Forward planning commission discusses traffic study ordinance
FORWARD TWP — The planning commission discussed possibly amending ordinances on land development to require developers to submit traffic studies as part of their preliminary plan for larger developments.
While no action was ultimately taken, there was more than a half-hour’s worth of discussion on the matter.
“What this would do is give us information on how many car trips there are into a development on a daily basis,” said planning commission chairman Steve Longwell.
In Forward Township’s code, the ordinances for subdivision and land development consists of 22 parts and 77 individual ordinances, but there is no language requiring developers to submit traffic studies.
This may change in the future, thanks to conversation surrounding the proposed Cashdollar sports complex and other large residential developments in Forward Township that are going through the pipeline, such as the Merten Farms residential development.
“Merten Farms and Cashdollar, being in close proximity to one another … both of those caused the township to turn to its new solicitor to see if anything could be required of developers,” said township manager Tom Hartwig.
Currently, according to section 22-309 of the code, developers are required to submit water and sewage permits to receive final approval. They must also submit easement rights and, if necessary, certificates of approval from a state or county environmental agency.
The planning commission gave its final approval to the plans for the sports complex earlier in the meeting on Tuesday evening, April 30. This is despite some concerns brought up by residents over the past few months, many of whom live near where the proposed complex would be built.
Among those are concerns about how the complex would affect traffic along Watters Station Road, as the plot of land is not directly connected to a major municipal road.
“A major concern is increased volume of traffic on that road, especially in the evening hours, when the facilities will probably be used the most,” Hartwig said. “It’s a major concern to the residents and a concern to the township also.”
According to Hartwig, this discussion was necessary because of Forward Township’s lack of a zoning ordinance. If it had one, the township would have been able to charge an impact fee, which would offset the potential traffic impacts and fund future infrastructure improvements.
“We can't implement an impact fee because we don't have zoning,” Hartwig said.
During Tuesday night’s meeting, township solicitor Rebecca Black, of the Lutz, Pawk & Black law firm, advised the planning commission on the logistics and hurdles the township would have to go through if it intended to go this route.
“It’s a workaround that can only really apply to the roads that the development borders on,” Hartwig said. “It’s something rather than nothing.”
Longwell said if the township decided to move forward with amending the code to require traffic studies, it would mean introducing a new ordinance or amending an existing ordinance.
