Bridgeport council hears liquor-license transfer and expansion plan for 101 E. Fourth St.; parking remains sticking point

Bridgeport Borough Council members heard a presentation and public questioning Thursday from Luigi Masatelli and his representative, Emilio Madrigal, on a proposed transfer of a liquor license and a planned expansion at 101 East Fourth Street (Dino’s Pizza & Pasta).

The council opened a transfer hearing and allowed Masatelli to testify about buying an available Montgomery County license after an earlier economic-development license did not proceed. “It’s just the same license,” Masatelli said, explaining he had completed PLCB (Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board) steps for an earlier application and was pursuing this transfer because that license was available.

Council and staff then discussed the related zoning and parking impacts of a separate development application that would add interior seating, a bar and outdoor dining, plus two apartments above the expansion. Emilio Madrigal, who presented the drawings, said the proposal would add about 59 indoor seats and 24 outdoor seats, two upstairs apartments and a modest kitchen expansion to accommodate additional pizza ovens. Madrigal said the design team reduced total seating from an earlier version and refined the layout to improve operations.

Council members repeatedly pressed the applicants about parking. Borough staff calculations shown in the meeting packet estimate the project needs roughly 24 additional parking spaces (including employees); the applicant said the number could fall to roughly 20 spaces if the two apartments are removed. Masatelli said many of his current staff walk or are dropped off and said he expects walkable customers from nearby new housing: “The idea is to have something that develops more … it is to develop as a walkable neighborhood,” Madrigal said.

Several council members said they want a concrete plan for parking before they will provide a formal letter of support to the Zoning Hearing Board. Council discussion included these possibilities: asking the applicant to abandon the two apartments, negotiating a fee-in-lieu for commercial parking that the borough could use to buy or develop a public lot, or using shared-parking arrangements with nearby property owners. At one point a council member described a fee-in-lieu formula discussed in staff reports: $2,000 per commercial space as a baseline; during the meeting some council members suggested a higher per-space figure could be appropriate.

The council noted the licensing decision itself is governed by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board rules and related borough procedures; the solicitor reminded the applicant that the borough has statutory discretion to consider whether a new license would injure the health, safety and welfare of the community. No one present identified a reason the transfer would be injurious.

Council members indicated willingness to help if a specific parking solution can be reached. One council member summarized the common ground: the borough wants Dino’s to succeed but cannot support an expansion that creates permanent parking problems for neighbors. The applicant said he would weigh a fee-in-lieu or other options and return with counsel.

Procedurally, council members voted at the hearing to move forward with the transfer process and indicated there was majority support for the transfer at the hearing stage; the solicitor advised that formal ratification requires a resolution at the next council meeting and that council has up to 45 days to finalize a decision.

The zoning hearing for the project was announced for October 29; the applicant and his counsel (to be present at future meetings) were urged to provide parking plans or a written proposal on fee-in-lieu before council’s next meeting.

Ending: The applicants left the hearing with clear directions: pursue either a narrower expansion (no apartments), a concrete parking proposal (shared parking or fee-in-lieu) or formalized mitigation that would give council confidence to send a supportive letter to the Zoning Hearing Board. Council deferred final ratification of the liquor-license transfer to a future meeting when a written resolution will be on the agenda.