Lower Southampton will ask the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office to investigate the “past practices” of the township’s zoning and building department less than one week after a state agency launched an investigation into the department’s permit process.
At a special meeting Wednesday night, the board of supervisors voted unanimously to request the county’s top law enforcement agency look into the department operations prior to March 2, 2018, and report the findings to the township.
The 4-0 vote was followed by a round of applause from the standing-room-only crowd of at least 40 people. Supervisor Joe McFadden was absent.
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| Keith Wesley |
Chairman Keith Wesley told the crowd the board felt it was in the best interest of the township to have the district attorney look into the matter, which has dominated board meetings in the weeks since the release of the Keystone Municipal Services report that found numerous “irregularities” after reviewing two years of zoning records.
Wesley also acknowledged the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has initiated a separate investigation, which this news organization confirmed last week. The agency oversees regulation of construction codes and it has requested to review documents for more than two dozen projects included in the Keystone report.
The state investigation will focus solely on zoning permit records and look at conformity with the Uniform Construction Code. It is unknown at this point if the state investigation scope will go beyond the projects in the Keystone report.
Earlier this month, the supervisors approved authorizing its professional staff to prepare bid specifications for an additional review of seven years of zoning records including fees and escrows for projects with at least a $50,000 cost.
While audience members cheered the decision to request a DA investigation, they continued to hammer supervisors with questions and criticism.
Marge McCurdy asked the board how it knows that the new Tawanka Elementary School, which was rebuilt a few years ago, is safe given the questions raised about the permit process.
Wesley responded that he hoped that school was among the buildings the state would review. The property was not among those included in the Keystone analysis.
The Keystone report, which involved 26 subdivision land development and building and zoning permits, was ordered to examine the department’s processes and procedures, and verify compliance with state codes and identify where improvements were needed following the retirement of longtime Zoning Officer Carol Drioli.
Drioli headed the department for 16 years.
The Keystone report findings showed a higher than usual number of common “irregularities” in zoning records reviewed, including misplaced or missing land development plans, missing inspector signatures, missing inspection reports, missing permit applications and “numerous” projects improperly issued permits without going through the land development approval process.
The report also revealed the township’s longtime in-house building inspector, James Jones, was not properly state certified to perform energy reviews or inspections. The report recommended Jones immediately stop doing energy reviews, but did not address if re-inspection or recertification was necessary. The township has since hired a certified third-party consultant to take over energy inspections.
An invalid inspection would technically invalidate a use and occupancy certificate associated with a structure, according to zoning and building code experts. Previously, a state Labor and Industry spokeswoman stated that if an inspection were performed by a person who was not certified “that portion would need to be re-inspected by an individual who has proper certification in that area.”
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| John McMenamin |
Residents criticized longtime Township Manager John McMenamin, a former supervisor who earlier this month announced he would retire in 30 days, for apparently not knowing what was going on in the zoning department.
McMenamin told the audience that he was not qualified to check zoning applications or permit inspections.
“Don’t you check who you hire?” resident Karen Lowry said.
McMenamin countered that zoning employees were hired before he took over as township manager in late 2012.
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