Developers proposing big projects and property owners looking to subdivide their land may have to pay more to have the Westmoreland County planning and development department review their plans.

The proposed subdivision and land development ordinance that the Westmoreland County commissioners will consider approving July 31 would include raising fees for small project reviews.

The current fees are $50 and $150 for major subdivisions and land development reviews to $75 for minor subdivision.

Those are to be increased to $200 for major subdivisions and $300 for land development, said Josh Spano, deputy director of the planning and development department.

The county department serves as the agency to review the proposed subdivisions and land development projects for 33 of the county’s 65 municipalities, Spano said. The other municipalities review their own plans.

The proposed ordinance does not make a lot of changes to the existing one adopted in 2013, Spano said, but it does update the definitions to meet new industry standards.

There are new sections regarding the design of parking lots, landscaping and exterior lighting.

The ordinance would continue to treat solar power arrays that have popped up in the county as a land development for purposes of a review, Spano said.

“It’s a pretty comprehensive update,” Spano said of the 94-page document.

The proposed ordinance has been about 18 months in the making. Spano said the planning and development staff worked on it with input from the county public works, public safety and geographic information system departments. They also received input from the Westmoreland Conservation District and Spano met with real estate agents and developers to get their opinions.

The public will be able to offer input on the proposed ordinance following the county commissioners’ meeting at 10 a.m. July 10 at the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg, Spano said.

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