At the August Eldred Township supervisors' meeting, vice chairman Mary Anne Clausen asked what the appropriate procedure was to initiate amendments to the township's zoning ordinance.

When the township adopted its new zoning ordinance in May, she had some issues with the shared uses and understood that they might be amended in the near future. She said she was compiling a list of potential amendments she would like to be considered.This month, Clausen said she had sent to the board an email copy of potential amendments and wanted to address them."Rather than attempt to go through my whole list, I am going to ask that the document itself be included as an addendum to tonight's minutes, and just highlight parts of it. I also brought some extra copies with me if anyone is interested in picking them up," Clausen said.Supervisor Chairman Gretchen Gannon-Pettit looked at the three-page handout and said before any discussion, she would like a chance to read them. Clausen said that she had them since Aug. 19. Gannon-Pettit said this was the first time she was looking at them.Clausen wanted to proceed, but Gannon-Pettit told her she had 10 minutes. Clausen became incredulous, asking why what took her 60 hours of work should now be relegated to 10 minutes. Gannon-Pettit remained firm in saying Clausen had 10 minutes, per Robert's Rules of Order.Issues"I'd like to remove the limit on the number of yard sales. If someone has a location where he or she can hold yard sales with safe parking and sufficiently distant from neighbors not to be a nuisance, as many of us do, what reason is there to limit the number of yard sales that person may have to three a year?"Clausen added, "As I read it, the definition of yard sales prevents people from using a yard sale to sell goods they have purchased for the purpose of resale; that in itself will limit the number of sales someone is likely to have. I also believe that the definition of yard sales should be expanded to include sales by a group of neighbors or friends at the property of one of them. As it is, the activity would seem to fall into the definition of flea market which, if outdoors, might not be allowed in Eldred at all."She addressed signage in the township."What is the current law in Eldred regarding signs on municipal property and in public rights of way, and what is the difference between the two? What do we want that law to be, and what ordinance do we need in place to achieve it? My understanding is that traditionally we have not allowed signs on municipal property. In declaring signs maintained contrary to the zoning ordinance to be nuisances, are we creating a legal issue?"She sees no reason to prohibit all signs but "No Trespassing" signs on trees and believes this should be changed. "Why should the township tell someone, for example, that he or she can't post a sign advertising a lost pet on his or her own tree?"Trash dumpsters"Section 702 says that all trash dumpsters should be screened. I am not sure whether that applies to everyone, or just to commercial properties. However, what I didn't find was a provision that says that all trash left outside for more than a day or two must be in a waterproof or rodent-proof container. Should we add a provision to that effect?"If you look at section 404.3, you'll see that there is a lengthy list of permitted uses for our AR district, and a lengthy paragraph of permitted uses for our RR district. And if you look at those paragraphs carefully, you'll see that they are identical except for two small differences only one includes B and B's and only the other permits two-family dwellings. I don't see any reasonable reason for so fine a distinction, and I think both uses should be principal permitted uses in both districts.Gannon-Pettit broke in by saying she thought this was for the Planning Commission.Clausen said she thought so too, but was told by Carson Helfrich of Community Planning; Christine Meinhart-Fritz of Monroe County Planning Commission; and Daniel Lyons, the Eldred Township Planning Commission solicitor, that it should go to the supervisors first.Kaspszyk said the board of supervisors reviews possible amendments, then selects the ones they want to consider and forward them to the Planning Commission for their input.He recommended that the supervisors review the proposals, make recommendations and then give them to the Planning Commission.Clausen said these were just a sample, but the list is available for everyone to look at and think about."Even better, the ordinance is available on our website. So take a look at both and be prepared to share your ideas, because at some point in the not too distant future we will be voting to advertise proposed amendments to our zoning ordinance," she said.