LEGAL NOTICE

A second notice is hereby given that on Monday, August 31, 2026, the McKean County Board of Commissioners will hold a Public Hearing at 6:00PM. The public hearing will be held in the Grange Building at the McKean County Fairgrounds, 7172 Route 46, Smethport, PA 16749. The purpose of this hearing is to get public input on the proposed amendment to the Subdivision & Land Development Ordinance No. 2 of 2016. The amendment will be to provide for the regulation of Solar, Wind, Data Center, and other similar commercial/industrial facilities. A summary of the amended text is as follows:

The proposed Ordinance amends Ordinance No. 02 of 2016, known as the McKean County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (“SALDO”), to expressly include solar, wind, data center, and similar commercial or industrial facilities within the definition and regulation of land developments and nonresidential land developments. The amendment revises Chapters 2 and 5 of the SALDO and requires preliminary plans for non-residential land developments to include, as applicable, tree-removal, fire protection, noise-mitigation, liability-insurance, decommissioning, orphan-well, and application-review escrow plans or documentation.

For non-residential subdivisions or land developments involving more than ten acres, the amendment establishes requirements governing the preservation and removal of trees and natural vegetation, including limitations on the percentage of wooded areas that may be cleared, consideration of invasive species, preservation of interconnected woodland and wildlife corridors, preconstruction staking and inventories of protected trees, post-construction inspections, and replacement of trees damaged or removed during construction. Certain residential, agricultural, nursery, orchard, logging, and wood products activities are exempt from these tree-removal requirements.

The amendment requires developers to submit fire-protection plans and developer-funded assessments addressing emergency dispatch capabilities, fire-station locations, firefighting equipment and staffing, special-service needs, forest-fire and low-water-supply operations, and measures necessary to mitigate impacts upon local fire departments. Where an elevated wildfire risk exists, the County may require a wildfire-hazard assessment addressing structures, equipment, vegetation, topography, weather, water supplies, combustible materials, ignition zones, neighboring properties, and firefighting access and operations. Any required fire-hazard mitigation plan must be accepted and implemented as a condition of final approval.

Each non-residential land development must obtain a preconstruction acoustic assessment establishing the existing ambient sound level and submit a noise-mitigation plan limiting sustained operational sound to no more than three decibels above the established ambient baseline, subject to periodic testing after final approval. Developers must also provide for liability insurance with minimum coverage of $2,000,000 per occurrence and $5,000,000 in the aggregate, unless alternative limits are approved based upon applicable industry standards. Insurance must be issued by an appropriately rated carrier, expressly include pollution liability, remain in effect through decommissioning when applicable, and become effective no later than the date of final approval. The County may require higher coverage for developments presenting greater risks.

The amendment adds decommissioning and restoration requirements for non-residential commercial or industrial land-development sites. Before construction, developers must post cash escrow equal to at least 110 percent of an independent third-party engineer’s decommissioning and restoration cost estimate approved by the County and County Engineer. Salvage value may not reduce the required security, the estimate and security must be reviewed at least every three years, and corporate guarantees and surety bonds are not acceptable. Upon abandonment or the end of a facility’s useful life, equipment, structures, foundations, roads, fencing, cabling, poles, energy-storage equipment, and other improvements must be removed; soils, drainage, topsoil, vegetation, wetlands, and streams must be restored; materials must be recycled when possible; and on-site disposal is prohibited. A facility may be presumed abandoned after twelve consecutive months without operations or production, or when its owner fails to respond to County communications for sixty days, after which the County may use the posted security to decommission the site. The County Commissioners may approve appropriate waivers or alternative decommissioning methods, and the amendment provides a process for coordinating security posted with another local government.

Developers of non-residential land-development parcels or tracts exceeding ten acres must submit an orphan-well plan addressing the identification, inspection, reporting, access, plugging, mitigation, bonding, stray-gas and aquifer protection, liability, and indemnification associated with inactive or unplugged oil and gas wells. Applications may be denied when these matters are not reasonably addressed.

Developers of non-residential subdivisions or land developments involving parcels exceeding ten acres must also deposit at least $10,000 into an escrow account before an application is determined complete. The account must be replenished within ten days whenever its balance falls below $3,000 and

maintained until final approval. The County may obtain reimbursement from the account for actual and reasonable non-legal professional review costs associated with the required plans, subject to an aggregate maximum of $100,000. Developers must receive advance notice of proposed costs and have

ten days to object, with unresolved disputes eligible for consideration by the Planning Commission. Any funds remaining after final approval must be returned to the developer. All provisions of the existing SALDO not specifically amended shall remain unchanged.

The full text of the proposed amendment may be examined at www.mckeancountypa.gov or a physical copy may be examined in the Commissioners wing of the McKean County Courthouse at 500 West Main Street, Smethport, PA 16749 between the hours of 830AM and 430PM, Monday to Friday when open.

McKEAN

COUNTY

COMMISSIONERS

Thomas F. Kreiner

Carol E. Duffy

Mary A. Wilder