Jackson Township manager Chris Rearick, left, and planning director Nikki Colton speak to the audience during a board of supervisors meeting on Thursday night, May 23. William Pitts/Butler Eagle

JACKSON TWP — Supervisors voted Thursday night, May 23, to add a new zoning district and add several parcels of land to that district, including roughly 132 acres the township intends to acquire by eminent domain from Evans City for use as a public park.

According to township manager Chris Rearick, the new conservation recreation district arose out of a need to protect certain sections of the township.

“It was based on a need to preserve properties that were of unique environmental or natural character, or uniquely situated with respect to the flood plain area,” Rearick said.

The decision came at the same meeting where supervisors voted to file proceedings to acquire several parcels of land surrounding the reservoir, located just off Lindsay Road, by eminent domain. The land includes a lake and dam and was earlier considered in a proposed exchange for police services with Evans City. The two sides did not reach an agreement on the proposal.

Before the vote relating to the new zoning district, there was a public hearing on the issue, which drew a large crowd to the municipal building on Magill Road on Thursday night. Most residents who spoke up mainly did so to address confusion about what uses were and were not permitted in this new zoning district.

One resident, for example, asked if it were possible to construct a shed or pavilion on her 0.26-acre parcel of land on Franklin Avenue, as the ordinance dictates the parcel is not of sufficient size to build a house.

The new zoning district does allow for single-family and duplex dwellings to be constructed. Private garages are also allowed as an accessory use, while home occupations — businesses located within a home — are allowed with a special exemption. Multifamily dwellings are not permitted.

Rearick said there are limits to the density of single-family lots that can be built on conservation recreation parcels.

“The density … is tied to environmental limitations on the property,” Rearick said. “So one can only have so many units per acre in consideration of wetlands and other natural amenities that might be present on the property.”

Conditional uses include greenhouses, recreational farms and township facilities.

“The purpose of it is to provide for conservation and protection of areas that are primarily flood plain, where additional or intensive activity is harmful,” Rearick said. “The secondary purpose is to basically protect and reserve land that the township wants to include within overall planning for parks and recreation purposes.”

Before Thursday’s decision, Jackson Township had four zoning districts — residential, commercial corridor, large-scale industrial, and mixed-use — along with three overlay districts. The vast majority of Jackson Township’s land is zoned residential. All of the parcels which were rezoned to conservation recreation were formerly zoned as residential.

Outside of the acreage that the township intends to acquire via eminent domain, affected parcels also include a 153-acre plot in the northeast corner of the township, as well as a block of parcels owned by the township located just south of Deep Valley Golf Course.

In total, 56 parcels making up 558.119 acres were rezoned from residential to conservation recreation.