Jiffy Lube expansion approved

Blair County Planning Commission members Thursday gave a positive review to plans for an expansion project at Jiffy Lube in Logan Township.

Jiffy Lube recently acquired property to construct a building addition at their automotive center at

526 W. Plank Road. The existing building is 2,090 square feet and includes two service bays, an office, restrooms and utility room. The proposed addition will be 1,856 square feet and include three service bays for a total building area of 3,946 square feet, according to regional planner MacKenzie Caron.

Stormwater runoff from the site will be reduced by removing more than 1,900 square feet of existing pavement and converting it to a green space behind the new addition. Rear parking spaces will be relocated along the northwest side of the building, Caron said.

The site will be accessed from the existing driveways located along Plank Road. The existing driveway configurations will not be altered.

The project is expected to lead to an increase in traffic at the site — from about 40 vehicles a day to 100, Caron said.

The project does not appear to have any long-term negative impact on the overall community landscape and is therefore consistent with the Alleghenies Ahead comprehensive plan, Caron said.

Chicken barn proposal OK’d

Plans for development of two chicken barns in North Woodbury Township received a favorable review Thursday by Blair County Planning Commission members.

The proposed project is for the development of two 60,000-square-foot barns with a 4,500-square-foot egg-packing facility at the existing Dale Sollenberger dairy farm, comprised of a mix of row crop fields, barn/ag buildings, gravel access roads, grass/lawn and split by gravel farm lanes and pads, as well as a gravel township road, said MacKenzie Caron, regional planner.

The property is at 421 Creps Road, North Woodbury Township.

The majority of the existing 15.53 acres identified on the plans are part of cultivated farmland where corn crops can currently be found.

The existing gravel farm lane will be used to access the site and the row crop area leveled and sloped into a stormwater basin. The developer said that the areas of fill that cannot be sloped will be seeded and mulched to grow as meadow to protect against erosion.

A swale will be constructed on the upslope side of the project to help direct excess stormwater from the row crop field around the proposed project into an inlet with piping around existing areas, Caron said.

The proposal does not appear to have any long-term negative impact on the overall community landscape and is consistent with the Alleghenies Ahead comprehensive plan.

Planning commission elects officers

Blair County Planning Commission members Thursday elected their officers for 2026.

Todd Lewis, who previously served as secretary, was elected president to succeed Nick Ardizzone.

New member Rodney Green was elected as secretary, replacing Lewis, and new member Rodney Estep was elected as treasurer, succeeding James Dixon.