Montour County solicitor clarifies rezoning hearing will be legislative, not quasi-judicial; outlines steps for public participation; hearing date postponed

A large number of residents attend a Planning Commission Meeting for rezoning in Danville.

Montour County solicitor Mike Dennehy responded via email on Nov. 24, 2025, to the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association's letter submitted at the Nov. 18, 2025, Montour County Commissioner meeting, concerning details for a rezoning hearing for Talen Energy, which requested parcels of land currently zoned agricultural and semi-public be rezoned industrial.

The hearing "is a legislative hearing, not a quasi-judicial hearing," he shared. An agenda will be shared on the county's website well in advance of the hearing, which was scheduled for Dec. 17, 2025, but will now be postponed until late January 2026 after county commissioners unanimously voted on Nov. 25, 2025, to move it after a request earlier that morning from Talen Energy's attorney, Erich Shock. A reason for postponing the hearing was not provided.
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According to Dennehy, when the hearing does happen, there will be a record made of it, and the comments and recommendations received from the Anthony Township Supervisors and the Montour County Planning Commission will be placed into the record at the hearing.

Talen Energy, as the applicant, will then have an opportunity to present comments and documents in support of its rezoning application.

Citizens, both for and against the application, can also make comments either in writing beforehand or orally at the hearing.  The commissioners have already been receiving written comments. 

"They are reading all of them, and they are being collected together (for the hearing). All written comments will be made part of the record at the hearing," Dennehy shared in the email.

"We plan to make an index of the public comments that are received to be put into the record. The index itself will also be put into the record," explained Dennehy in a later email. "That way, everyone will know what is included in the record. The creation of this index is one of the reasons we are requesting written comments be submitted a number of days in advance of the hearing."

The notice to adjoining property owners sets forth the comment standards. The only comments that will be disregarded by the commissioners are ones that do not follow these rules.

"To treat everyone equally, these rules will also apply to oral comments at the hearing," Dennehy added.

The parameters for written comment shared previously include the need for names (no anonymous comments will be accepted) and address (township or borough is helpful). Comments must be relevant to the topic at issue. There are to be "no invective, profanity or personal attacks."

It is worth noting that any written comments provided before the hearing may be subject to Right-to-Know laws and be accessible to Talen Energy and others prior to the hearing whereas those provided orally by people in person will not.

People will be asked to be mindful of the timeliness of their comments provided orally at the hearing. When it was originally scheduled for Dec. 17, the time was set for 9:30 a.m. and one of the reasons for that was so it would be completed in one day and not bleed over into a second, according to Dennehy. 

Commissioners have admitted that 300-plus people may be in attendance at the rezoning hearing and they are looking into a different venue to better accommodate such a crowd properly.

More details will be shared as they become available about the change in public hearing details, date, place, etc.