The Moore Township Board of Supervisors met at 6 p.m. on May 4 at the Moore Township Recreation Center Pavilion. They discussed the traffic impact study, yard waste site hours and short-term rental units.
Kevin Horvath, township engineer, provided the Board of Supervisors a packet of information and some insights about a possible traffic impact study along Route 512.
“(The packet of information) was done expressly for the purpose of describing in not too complicated terms, the purpose of a traffic impact study, the procedure for passing a traffic impact fee ordinance and even more appropriately, the circumstances for when a traffic impact study may be beneficial and other circumstances where it might not be,” Horvath said. “So, what I did was take some excerpts; I think this was probably the most relevant information I found from the 120-page packet [from PennDOT]. In addition to going through this document, I spoke to some traffic engineers at our office that have done traffic impact fee ordinances in the past. The general consensus is, traffic impact fee ordinances are most appropriate for areas that are anticipating moderate, prolonged growth in a particular area.”
The Moore Township Board of Supervisors decided to table it till the next meeting to read through the information provided by Horvath.
The yard waste site has changed its hours. It will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday from sunup to sundown. It will be closed Sunday.
Township Solicitor David Backenstoe discussed the livestock ordinance, which began from the police receiving numerous calls of goats on township roads and state highways, with concerns of automobile accidents.
“So for the safety of the goat that could be killed in an automobile accident and for the safety of the drivers, they would like to adopt an ordinance that simply says, keep your goats on your own property,” Backenstoe said. “We got several comments that said that’s going to violate the fair act farming, no it doesn’t. The Right To Farm Act, which I am well aware of, provides that you can’t interfere with, or cite for nuisance purposes, the right to reasonably farm. Well, I assure you that allowing your goats onto township fairways, thoroughfares and roads isn’t reasonable farming. This ordinance would do the opposite. It would force you to keep your goats on the farm, which would be better protection and safety for the goats.”
The Chief of Police, Sgt. Gary West, also requested poultry be added to the ordinance.
“Chickens are supposed to be housed in a pen 100 feet off the property line,” Supervisor Richard Gable said. “They are not supposed to be free-roaming anyway; would that fall under zoning?”
The Board of Supervisors asked the township solicitor to rewrite parts of the ordinance, adding in further definitions of livestock and poultry. They will discuss the ordinance next meeting.
The Board of Supervisors also voted 3-0 on Ordinance 2021-01, allowing short-term rentals to be permitted in the village center district and the industrial district. If someone wants to run a short-term rental, they have to apply for a permit from the township, they have specific regulations they have to comply with, and there are limitations to the number of units they can have.
The Moore Township Board of Supervisors will meet again at 6 p.m. on June 1 at the Moore Township Recreation Center Pavilion.
