concerned Citizens wants zoning issues to be put in the hands of Bullskin Township officials.
Residents crowded the Bullskin Township Municipal Building on Wednesday night to discuss zoning issues. Many there want the township to initiate plans to institute its own zoning board.
Zoning issues are handled by Fayette County.
While no vote was taken, Deb Wiltrout, chairman of the board of supervisors, said supervisors would be willing to put the question to all residents in the township via a referendum on the November ballot. There would be two questions listed.
Residents would be asked if they support the township's forming its own zoning hearing board. They also would be asked if they support a possible tax increase of two or three mills to help fund a zoning board.
Attorney Robert Ging Jr., counsel for RACC, told supervisors that it was illegal to place the questions on the ballot.
Using the state governor's referendum handbook as a resource, Ging said there were state court rulings in 1990, 1991 and 1994 that county election boards have no authority to place a nonbinding question on a ballot.
Lee Welker, RACC president, told supervisors that they would have to make the decision.
Wiltrout disagreed, reading from that same handbook that "a number of state laws authorize local referenda on specific matters ... each law specifies how the question is to be placed on the ballot, either by voter petition or action of a local governing body."
He said he is trying to get in touch with the solicitor for the Fayette County Election Board. If she says it's legal, the supervisors will make a decision on placing the questions on the ballot.
Wiltrout said he was on RACC's side as a citizen but as a township official, he's on the other side of the fence.
"I have to be responsible for all 8,000 residents in the township and not just a handful," he said. "I will not be pressured to do something unethical or not right for this township.
"Bringing zoning under township control will cause a definite tax increase for all 8,000 residents, and we've prided ourselves on not raising taxes for quite a while," Wiltrout added. "Right now the millage is at .495 mills, which would cost $49.50 in taxes if a house was appraised for $100,000. If we have to raise taxes to three mills, you're going to have to pay five times more in taxes, so be careful what you ask for."
One resident, who didn't give his name, said it would be worth it to have control of zoning rather than continuing to experience a drop in property value because of having a stone quarry for a neighbor.
Resident Bo Uhrin said if things like Marcellus shale gas wells, windmills and stone quarries come into the township, property values will continue to decline, residents will ask county officials to reassess their property, and the township will lose that tax revenue.
Resident Brian Konieczny had two other issues with the supervisors.
The first was their decision not to change the meeting place, even though residents made that request at last month's meeting.
The municipal building meeting room was not big enough last month or this month to hold all of the people who attended the meeting.
"It's 100 degrees in here, and there are a lot of people outside who would like to hear the meeting but are stuck outside," Konieczny said.
"You have a lot of concerned citizens here, and we asked you last month to move the meeting," said another concerned citizen. "We elected you, and we hoped you would do the right thing."
Wiltrout said it was the consensus of the supervisors that the meeting location should not be changed.
Konieczny's other issue was having township officials provide four items of information that was requested at last month's meeting, including township income statements, the township budget, a balance sheet and the cost associated with bringing zoning back to the township.
Wiltrout offered copies of the first three to Konieczny, and Solicitor Don McCue said he is working on putting together figures on the costs for a zoning board.
Ging contended that the cost of bringing zoning to the township would be minimal. McCue disagreed, and Wiltrout said that in checking with other townships in the county that control their zoning, it would be a costly venture.
Neither McCue nor the supervisors were able to provide any concrete figures.
While members of RACC were well-represented at yesterday's meeting, not everyone there was in support of the group.
"With all of the other taxes coming through state and federal venues, I think this is a bad idea at this time," said resident Jeff Fuller.
Resident Jamison Poorbaugh also held a different outlook.
"I believe what I do on my property is my business, and I'm not a member of RACC, and I don't figure on being one," he said.
Wiltrout added that if the township took over control of zoning, it would have to allow provisions for every possible use, including methadone clinics, jails, adult entertainment and airports — just to name a few.
"There's a lot to think about with this," said Supervisor Bill Geary.
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