West Penn Township supervisors received more feedback Monday morning on recommended changes to its zoning ordinance.

Resident Brian McQuillen asked the board to keep highway commercial as is, with no change from the original proposal along Mill Drive and Route 443.

“This area was established as highway commercial 35 years ago, why change it now?,” McQuillen said.

McQuillen also asked the board to consider removing agricultural industrial use from the highway commercial district as proposed at the last public hearing.

He added that in the summary of draft ordinance from Charlie Schmehl of Urban, Research and Development Corp., there are several things that were important to the new ordinance, and that to promote good planning, the following should be addressed in the new ordinance.

McQuillen said there is no definition of commercial crop storage, and that the existing ordinance definition could be used. He also said it should indicate that this does not include chicken manure storage.

He said there is no definition of chicken manure storage, and that definitions and additional restrictions should be added as uses in the industrial district, as it’s an industrial agricultural business; and there should be requirements on storage similar to septage and sludge composting.

McQuillen also said there is no definition of roasting of soy beans or grains, and that definitions should be added, as well as additional restrictions as uses in the industrial district, and that there should be requirements on storage.

Supervisor Tim Houser said they can look into South Whitehall Township.

“They are pretty restrictive,” Houser said.

McQuillen said he hopes the board follows the recommendations from South Whitehall Township, as well as Schmehl.

“We are not anti-agriculture,” he said.

Daniel Poncavage said, “There’s some problems. It’s a new ordinance in my book.”

“You should not change a boundary; people have been living that way for 45 years,” Poncavage said. “I’m trying to speak out for the farmers.”

Township solicitor Paul J. Datte told Poncavage that what the township is looking to do is “a comprehensive rezoning.”

Regardless, Poncavage said, “It’s a new ordinance in my book.”

“I call it a new ordinance,” Poncavage said. “There are many implications.”

Chester Snyder, who served on the zoning ordinance committee, said they thoroughly reviewed the ordinance.

“Now everybody wants everything changed,” Snyder said. “We spent a lot of hours; we went above and beyond.”

Earlier this month, the board announced that it reviewed comments from Urban Research & Development Corporation.

The board plans to have another public hearing.