PRESENT –Chairperson Kline, Vice Chair McCuen, Member Smith, Member Blickley, Member Hibbs, Manager Hegele, Borough Planner Kennedy, and County Planner Miklos were present.

CALL TO ORDER – Chairperson Kline called the October 8, 2024, Planning Commission Meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Vice Chair Kline led the Pledge of Allegiance.

APPROVAL OF JUNE 11, 2024, MEETING MINUTES – Member Smith made a motion to approve the June 11, 2024, meeting minutes. Motion was seconded by Hibbs, all ayes. Motion carried 3-0 with 2 abstentions as Vice Chair McCuen and Member Blickey were not Planning Commission Members at that time.

APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 10, 2024, MEETING MINUTES – Member Blickley made a motion to approve the September 10, 2024, meeting minutes. Motion was seconded by Vice Chair McCuen, all ayes. Motion carried 5-0.

R1 PRESENTION AND DISCUSSION – Chairperson Kline explained why the Borough is rewriting the zoning ordinance as it is outdated. She also stated that she had asked County Planner Miklos if the presentation could be broken down into smaller sections which may take longer but feels the PC will be more productive if done this way.

County Planner Miklos presented the proposed R1 (Residential) Zoning District change and stated the proposed R1 is big as it is 353 acres, over 1100 parcels, median parcel size is over 9000 square feet, the median frontage(width) is 60 feet, and are a pretty good size of single family detached residential lots for the most part. He also stated that there are smaller lots that are currently in the R2 district that are in the proposed R1 and are even smaller than R2 currently allows and showed examples on Springdale Avenue, N. Warminster Road, Corinthian Avenue, and County Line Road which are older developments.

Member Blickley asked what makes the lots that are less than 700 square feet difficult to deal with and Planner Miklos stated it it’s because they are small and he asked Manager Hegele if there has ever been any issues regarding zoning and changes property owners want to make and she stated that there has been a few over the years regarding fencing for corner properties and accessory structures such as a shed as they cannot meet the set back requirements but the current ordinance allows property owners to get a letter from their neighbors to allow them closer to the property line. Planner Miklos stated that some lots are wide enough but not deep enough and Chair Kline stated she is concerned someone would demo their home in R1 and construct two “village homes” and Planner Miklos stated that they would not because the lot has to be already existing at the time of the ordinance adoption for the village house.
Planner Miklos stated another new feature is the idea of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s) and can only be built in conjunction with a single family detached home and an owner-occupied lot and has to be half the size of the primary dwelling. He also stated that they are restricted by setbacks, size of accessory buildings, and the need to provide an additional parking spot and it would not be common. Chair Kline stated that her concern is that everyone would put on in their backyard and rent it out as you could buy one on Amazon now and Planner Miklos stated that they do not meet the building code and that it is a separate code from zoning. Chair Kline stated she is not sure if she wants to encourage it or make it a special exception if someone wants to do it and Manager Hegele stated she thinks it should be kept as a special exception so that way people have to apply, and residents have the opportunity to oppose it or not. Member McCuen stated the ADU’s have been discussed enough and it comes down to the PC deciding if they want to encourage them or not and that there also needs to be verbiage changes.

Planner Miklos stated that he will offer draft language at the next meeting and the PC all agreed it would be helpful. Planner Miklos reviewed the current front yard setbacks and proposed that it is currently 25 feet unless the neighboring property is less than that and Chair Kline asked why encouraging to move closer to the street. Planner Kennedy stated that they moved to this system in Lansdale 13 years ago as they also had the same problem where someone would bill on an infill lot and would be forced to push the house way back and didn’t match the rest of the street and it has not been a problem having the
front yard setback half of what it currently is. Member Blickley asked for statistics and Planner Miklos stated it would come into play with a rebuild, for example a house fire, as there are not many vacant lots left in the Borough. Member Smith stated that he is not happy with the 10-foot setback in the front yard and Planner Miklos stated that they could only go half of 25 and would need a waiver to go 10.

PUBLIC COMMENT –
Merrie Keller, 110 W. Monument Avenue, asked a question about the map and stated that she is trying to understand but the map is confusing. Manager Hegele stated the area she pointed to is 444 N. York Road where the driveway leads to offices. Mrs. Keller thought that the offices were on the proposed R1 on the map and was curious as to why, but Planner Miklos stated that the offices are not part of it. Mrs. Keller also stated that she thinks the verbiage needs to be changed and doesn’t think we need to change R2 into R1 and she doubts we have any need for ADU’s. Manager Hegele stated that the verbiage has to be changed as it is very difficult for the average person to understand and is very open to interpretation.

Chairperson Kline discussed Member Blickley’s form as he thought it would be more helpful for the Planning Commission to see the current zone with the proposed change(s) from the County side by side. Planner Miklos stated that he will use the form for next month with the specific proposed language.

ADJOURNMENT – Member Smith made a motion to adjourn the October 8, 2024, meeting. Motion was seconded by Vice Chair McCuen, all ayes. Motion carried 5-0. Chairperson Kline adjourned the October 8, 2024, Planning Commission Meeting at 8:34 P.M.

Respectfully Submitted by:
Diane C. Hegele, Borough Manager/Zoning Officer/ Open Records Officer
Transcribed by Cindy Bollendorf, Recording Secretary