Whenever a Pennsylvania township or municipality is going to hold a public hearing for rezoning or conditional use on a particular property or several properties, the procedure is to post two notices in the newspaper of general circulation for the area in question, usually what is called the “newspaper of record,” and also to post signs around the properties at regular intervals so anyone passing by will see the sign and take notice.
The notice requirement from the PENNSYLVANIA MUNICIPALITIES PLANNING CODE is quoted below:
“Public notice,” notice published once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. Such notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing. The first publication shall not be more than 30 days and the second publication shall not be less than seven days from the date of the hearing.
The newspaper of general circulation or the newspaper of record for Wattsburg and most all municipalities in Erie County is usually the Erie Times News, however it seems Venango Township chose the Corry Journal, or so I’m told, I have not seen the notice and can’t look at back issues online. It may be there, perhaps someone can look and confirm if they have a copy from the past few weeks.
Signs meant to notify the public or fulfill a requirement?
What is really interesting, however, are the signs posted on township properties where the solar work will be performed and the conditional use permit will apply. The sign at the top of this article shows what is on one of the signs, not very informative, but the basic information is there. But take a look at what you would see driving by. Would you stop your car, get out and walk over to that sign, or just ignore it and drive on? You might think if it was important it would be bigger, so you probably continue on your drive.
Here’s another one so you don’t think it was just one:
This is embarrassing. This is what is supposed to notify you of a major project and a request for a conditional use permit?
What are some other examples of public hearing signs
If you want to check for yourself, just go to Google and search for: “public hearing notification sign.”
This needs to be done right or not at all
The supervisors should re-post all of the properties with signs readable from the road and advertise a proper public notice so everyone is able to find it and read it, but then, maybe they would prefer you don’t show up.
Remember, September 20th at 6PM. If you care, be there.
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