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Hawthorne council adopts zoning clarification for gas stations despite local owner objections
Summary
The council adopted an amendment clarifying how gasoline service stations with convenience stores are regulated in certain zones after a local owner, Nino Gorga, told the council he had not been informed he needed a use variance to convert garage space into a convenience store.
The Hawthorne Borough Council on the motion adopted an amendment to the borough zoning code intended to regulate gasoline service stations with convenience stores in specified zones. The ordinance was presented by council leadership and adopted by roll call after a public comment period.
Resident Nino Gorga of 326 Lincoln Ave told the council the borough's building department had not informed him that his conversion plan would require a use variance. “I wasn't told I needed a use variance,” Gorga said, describing multiple meetings this year with building staff and saying his initial plans were reduced to a “vanilla box” at the building department's direction. He told the council the change threatens small businesses and said converting the repair garage to retail was his “dream.”
Council and staff responded that under the older B1-zone ordinance gas stations were not permitted uses and that projects converting sites for retail or expanded service are subject to land‑use review. A council member said the building file contained a handwritten note indicating a use‑variance requirement, while others encouraged an ordinance committee review to consider amending language to accommodate longstanding gas-station/retail dual use in appropriate business zones.
Council President Frankie Matthews and other members said addressing the issue through the ordinance committee, rather than on the floor, would be the appropriate next step to cover nonconforming properties and avoid ad hoc variance processes. The council adopted the ordinance by roll call (Bennett voted no; other members present voted yes).
The ordinance clarifies allowable uses in the borough’s zoning code for certain zones and does not immediately change the status of existing nonconforming uses beyond the clarification adopted; council members said subsequent ordinance‑committee work could consider broader accommodations for B1‑zoned gas stations. The council authorized the clerk to advertise the ordinance according to law.
