It is now official. Richland has a supervisor whose actions appear to be working against the township rather than for it.
You knew that it was only a matter of time before our newest leader's off-the-wall antics got the township into real trouble. The time may be now. The alarm clock is ringing.
That's Mike Zowniriw, with a capital Z that rhymes with E that stands for Embarrassment. If you missed the latest chapter in Z's Follies, let me summarize....
The time : 7:00 pm, Monday, September 13.
The place : Richland Township Building. Regular bi-monthly meeting of the Board of Supervisors.
The issue : The section of the zoning ordinance which allows certain density for age-restricted homes, adopted in 2000.
The players : County Builders, which was seeking conditional use approval for a 504-unit development on 64 acres on Old Bethlehem Pike.
The background : Richland currently has no age-restricted (55 and over) housing, but years ago saw a growing demand for it, and planned accordingly. Several large tracts of land bordering Morgan's Creek were rezoned to allow, and attract, senior-friendly communities. County's complex would be the fourth, and largest.
(To be clear, I am selling land to someone who plans one of those four, not County Builders.)
Aside from filling an obvious need, age-restricted housing is an economic benefit because the residents pay school taxes, about $3000 per year, without bringing in more students. Such developments have become desirable and important parts of millions of municipalities nationwide. As the baby-boomer generation reaches the big five-five, age-restricted housing has become the fastest-growing segment of home ownership.
The plot : As far as I can tell, NO ONE except County Builders wants 504 more units. The Planning Commission voted unanimously against it. The Supervisors feel that the number is hugely excessive. And to make matters worse, the proposed development is located outside the "537 District", which in English means that there is no city sewer and water available.
There is no way that County was going to get its approvals. During years of hearings, the plan would get smaller as the law prevailed over County's dreams. That's how these things always work. But Mike Zowniriw has now made such a mess of this that we all may suffer. And County may prevail.
Rather than just dealing with County Builders' plan, Z took the floor at the meeting and objected to the entire four-year-old zoning ordinance . His own township's law. He branded it "an illegal form of spot zoning". Not coincidentally, his RCA supporters used exactly the same language on their website.
You might remember that back on April 12, Zowniriw publicly asked the other two supervisors to remove the age-restricted zoning. He was informed at that time that such a plan would be illegal, and such an attempt would open the township to huge lawsuits. Apparently the message did not sink in.
This time around, in a bizarre twist, he claimed to have an "expert witness" to testify. Although the witness never came forward, it appears that she is a former township volunteer, an RCA member who was defeated for public office six times.
I have been critical of Mike before for taking the advice of his anti-township RCA friends rather than consulting with Richland's professional staff, particularly solicitor Linc Treadwell. In every instance, Z's positions have been proven wrong. The YMCA. The golf course. Age-restricted housing. Deceptive letters to Hunters Crossing homeowners. This was no exception.
Treadwell pointed out the law:
The period for appealing any zoning change is thirty days, which expired about 1500 days ago.
As a supervisor, Z can not call an "expert witness" to testify. Against his own township, or otherwise.
In any event, Z's objection was outside the realm of a conditional use hearing.
When the dust settled, Zowniriw finally got it right: "I stand corrected".
The township is contemplating how to respond to Z's conduct, and there may be a major announcement at the September 27 meeting.
But, unfortunately, that may not be the bottom line here. County Builders is represented by attorney John VanLuvanee, one of the best in the business. The man who also represents Richland against those RCA members fighting the new YMCA.
VanLuvanee publicly called for Zowniriw to "stand down as a member of the board" during County's conditional use hearing. "It's difficult for someone who doesn't believe in the underlying zoning to be objective," he said.
What are the chances of Z abandoning his chair, and his RCA friends? That would be Zilch, with a capital Z that stands for Zero. County Builders has a lot of money at stake here. They have a resourceful attorney who knows how to exploit a problem when he sees it. And he sees Z very clearly.
Supervisor Mike Zowniriw has changed the focus of this issue from a simple "we'll give you only what the law allows", to "Richland has a biased and ethically challenged leader who has opened his township to a massive lawsuit". Again.
Keep in mind that Z tried to interfere in the YMCA matter by secretly writing a letter to the judge on behalf of his RCA friends. The Y has every right to sue the township for that illegal interference. VanLuvanee knows this well. He now has Richland over a barrel - a supervisor has shown a pattern of personal bias in public affairs.
What an irony. By ignoring proper advice, and fighting the wrong battle, Mike Zowniriw may have given a developer the ultimate weapon to use against him, his RCA posse, and all of Richland Township.
That's a capital Z that rhymes with C that stands for Courtrooms Here We Come!