DUBOIS -The first reading of Council Bill No. 1986 occurred during last Thursday’s DuBois City Council work session. The bill is designed to amend Chapter 27 of the Code of Ordinances of DuBois City. The amendment would re-classify all uses as special exception throughout the various zoning districts to uses permitted as conditional use.
A special exception in a zoning ordinance is a use, which is allowed as long as certain conditions detailed in the ordinance exist. Special exceptions are approved through the Zoning Hearing Board.
Conditional use is a special exception, which falls within the jurisdiction of the municipal legislative rather than the Zoning Hearing Board.
City Solicitor Toni Cherry further discussed the bill prior to the start of the regular council meeting Monday night. She explained that a benefit of re-classifying special exceptions as conditional uses is that the municipality has the power to modify conditions where the Zoning Board does not.
By changing the special exception to conditional use, the council anticipates saved time and money for both the city and its residents. The public hearing for the bill will take place prior to the start of the next council meeting.
Police Chief Ron LaRotonda informed council that, thanks to a grant from CVS/Pharmacy, there will now be a medication collection drop off at the city building year-round. Residents are able to dispose of outdated or unused medications in the drop box.
He went on the explain the implications to the public, “…one of the studies that A partnership for Drug Free Kids determined that kids will go out and try medications out of their parent’s medicine cabinet or trash. So that gets rid of old medicine…and keeps it off the streets.”
LaRotonda also cited benefits of keeping the medicine out of landfills and the water supply.
Approximately 900 feet of East Logan Avenue’s waterline from North Fourth Street to Sherman Avenue will be worked on in the next six weeks. Notices were put out to residents who will be affected in the area.
Advanced Disposal will be picking up leaves around the city in approximately two weeks. Residents are asked to wait for the pickup, or to take their leaves to the dumpster at the city garage.