Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Parking topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Zoning board allows meat‑packing operation on North Seventh with parking conditions
Summary
The Zoning Hearing Board approved a special exception for a meat‑processing and packaging operation at 2300 North Seventh Street, granting relief from off‑street parking requirements with conditions that include removal of informal rear parking, secure bike storage and physical curb obstructions to prevent sidewalk parking.
HARRISBURG — The Harrisburg Zoning Hearing Board on Jan. 20 approved application 2597, allowing a meat‑processing and packaging business at 2300 North Seventh Street to operate in an industrial zoning district with relief from the code’s off‑street parking requirements, subject to conditions recommended by the City Planning Commission.
Jeffrey Knight, director of planning for the City of Harrisburg, told the board that the zoning code provision cited for parking requirements is section 7‑3‑27.6, which requires either one parking space per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area or one space per employee. Knight said the proposed use would nominally require seven off‑street spaces; the applicant’s site plan showed existing informal striping at the rear of the building that, if formalized, would block vehicular access to the subject property and to the adjacent property to the north.
Knight said the Planning Bureau determined two spaces on the western side of the lot do not block access and therefore may count toward the requirement; the applicant was therefore seeking relief from five parking spaces. Knight said the applicant committed to providing secure bike storage for employees and the planning report cited the prevalence of available on‑street parking on Seventh Street and other nearby blocks as additional justification for relief. Knight also described recent installation of “no parking” signs on Emerald Street and said he had contacted the city engineer’s office to investigate whether those signs were properly vetted; he said the city engineer indicated a good possibility the signs could be removed.
The Planning Commission recommended approval with three conditions: remove the informal parking striping at the rear of the building (the applicant offered to paint over the lines), provide secure indoor bike storage or a concrete pad with racks, and install immovable physical obstructions along the curb on Emerald and North Seventh streets to prevent illegal sidewalk parking.
Applicant Sali Ali, whose address was recorded as 2300 North Seventh Street, described daily operations to the board: “We're just gonna be packing. We're just gonna bring in box meat, package it, and then send it out,” he said, adding that the business expects roughly five to six employees working throughout the day, with hours roughly 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The applicant told the commission he would use a private rendering company to remove any waste that could otherwise cause nuisance odors.
Chair Claude Phipps, acting as the hearing member, said he would approve the special exception with the Planning Commission’s conditions and emphasized the board’s interest in ensuring the curb‑line obstructions prevent continued sidewalk parking, which the city has been enforcing more actively.
Knight noted the approval would enable the productive reuse of a property vacant since 2018. The board said a written decision would follow and would set out the conditions and any further requirements related to curb obstructions and bike‑storage implementation.
