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Resident questions future of Sabine Park after council declines developer plan
Summary
Council members told a resident that a developer's proposal to adaptively reuse the 201 Sabine building was discussed in executive session and was not pursued; there is no current timeline for an appraisal or rezoning of nearby parkland, and planning commission has not yet reviewed the 3B corridor.
Carol Marie, a Narberth resident, asked the borough on Oct. 16 when an appraisal or request-for-proposal for the Montgomery Avenue side of 201 Sabine (the Sabine Park site) would be issued and whether proposed changes to the borough's 3B zoning district would affect the park.
Manager (Stavs) replied that council had received a proposal to adaptively reuse the 201 Sabine building and had discussed that proposal in executive session at the previous meeting, but decided not to pursue that particular plan. "If we get a proposal like that that we think is worthy of further attention, that we'd like to discuss further, we'll be asking the developer to come to an open meeting of council and bring that to the community," Stavs said.
Stavs told Carol Marie there is no current timeline for an appraisal to be issued for the Sabine property and that any future appraisal or property action would return to council for approval before proceeding. "Council will have another discussion to approve it if we're gonna go forward with it. Right now, there's no timeline for it," Stavs said.
On whether changes to the 3B zoning would apply to the Sabine Park area, Stavs said planning commission has not reached that segment of the corridor and the borough has no specific proposal before council at this time. He also noted Montgomery County Planning Commission (MCPC) provides advisory review of zoning changes; any change would be reviewed by MCPC as part of the ordinary process.
Carol Marie asked how many street bump-outs remain under the borough's Pollutant Reduction Plan (PRP). Staff said the original estimate ranged from 19 to 23 bump-outs; six have been built and 15 more are shown in the approved plan on the borough website. Staff emphasized the bump-outs are sediment-capture best-management practices tied to the borough's MS4 permit and are intended to reduce sediment loading to the South Branch of Indian Creek and downstream to Cobbs Creek and the Delaware River.
The manager reiterated that if a private development included stormwater improvements that reduced the borough's sediment obligations, the borough's required number of bump-outs could change, but said there were presently no specific development approvals that have altered that plan.
The council did not take any formal action on Sabine Park or 3B zoning at the meeting.
