PRESENT –Chair Kline, Vice Chair McCuen, Member Blickley, Member Hibbs, Member Gallagher, Manager Hegele, Borough Planner Kennedy, and County Planner Miklos were present.
CALL TO ORDER – Chair Kline called the January 14, 2025, Planning Commission Meeting to order at 7:08 P.M.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Chair Kline led the Pledge of Allegiance.
WELCOME/INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBER – Manager Hegele announced and introduced new member Joe Gallagher.
APPROVAL OF NOVEMBER 12, 2024, MEETING MINUTES – Member Hibbs made a motion to approve the
November 12, 2024, meeting minutes. Motion was seconded by Member Blickley, all ayes. Motion carried 3-0 with 1 abstention as Vice Chair McCuen was not present for the 11/12/24 meeting.
ZONING REWRITE TIMELINE UPDATE/CHANGES – Chair Kline reviewed how the Zoning Rewrite came about and the proposed schedule with a timeline to use as a guide. Vice Chair McCuen, stated she thinks the schedule is Ok but doesn’t want to rush the process.
Member Blickley stated that it’s an aggressive timeline therefore questions voting this evening and that he and Erin wanted to use the form as he feels it would be easier to see the differences in the changes and a quick way to review side by side. Chair Kline stated that per the County and Borough Council, the form will not be used. Planner Miklos stated that Borough Council asked for it to be completed in 2025 and wanted him to move quicker and it could be used to help and understand but not for recommendations as they did not have the time at meetings for the same depth of discussion as past meetings. Borough Planner Kennedy stated that there is a contract with the County and the Borough to complete this and that the forms will take a long time to complete the review especially since the code will be changed anyway and the new format will be completely reorganized. Planner Miklos stated that the PC needs to stop revising and recommend instead as the draft was already written.
Vice Chair McCuen stated she won’t be forced to vote without any answers to questions they may have as the PC needs to understand the change(s) or she feels they will not be able to intelligently suggest a change, therefore they will need to understand the current and proposed change before any member votes on anything. Chair Kline stated that they can also vote with conditions. Manager Hegele stated that we were not able to find where the form was voted on but suggested trying the new way and if it doesn’t work, they can go back to the form. She stated that R1 is the easiest but not to vote on anything that they are not comfortable with as they can table items and/or ask for more information and once the final is complete, they will be able to review as a whole before it goes to Borough Council.
All Planning Commission members agreed with Manager Hegele’s suggested process for reviewing the proposed draft.
Chair Kline asked Planner Miklos to review R1. Planner Miklos reviewed the proposed R1 changes which included lot size going to 7000 from 10,000 to match the rest of the Borough, max impervious (40% & 50%)instead of max building coverage, lot width from 70 to 50 feet also standard throughout the Borough , add village house (only for homes already existing when proposed is adopted), and Council asked to remove ADU’s as they do not feel they are a good fit for Hatboro. Planner Kennedy suggested that for voting the PC can review and vote in chunks with the recommendation to include in final draft to be sent to Borough Council.
MOTION: PROPOSED R1 ZONING – Member Blickley made a motion to approve the proposed R1 zoning changes be added to the draft ordinance with the following revisions – minimum front yard setback 15 feet and impervious coverage limit to be 50% for SFD and 60% for village houses. Motion was seconded by Member Hibbs, all ayes. Motion carried 4-0 with 1 abstention.
Planner Miklos reviewed R2 and stated that it extends up to the North to include Mitchell Park which is the area
with twin homes and the R2 includes mixed uses such as twins, duplexes, and multifamily.
PROPOSED R2 ZONING – Member Hibbs made a motion to approve the proposed R2 zoning changes be added to the draft ordinance with the following revisions – minimum front yard setback 15 feet and impervious coverage limit to be 50% for SFD and 60% for village houses. Motion was seconded by Vice Chair McCuen, all ayes. Motion carried 4-0 with 1 abstention.
PUBLIC COMMENT –
Merrie Keller, 110 W. Monument Avenue, asked if they will be able to review this again and Chair Kline stated yes, they will review the entire document once it is completed.
Amy Haigler, 560 N. York Road, asked for clarification regarding the 15-foot minimum set back (is the Public RPW in addition to the 15ft) as on E. Montgomery Avenue between York and the Police Station and on Byberry Road from York to Penn Street), for example, there are small houses and there isn’t as much frontage (very close) and would be concerned that if someone demoed their house and rebuilt, it wouldn’t look right therefore she asked if they could check to make sure 15 ft minimum front yard setback is enough. Chair Kline stated that next month, the PC will follow up on the setback after they look at E. Montgomery Avenue and will review R3 and vote. Also, according to the proposed schedule, we will review and possibly vote on RO, and CMX.
ADJOURNMENT – Vice Chair McCuen made a motion to adjourn the January 14, 2025, Meeting. Motion was seconded by Member Blickley, all ayes. Motion carried 4-0. Chair Kline adjourned the January 14, 2025, Planning Commission Meeting at 8:57 P.M.
Respectfully Submitted by:
Diane C. Hegele, Borough Manager/Zoning Officer/ Open Records Officer
Transcribed by Cindy Bollendorf, Recording Secretary