Mahoning Township supervisors are not happy with a recent Senate bill 1100 that is on the floor in the PA Legislature which will centralize zoning to the state removing the power of local governments to control how their municipalities are zoned if it passes. This could mean the state could dictate what is built and what is not throughout the commonwealth.

The plan, according to Supervisor George Stawnyczyj, is a move by representatives of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to remove control of local governments in the state and transfer that zoning responsibility to Harrisburg, a move that does not sit well with township supervisors.

Chairperson John Wieczorek agreed with Stawnyczyj's report from a lobbying day the PA State Assocation of Townships held in Harrisburg to lobby against centralizing government. "I would like us to write a letter to our legislators to tell them we are 100 percent opposed to legislation moving local zoning control out of the hands of local governments and into the hands of the state."

Wieczorek didn't need to make much of a case as the supervisors quickly formed a consensus to sign and send such a letter.

Stawnyczyj indicated this was the tip of the iceberg. There are pieces of legislation afoot in the commonwealth to attempt to remove other controls from local governments and indicated the people should contact their legislators and tell them not to support any legislation that would remove local control from their municipal governments both boroughs and townships.

He met with Representative Doyle Heffley and Senator David Argall while he was attending the PSATS session last week to personally express his concerns and supervisors urge that everyone concerned with these possible changes do the same.