Garber planning commission debates 4A zoning reforms to ease housing — Elmwood site used as test case

The Garber Planning Commission on Feb. 1 spent the majority of its meeting discussing proposed changes to the borough’s 4A zoning district intended to make it easier to add housing while protecting neighborhood character.

Chair Adam opened the segment by mapping the 4A district and noting how code changes since an earlier approval have left the most prominent vacant site — the former Baptist church parcel at 198 Elmwood (at Narberth Avenue) — unable to meet current rules. Adam said the new code now treats apartments in 4A as a conditional use rather than a permitted use and adds requirements that the previously approved plan does not meet, including a larger front-yard setback on Narberth Avenue, two extra visitor parking spaces and a different method for measuring building height.

The height calculation change drew sustained attention. Commissioners noted the earlier code measured building height relative to the building’s finished grade while the revised code averages elevations at the lot line; on the Elmwood site’s sloped parcel that difference reduces allowable height by several feet and effectively…