PRESENT – Chairman McMenamin, Vice Chair Kline, Member Farnen, Member Smith, Member Hibbs, Engineer Goff, Borough Planner Kennedy, County Planner Miklos, and Secretary Bollendorf were present.
CALL TO ORDER – Chairman McMenamin called the March 14, 2023, Planning Commission Meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Chairman McMenamin led the Pledge of Allegiance.
VOTING ITEMS
APPROVAL OF DECEMBER 13, 2022, MEETING MINUTES – Vice Chair Kline made a motion to approve the December 13, 2022, Meeting Minutes. Motion was seconded by Member Farnen, all ayes. Motion carried 3-0.
REORGANIZATION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBERS
NOMINATION OF CHAIRMAN – Member Smith made a motion to nominate Kris McMenamin as Chairman of the Planning Commission. Motion was seconded by Member Kline, all ayes. Motion carried 5—0.
NOMINATION OF VICE CHAIRMAN – Chairman McMenamin made a motion to nominate Luann Kline as Vice Chair of the Planning Commission. Motion was seconded by Member Smith, all ayes. Motion carried 5-0.
NEW BUSINESS
CONDITIONAL USE APPLICATION FOR 24-28 S. YORK ROAD –
Scott Mill, Project Manager and Landscape Architect for the applicant, stated Mr. Gundloch looked at the review letters and decided they will revise the plans addressing all comments as best as they can and will resubmit instead of a lengthy review tonight. He stated tonight he wanted to address one comment from Engineer Goff’s review letter (51B Parking Designations – the applicant should differentiate which parking spaces are part of the municipal parking area and which parking spaces were made for the proposed development, etcetera) and would like some feedback regarding the designation of said spaces. Planner Kennedy stated that explained the current parking agreement from 1986 between the Borough and the former property owner and therefore the new owner is entitled to use some of the parking freely in the lot, but a new agreement will have to be drawn up and would be part of the Land Development Approval at the end.
Mr. Mill demonstrated all of the current parking spaces in the lot and explained each use and ownership but that all of the spots that were undesignated, they are proposing for them to be designated.
Chairman McMenamin stated that he still has issues with the viability of the applicants parking study as he does not feel it was studied during peak times such as holidays and the summer. Vice Chair Kline and Member Smith agreed that they were also not comfortable with the parking study.
Mr. Mill stated that the way it is set up now is each apartment will have 1 designated space and if they need another one, they can apply for a permit in one of the municipal lots on street parking. Member Smith stated that concerned him as there are not many off-street parking spaces available in that general vicinity, especially on weekends.
Mr. Mill stated they have a lot to look at and will take everything into consideration when they submit their revision, which hopefully doesn’t generate as many comments.
PUBLIC COMMENT –
Cindy Giovinazzo, 33 Abbotts Lane, asked what the TC District means. Chairman McMenamin stated that Planner Kennedy will give that presentation after we are finished with public comment regarding 24-28 S. York Road.
Kelly A’Harrah, 145 W. Lehman Avenue, stated that she thought there was going to be a walkway between the property and Strawberry Nail Salon. Chairman McMenamin stated the way the building is proposed to be constructed the building will shift and the walkway will be moved. Mrs. A’Harrah stated she is opposed to that because all of the foot traffic will go into the residential neighborhood as opposed to directing them to York Road.
Merrie Keller, 110 W. Monument Avenue, stated she is concerned that the proposed building will have about 72 residents and will need more spaces and doesn’t understand why they would have to share parking spots. She stated she thinks the developer can construct the building to fit their needs and meet the parking requirements. Chairman McMenamin stated that financially, the applicant stated he can not construct with less than the number of proposed units.
Bob Wipplinger, 17 S. York Road, 18-20 E. Moreland Avenue, suggested if the developer limits it to 55 and older, it may make less impact on the town. Mr. Tulio, property owner and developer, stated that he will not do age restricted apartments.
Bill Randle, 420 S. York Road, is concerned with the young renters who will walk over to the brewery because there are a lot of people getting drunk and food trucks with out of state license plates collecting cash.
Cindy Bollendorf stated that those concerns should be addressed to the Chief and Borough Manager as they are not topics for the Planning Commission to discuss or handle.
OTHER BUSINESS
POWER POINT PRESENTATION INTRODUCTING THE TC DISTRICT THAT WILL REPLACE THE RC-1 AND RC2 ON YORK ROAD – Planner Kennedy gave a brief presentation to introduce the TC – Town Center District – which will replace the RC-1 and RC-2 on York Road. He stated the Zoning Sub Committee has been given the task to rewrite the entire zoning code and something like this can take 2-3 years to write. He also stated that since there was more interest in some properties, Council thought it should be put in place as soon as possible and while it will take long to write, they want to get some of the critical zoning changes made immediately where necessary. He stated this is to introduce the planning Commission members to the topic so moving forward everyone understands it. He stated TC -1 district will include 24-28 S. York Road (former CVS), 21-37 N. York Road (former Canalley Property), and 104 S. York Road (currently Gamburgs).
ADJOURNMENT – Member Smith made a motion to adjourn the March 13, 2023, Planning Commission Meeting. Motion was seconded by Vice Chair Kline, all ayes. Motion carried 5-0. Chairman McMenamin adjourned the March 14, 2023, Planning Commission Meeting at 8:38 P.M.
Respectfully Submitted by:
Diane C. Hegele, Borough Manager/Zoning Officer/ Open Records Officer
Transcribed by Cindy Bollendorf, Secretary