Bethel Park residents vote to amend home rule charter
Share this post:
In Bethel Park, primary voters said yes to a referendum on the ballot to amend the municipality’s home rule charter to forgo the residency requirement for the municipal planner.
The current home rule charter requires the municipal planner to move into Bethel Park within one year of being hired.
While the results, at times, seemed very close, in the end, 4,309 voted yes and 3,691 voted no.
“I want to thank the residents for supporting the referendum enabling us to hire the best-qualified candidate for the municipal planner position,” said municipal manager Laurence Christian. “This will help make Bethel Park an even stronger community, and we’re excited to move forward.”
Prior to election day, the municipality urged voters to vote yes on the referendum.
Officials cited a narrower pool of potential people to hire from, as well as the fact that when the home rule charter was drafted some 40 years ago, the job wasn’t as specialized as it is now. The position has been vacant since 2019.
The municipal planner provides recommendations on land development approvals and subdivision applications and also makes suggestions to the planning commission and municipal council on the 10-year comprehensive land use plan, among other issues.
“I’m so excited that the residents of Bethel Park have decided to amend the Home Rule Charter,” said Stacey Graf, director of engineering. “This provides us with the opportunity to hire the best candidate for the position and therefore have the best staff we can provide to Bethel Park residents.”