York City board approves school districtspecial exception for 250 East Market Street after extended debate

The City of York Zoning Hearing Board on a motion by Commissioner Jenkins approved a special exception permitting the school district to use 250 East Market Street as an educational facility for grades K-12 or equivalent, the property the York County History Center has occupied for decades.

The board—s action followed more than an hour of testimony and public comment that focused on how the building would be used, parking and whether the structure meets an objective zoning test that it be a building "previously built and intended to be used as a school." Proponents said the district will use the space for the Bearkat Cyber Academy and a Bearkat Family Welcome Center; opponents raised legal and neighborhood concerns and asked the board to delay its decision.

The special exception matter drew speakers for both sides. Dr. Andrea Barry Brown, superintendent of the School District of the City of York, described Bearkat Cyber Academy as an online-focused program with occasional scheduled in-person tutoring; she said the district—s cyber program serves roughly 266 students districtwide and that the site would not produce regular morning drop-offs or afternoon carpooling typical of conventional schools. Barry Brown said average daily visits to the site would be low (about 19 visitors per day) and that the district anticipates about a dozen scheduled one-on-one sessions in a year. She said two staff will be assigned to the Welcome Center, and the district expects up to 47 employees could be based at the site in total once the plan is built out.

Joan Mummert, president and CEO of the York County History Center, testified that the museum has occupied the site since the 1950s and reported roughly 30,000 visitors per year when the museum operated fully; Mummert confirmed the History Center is the legal owner while the school district holds a contract for sale pending this proceeding.

Architect Adam Kerr (EI Associates) and the district—s business manager, Shawn Hain, described a conversion that preserves the historic Market Street facade, creates office and tutoring spaces rather than classrooms, and adds a rear entrance and accessible spaces. Kerr emphasized there are no conventional classrooms, no cafeteria or playground planned and that the proposed layout is intended primarily for one-on-one tutoring and administrative functions.

Opponents included nearby residents and counsel for neighboring property owners, who argued the zoning ordinance—s special-exception criteria require the building to have been "previously built and intended to be used as a school." Attorney Rand Fader, representing neighbors, contended the building—s earlier uses (including a car dealership in the 1920s) and the ordinance language make the test an objective one that the district—s proposal does not meet. Fader asked the board to delay for additional legal review. Other neighbors raised traffic and pedestrian safety concerns on East Market Street and asked whether the district could commit to making its rear lot available for resident parking on street-sweeping nights.

Board members discussed tabling the item to allow additional legal briefing. A motion to table the matter to the next meeting failed. The board then voted to approve the special exception (motion by Jenkins; second by Klein). The roll call recorded in the transcript: Klein, aye; Nugent, aye; Holman, aye; Williams, aye; Jenkins, aye.

Under the approved plan, the district will operate the Bearkat Family Welcome Center and Bearkat Cyber Academy at 250 East Market Street, with about 59 parking spaces shown on the concept/site plan. District leaders said the site was selected to improve access to central services (registration, interpretation and family supports) and to provide office and one-on-one tutoring space for the cyber program.

Neighbors and some attorneys argued the board—s approval could be appealed to court and asked the district to provide additional written commitments about future use and parking. Board members noted appeal rights under land-use law and that a decision granting a special exception can be reviewed in common pleas court.

The board accepted exhibits and the project record into the hearing record before taking the vote. The district and the History Center agreed during the hearing to a process for neighbors to park in the district—s lot on overnight street-sweeping nights as a short-term mitigation; the district said it would explore placard arrangements and security measures to permit that.

The approved use is limited in practice by the district—s description: the testimony described offices and tutoring spaces rather than classrooms, no playground or cafeteria, and modest interior build-out focused on offices, storage and one-on-one instruction. The board—s approval does not itself change zoning definitions; it authorizes the special-exception use under the ordinance as applied to this property.

How this matters: the decision returns an active institutional use to a prominent historic building, shifts the property from museum operations to school-district functions, raises questions about how special-exception approvals apply to future owners, and prompted neighborhood requests for commitments on parking and pedestrian safety that the district said it will pursue.

A community appeals timeline: the board noted that written findings of fact and conclusions of law will be prepared and, once the decision is final, any party wishing to appeal would have 30 days to file a land-use appeal in York County Court of Common Pleas.