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Commission recommends removing ‘senior citizens’ meal limitation from community-center definition

3004825 · March 11, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Planning staff and petitioners argued the line creates ambiguity for special-exception review; commissioners voted to recommend the text change to council amid public opposition from neighbors.

The Allentown City Planning Commission voted on March 11 to recommend a zoning-text amendment that would remove a sentence limiting meal preparation at “community centers” to senior citizens. The petition was filed by RCI Village Properties and the Lehigh Valley Conference of Churches and stems from a recent zoning hearing board decision and a subsequent appeal in common pleas court.

Mike Hanzo, the city zoning officer, summarized staff analysis and said the current definition — which says a community center "may include the nonprofit preparation and provision of meals for senior citizens" — is ambiguous and difficult to apply in special-exception…

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