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Planning commission takes no position on 50 North Fourth Street zoning request due to missing details
Summary
Commission members said they lacked necessary information about the proposed church use at 50 North Fourth Street and deferred substantive review to the zoning hearing board; no recommendation was issued.
The borough Planning Commission declined to issue a recommendation on a zoning relief request for 50 North Fourth Street, a property proposed to be used in part as a church, saying the application lacked basic details about attendance, parking and frequency of use.
The item is significant because special-exception determinations for downtown commercial parcels hinge on expected occupancy, parking capacity and compatibility with adjacent uses.
Commission members noted the property formerly housed a vape shop and described the current request as permitting the first floor to be used by a church while the second and third floors remain residential. One commissioner said, "we don't have any information on how many people would be attending the church" and added that the zoning hearing board would address parking and frequency questions.
The planning commission said it lacked answers about days and times of proposed church activities, anticipated attendance and on-site parking allocations; commissioners agreed those specifics should be explored by the zoning hearing board and that the commission would not take a recommendation. A commission member called the item "a good one for the zoning hearing board."
The commission recorded no formal recommendation and moved the matter to the zoning hearing process for additional evidence and testimony.
