Unity considers changing residential zone near airport, reducing minimum lot sizes

Unity Township officials are considering changing the residential zoning classification of about 20 properties along a stretch of Route 981 near the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport to give owners more flexibility in developing the lots.

Solicitor Gary Falatovich said township supervisors likely won’t act on the proposed revision until February while they consider a similar change local attorney Daniel Hudock proposed for other properties a short distance northeast along Route 981.

Those proposed zoning changes, and others that would reduce the minimum lot sizes for developing multi-unit housing, were reviewed by the supervisors at a Tuesday hearing. No one objected to the changes at the proceeding.

Falatovich said the township, responding to requests from some affected property owners, has proposed changing the zoning along a stretch of Route 981 southwest of the airport entrance from (R-1) rural residential to (B-3) regional commercial. Properties there include a mix of single-family dwellings and businesses — including The Gymnastics Zone and Tea Rose Photography.

According to Falatovich, the zoning change wouldn’t prevent continued residential occupation of the properties, since single-family dwellings are permitted in all township zoning districts. The B-3 designation, he said, would match an adjacent zoning district and “would enable property owners to market their properties for sale at a later date and give them more alternatives.”

Some uses that are permitted in a B-3 zone, but not in the R-1 district, include a financial institution, a banquet facility, a child care center, commercial storage, a convenience store, a greenhouse, a landscaping business, a mixed-use building and offices.

Hudock told the supervisors several owners told him they want a similar zoning change for 10 properties farther northeast along Route 981, near a former intersection at Charles Houck Road that was eliminated to make way for a roundabout. He said all but two owners in that stretch, which also adjoins B-3 properties, have expressed an interest in the zoning change.

Falatovich said that change will require scheduling another formal hearing and seeking input from Westmoreland County planners. The solicitor noted much of the area described by Hudock already is occupied by businesses.

The supervisors also are considering lowering minimum lot sizes in several zoning districts, after learning home builders have found it difficult to meet existing lot requirements, Falatovich said.

“We tried to decrease the lot density per dwelling unit to allow a higher density of development,” he said. “It looks like there is a demand for patio homes, duplexes and quad units as the population around here ages. People are downsizing, they are looking for smaller accommodations. We decided we would make these changes in order to accommodate that type of a construction.”

In the township’s R-3 residential zone, the overall minimum lot area would be reduced from 12,000 square feet to 8,000 square feet.

The minimum lot area per dwelling unit would drop from 80,000 square feet to 40,000 square feet in a conservation zone; from 60,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet in an agricultural zone; and from 10,000 square feet to 7,500 square feet in an R-2 zone.

Falatovich said the supervisors will consider a recommendation from county planners to further lower minimum lot areas. But, he said, “Unity Township is still a relatively rural area, and people still like their space. The (township zoning) staff didn’t think it was appropriate to make these things so high-density that you’re creating little mini-cities.”

Other proposed zoning revisions would:

• Modify the definitions of dwelling unit, landscaping business, light manufacturing, family, multi-family dwelling and windmill farms;

• Add definitions for single house-keeping unit and short-term rentals;

• Eliminate separate definitions for townhouses, triplexes and quadplexes and bring them within the definition of multi-family dwellings;

• Amend provisions with respect to bed and breakfasts to include provisions for short-term rentals;

• Modify provisions relating to private windmills and windmill farms.