MARS — Borough council on Monday approved a zoning ordinance that replaces the document that had been used since stamps were a nickel.

Solicitor Douglas Weinrich said the planning commission began work in 1999 to update the borough's 1967 zoning ordinance, then the project lost momentum with changes in council members and staff over the years.

When the current council began discussing the codification, or organizing into one fluid document, of borough ordinances, Weinrich suggested it would be silly to do so without updating the zoning ordinance.

Weinrich said council then took up the project, and the results of the past 18 months of work came to fruition Monday night.

He said it mainly allows Mars to maintain the small, quiet atmosphere that residents enjoy.

"We're trying to preserve a nice little town and the peace and quiet for its citizens," he said.

Weinrich, who prepared the new ordinance, said the old zoning contained many provisions that are no longer compliant with state law. He said the updated document addresses new development in the borough, such as St. John Specialty Care's planned senior citizen high-rise and apartment buildings.

The new ordinance also allows for easy updating, makes it easier for residents and developers to access zoning information, and modernizes the document to include provisions for items like electronic signs, day care centers and cellular towers.

The ordinance also includes two new zones, the R-4 zone for the St. John campus and an R-3 zone for single- and multifamily homes.

Three of the latter zones were added to the new ordinance. One R-3 zone is on the west side of Crowe Avenue and along Pittsburgh Street, another at the end of Grand Avenue, and another on the east side of town at Martian Arms apartments and extending to the so