Dingman adopts zoning changes
By Anya Tikka
DINGMAN TOWNSHIP — Zoning changes approved unanimously at the recent Dingman Supervisors meeting are intended mainly to control cases "where people are renting out their private residences for one, two, three days at a time," said Chair Tom Mincer.
Board solicitor John Klemeyer said absentee owners often cause problems.
"If you’re renting a hotel, there’s management there to ensure people act in an appropriate way," Klemeyer said. "If you rent out a house for a few days, and you’re not there, then there’s nobody in terms of management, so we put in some controls to try to ensure the property owners are doing these things properly.”
Other amendments concern construction fees, property uses, certificates of use, the keeping of animals, and flood plain development. “Certain fees and costs must be paid at the time of application as indicated in the schedule," the revision reads. "Other fees and costs, incurred after application, must be paid or reimbursed to the Township as they are incurred....Permits, special exceptions and variances shall be issued only after all outstanding fees have been paid in full.”
Pending applications may be denied if the township does not receive full payments within 15 days of the invoice.
No certificate of occupancy shall be issued until the property owner or applicant has received final approval for all municipal permits issued for the subject project, including sewage, well, building, stormwater, and highway occupancy permits.
No one from the public objected to the changes.
New definitions in zoning ordinances include:
Antenna — A device licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) used to collect or transmit communications, radio, television, or other wireless signals. This does not include private residence mounted satellite dishes or television antennas or amateur radio equipment.
Communications Tower — A structure intended to support equipment used to transmit and/or receive communications signals. Examples: monopoles and lattice construction steel structures.
Public and Semipublic Uses stay the same except for the addition: “provided that such use is not otherwise defined in this ordinance.”
"Other Domestic Animals" explains that existing restrictions don’t apply “to the keeping of household pets such as dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, etc.,” and, “All domestic animals shall be confined to a yard enclosed by a fence designed to contain such animals therein.”
Junkyards are added in the final admendment as a conditional use in the RU zone
Day Care Facilities are a special exception in the CP zone, with a minimum lot size of two acres, when created in a pre-existing structure and subject to flood plain provisions.