Glossary
The words that come up
Civic volunteering has its own vocabulary, and most of it is never explained to the people it applies to. Each entry gives the plain definition first, then what the term means in Phoenixville specifically.
- Board seat
- A board seat is an appointed, unpaid position on a public body that advises or decides on a specific area of local government, held for a fixed term.
- Term of office
- A term of office is the fixed period an appointed or elected member serves before the seat expires and must be filled again, either by reappointment or by someone new.
- Planning Commission
- A planning commission is the municipal body that drafts the comprehensive plan and the zoning ordinance and reviews subdivision and land development proposals before elected officials vote on them.
- Zoning Hearing Board
- A zoning hearing board is the quasi-judicial municipal body that hears requests to depart from the zoning ordinance in a specific case, granting or refusing variances and special exceptions and deciding appeals against the zoning officer.
- Historical & Architectural Review BoardHARB
- A historical and architectural review board, usually shortened to HARB, is the municipal body that reviews proposed changes to buildings in a designated historic district and advises the governing body on whether to permit them.
- Tree Advisory Commission
- A tree advisory commission is a municipal body that advises on the planting, maintenance and removal of street trees and other public trees, and builds public involvement in the urban tree canopy.
- Comprehensive Plan
- A comprehensive plan is a municipality's long-range policy document setting out how it intends land use, housing, transportation, open space and community facilities to develop over the coming years.
- Act 34 clearancePA Criminal Record Check · PATCH
- An Act 34 clearance is a Pennsylvania State Police criminal history record check, required of people who work or volunteer with children in Pennsylvania.
- Act 151 clearancePA Child Abuse Clearance · Child Abuse History Certification
- An Act 151 clearance is a Pennsylvania child abuse history certification, confirming whether someone is named as a perpetrator in the statewide child abuse registry.
- Volunteer Affirmation Form
- A Volunteer Affirmation Form is a signed statement that lets an unpaid volunteer with long-term Pennsylvania residency skip the FBI fingerprint check, by swearing to that residency and to having no disqualifying convictions.
Want the walkthrough rather than the definition? The guides cover how board appointments and clearances actually work.