ADAMS TWP — A full crowd attended the planning commission meeting Wednesday evening to hear members discuss plans regarding Amherst Village's phases 5 through 7.

But before those plans came before the board, commission chairman Martin McKinney announced the board was altering approved minutes from two past meetings at the advisement of township solicitor Sean Gallagher.

“We are permitted to amend … previously approved minutes,” McKinney said.

The change would convert two “aye” votes given by commission member Marilyn Watson to abstains regarding preliminary approval of Amherst Village Phases 5 through 7.

The move came after resident Tim Stack asked township supervisors in October if they're aware Watson was related to a property owner affected by the Amherst plan.

McKinney and Watson confirmed after the meeting that Watson is related to someone affected by the plan, but wouldn't have benefited financially herself from an affirmative vote. McKinney explained the decision to change Watson's vote was made to “avoid impropriety.”

Gallagher said the change to Watson's votes doesn't change the commission's preliminary approval of the phases because there were enough members present for a quorum and enough “aye” votes without Watson's to OK the plan.

“The effects of those votes are unchanged,” Gallagher said.

The revised minutes are for documentation purposes alone. The two meetings from which the minutes were approved took place Jan. 8 and Sept. 2.

McKinney also said the planning commission received a series of questions Stack posed to supervisors last month regarding Amherst. At that time, supervisor Chairman Russell Ford told Stack his questions should be directed to the planning commission and not presented to the supervisors for public debate.

Specifically, Stack asked supervisors if they knew about an unexpected misunderstanding between the plan developers and a land owner who owned property within the plan and a stop-sign location in the plan, among other things.

McKinney said many were answered in the meetings during which Amherst was discussed.

“Everything's been above board,” McKinney said.

McKinney said the public question and answer forum the township had last month wasn't well attended. That would have been a good time to address Stack's questions and others like them, according to McKinney.

“This board strives to do the best job that we can,” McKinney said.

Also Wednesday night, the planning commission tabled final approval for Amherst Village Phase 5 until engineering comments on the plan are addressed.