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In a split vote, the Logan Township supervisors recently gave the go-ahead for a property owner to pursue his request to rezone the residential portion of a 15-acre tract near Penn State Altoona, so that it becomes entirely agricultural.
The vote mirrors one taken by the board in October on the request by Greg Denis, resulting in the matter going before the township Planning Commission, which recommended in favor of rezoning, also in a split vote.
That October vote by the supervisors was in keeping with a policy designed so that applicants don't waste money pursuing fruitless rezoning requests -- although even with two of five supervisors opposed, Denis has no guarantee of ultimate success.
The next step will be for Denis to formally apply for the change, according to Planning Director Cassandra Schmick.
If he does, his proposal would go to the township Planning Commission again and to the Blair County Planning Commission for advisory reviews, she said.
The township solicitor would draft an ordinance, there would be notices published about the request, then there would be a public hearing before the township supervisors, followed by their vote on whether to adopt the ordinance, according to Schmick.
Denis asked for the change, which would bring agricultural ground up against neighboring residential ground, so he can construct a building for hay making equipment on what is now zoned residential -- being under the impression that would be the only way he can do it without needing to comply with residential building rules, he has said.
Actually, Denis could probably build the kind of structure he wants even if the land remains residential, Schmick has said.
Among 12 neighbors previously alerted to Denis' request, only one objected, based on concerns that an owner might keep farm animals on the potentially rezoned property -- although Denis said he doesn't plan to keep them himself.
Even if the agricultural designation remains innocuous under Denis' ownership, a subsequent owner could use the land for something that neighbors might find objectionable, according to the one Planning Commission member who dissented in the commission's advisory endorsement.
Denis has no real hardship that would justify rezoning, according to Supervisor Ed Frontino, who nevertheless abstained from the recent vote because of a potential conflict of interest.
"I keep hearing he's a nice guy," Frontino said. "But being a nice guy doesn't get you a zoning change."
Keeping the residential part unchanged would provide a "buffer zone" for neighbors, Frontino said.
The Denis property was formerly a poultry farm, and that operation caused "issues" with neighbors, Frontino said.
The supervisors have a responsibility to the rest of the residents "to protect the integrity of zoning" by not setting flimsy precedent, Frontino added.
The one neighbor who objects to the rezoning request is the one whose property abuts the ground that would go from residential to agricultural, said Supervisor Joe Metzgar.
That person's interests should be protected, said Metzgar, who voted against endorsing Denis' request.
Voting in favor of the request were Chairman Jim Patterson, Ron Heller and Patrick Jones.
He expects the Planning Commission's recommendations to go forward, Patterson said.
Further, "I'm trying to honor the request of a taxpayer and business owner (Denis)," he said.
Heller suggested tabling the matter -- a suggestion Frontino opposed.
"I don't want to keep dragging this out," he said.
"I'm borderline," Heller said, while noting only one neighbor was in opposition.
Jones, who has previously favored agricultural interests in the township, didn't comment before the vote, except to say he agreed with Patterson.
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.