County to take over Pringle zoning

PRINGLE – Borough residents will end up paying a little less for zoning board hearing fees next year, but they’ll be paying a lot more for zoning permits, as will developers, contractors and business owners.

The changes will result from borough officials’ plan to transfer zoning duties from the borough to the Luzerne County Planning Commission.

Borough Secretary Mary Pat Kupetz, who has served as acting zoning officer for the borough for about the last 10 years since the previous officer moved away, said she plans to retire as soon as a new secretary can be trained.

“It’s a problem to get somebody to do this work on a very part-time basis,” Kupetz said, adding that the commission has staff and resources that the borough does not.

“The planning commission (staffers) are professionals. Council feels as though they can handle it better than the borough can,” she said.

So council voted in October to ask the commission to assume responsibilities for all borough zoning matters.

Kupetz said council must rescind the borough’s zoning ordinance, which will probably be done at the December meeting.

She said the only zoning-related fees the borough charges are a $20 fee for a permit application and a $250 fee when filing an appeal with the borough’s zoning hearing board.

Planning commission fees for 2010 include $75 for a residential zoning permit and $210 for a zoning hearing board application for a single-family residence. Commercial and industrial permits range from $60 to $1,200 with the commission.

Other than the fee schedule, Kupetz doesn’t anticipate any changes for borough residents except that they will have to mail or drop off applications at the county office in Wilkes-Barre and appear in the county courthouse for zoning appeal hearings. She believes zoning permit applications will remain available at the borough building.

Kupetz said the commission already handles planning issues for the borough. “If anyone wants to divide their lot or do a subdivision, they have to go to the county now anyway,” she said.

The planning commission will have a public hearing on the adoption of the borough’s zoning map and taking over zoning-related duties at 2 p.m. on Dec. 10. The action also must be approved by county commissioners and will be on their agenda for a public hearing at 10 a.m. on Dec. 16. Both hearings will be in the commissioners meeting room at the Luzerne County Courthouse, 200 N. River St., Wilkes-Barre.

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Transfer of duties to county planning commission due to zoning officer’s retirement.

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