CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield County Commissioners signed off on its amended petition to change the zoning of county-owned property in Lawrence Township at its regular meeting Tuesday.
Solicitor Kim Kesner said the board had previously authorized the new submission following its meeting with both the Lawrence Township Supervisors and the Lawrence Township Planning Commission back in September.
Kesner said the rezoning petition now only applies to parcels on the Multi-Service Center side of United States Route 322. He said the zoning was changed to commercial for the Multi-Service Center property and to industrial limited in the Professional Office Park. He said zoning changes were not made to the property, which surrounds the Clearfield County Jail.
According to prior GantDaily reports, Commissioner Mark McCracken said the county wanted to ensure the properties were zoned appropriately so that it would stimulate the economic development of the area. Commissioner Joan Robinson-McMillen added that they want these properties back on the county’s tax rolls.
The board had previously considered rezoning its property in the area of the jail, in addition to the Multi-Service Center and the county cornfield on Leonard Street. At that time, the Multi-Service Center and the cornfield properties were zoned as residential suburban. The jail’s surrounding property is rural agricultural. In June, the commissioners authorized an application to change the zoning of all these properties to industrial limited.
“Subsequently, the board has recognized additional issues,” Kesner said.
The commissioners have attempted to sell the Multi-Service Center building for more than four months. At a Sept. 7 work session, the commissioners authorized Board Chairman John A. Sobel to enter into negotiations with Jeffrey S. Long of Graystone Court and developer of Colonial Courtyard, who has twice submitted proposals for the purchase of the building.
In addition, the commissioners agreed then to leave their options open and to accept any and all written proposals that are received by their office. They have maintained the same asking price of $350,000 for the Multi-Service Center building.
Long has twice-submitted his proposal to the board of commissioners in the amount of $126,000. His submissions were received during the first and second rounds of requests for proposals. In his Aug. 4 letter, he outlined his intended use for the building.
Long said that his intention was to completely renovate the property and convert it into additional Graystone Court apartments. If further studies revealed it unfeasible to remodel the building, he said they may tear down and re-build a new unit.
“You can be rest assured that something positive for the community will come from our project plans and help put this property back onto the tax rolls for Clearfield County,” Long wrote in his submitted proposal to the board.
At an Aug. 24 meeting, Kesner advised a Graystone Court representative who was in attendance of their initial petition before the township to rezone the land in the area of the Multi-Service Center. He said their petition then requested that it be rezoned to industrial limited.
Kesner explained that residential apartments would not be a permitted use under the zoning designation of industrial limited. However, he noted that those plans were not definite, and there was to be further discussion.