State College Borough Council narrows mixed‑use incentives for West End, votes R‑3 buffer on Beaver Avenue

State College Borough Council members spent more than two hours debating the proposed comprehensive zoning ordinance’s mixed‑use provisions and a set of incentives intended to steer development toward non‑student and more affordable housing.

Planning Director Ed LeClere told council the mixed‑use district in the draft had evolved into what staff called “the Hopes, Wishes, And Dreams District,” with a stack of incentives that could allow much taller buildings without guaranteeing deed‑restricted workforce housing. “If you really want that outcome, remember that the market doesn’t want to build it,” LeClere said, urging clearer rules rather than a long incentive menu.

Council ultimately approved a revised incentive stack that staff will apply only to the West End mixed‑use box on the draft map. The adopted stack sets a base height of two stories, retains underground off‑street parking as an incentive, leaves mixed‑use design as an incentive (not a requirement), requires that the first incentive taken be at least one floor of deed‑restricted non‑student housing (with up to three deed‑restricted floors available in the stack), and removes LEED Gold and a separate green‑feature point option while retaining LEED Platinum as a higher‑tier incentive. Council voted to apply that revised stack specifically to the West End area shown in staff materials.

Councilmembers debated how incentives interact with market demand. “If we leave it as the way it is, it’s all gonna be student housing,” Councilmember Balachandran warned, arguing the incentive stack should be retooled to produce workforce housing. Councilmember Herndon cautioned against stripping incentives that make development financially feasible: “If we cut these incentives and then nothing gets built, 10% of nothing is 0.” Councilmember Hayes, who conducted site visits, pressed staff on visual impacts and whether the draft maximum heights adjacent to campus would exceed the scale of existing parking structures: “I feel like that’s too tall,” he said of the highest proposed maximums.

On a separate vote, council changed the draft designation for a block along Beaver Avenue from R‑4 to R‑3 to provide a softer transition to long‑established single‑family and two‑story homes. That motion passed on a recorded count of 4‑2. Council also voted to retain the Decentral (D Central) designation closest to the university — as staff presented it with the higher maximums — arguing that area is the most appropriate place in the borough to concentrate higher‑density housing to meet walking‑distance goals.

Public commenters urged council either to go further on height to meet housing needs or to be cautious to protect existing neighborhoods. Staff said materials and the draft map would be revised and returned; the Planning Director and borough management said the ordinance is intended to proceed through consultant drafting and additional council review, with referral to county and regional planning commissions before a public hearing and final adoption.

What’s next: staff will incorporate council direction into a cleaned draft for consultant revision; additional special meetings will be scheduled to address outstanding items and to finalize recommended ordinance language and maps before formal public hearings.

Votes at a glance • Motion to change Zone 3 (Beaver Avenue area) from R‑4 to R‑3: approved, vote recorded as 4‑2. • Motion to adopt a revised incentive stack for the West End mixed‑use box (base height 2; first incentive required: 1 deed‑restricted non‑student floor; underground parking and LEED Platinum retained as incentives; LEED Gold/green feature points removed): approved by council and applied only to the West End box shown in staff materials. • Motion to retain the Decentral (D Central) designation near campus with the higher maximum presented by staff: approved.

The council’s work on the comprehensive zoning ordinance is not finished; staff and the consultant will prepare revised draft language and maps for further council review and public hearings.