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Commission explores preservation district, design standards and ways to allow narrower townhouses
Summary
Planning commissioners reviewed options to enable 14–18‑foot‑wide townhouses and other small‑lot housing types while preserving historic character: ideas included a tailored historic/demolition‑abatement district, new "mews" street type, and incentives for durable masonry construction
Commissioners and planning staff spent substantial time on June 16 discussing a preservation‑oriented zoning approach to preserve West Chester's historic character while allowing attainable, smaller homes and pedestrian‑scaled development.
Staff presented maps of existing building footprints overlaid with zoning and earlier historic‑resource maps. Commissioners described regulatory barriers dating to a 1966 zoning code and subsequent decades that now make many historic narrow rowhouse types effectively illegal to re‑create. The group discussed two complementary paths: (1) create a new local historic/demolition‑abatement district with linked design guidance to control facades and demolition; or (2) adopt a targeted ordinance to legalize and enable 14‑, 16‑ and 18‑foot‑wide house types (and a new "mews" street category) with tailored standards for setbacks, parking, and sidewalks.
Participants suggested tying incentives to material and durability standards—specifically encouraging thicker masonry walls or higher‑quality facade materials—so new small units are built to last. Commissioners also raised practical obstacles: current street and alley standards (minimum widths, sidewalk requirements) often prevent the narrow private streets that support these housing patterns unless the borough creates a separate street type or allows narrower private streets with clear maintenance responsibility.
Staff proposed a next step of working with a local developer on a pilot proposal (the Burger King site and other identified parcels were named) to test whether a joint developer‑municipal approach could achieve a buildable plan that meets the borough's design goals. Commissioners agreed to continue the conversation and to refine options for a preservation/demolition‑abatement approach and a narrow‑lot enabling ordinance.
Why it matters: Allowing smaller‑lot, durable housing could expand homeownership options and preserve the town's historic grain. The choices will require changes to zoning, street standards, and possibly historic‑district procedures.
