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Norristown planners seek to confine 'skill games' to commercial retail districts
Summary
Planning staff asked Norristown council to authorize advertising Ordinance 26-01 to limit primary amusement-device (skill-game) uses to the Commercial Retail district, impose a 1,000-foot separation from child‑oriented uses and require conditional-use review for new primary venues.
NORRISTOWN — Planning staff asked the Municipal Council on Feb. 17 to authorize advertisement of Ordinance 26-01, a zoning amendment intended to limit where certain arcade-style 'skill games' and 'smart machines' can operate.
Staff said a 2023 ordinance allowed these machines in multiple districts, which led to a proliferation of uses across the municipality. The draft amendment would restrict primary uses (defined by staff as locations with four or more devices) to the Commercial Retail district and keep accessory uses allowed in commercial buildings. It would also impose a 1,000-foot separation between primary locations and schools, childcare, parks, religious institutions and hospitals.
Solicitor comments clarified that a primary use is generally identified where four or more devices operate; accessory uses with fewer devices would not be affected except where they morph into a larger operation. Planning and police staff said enforcement would rely on zoning enforcement officers, court enforcement officers and police incident reports; violations would trigger written zoning notices, the possibility of civil penalties through the magisterial district judge, and an appeal route through the zoning hearing board.
Council members asked how the proposed hours of operation (10 a.m.–11 p.m. in the draft) would be enforced and whether a small business with multiple devices (for example, a pizza shop that later installs several machines) could be forced to shut the games while continuing other business operations. Solicitor and planning staff responded that a primary-use finding would require changing the hours tied to the device operation, and that affected owners could seek relief from the zoning hearing board.
The council voted to authorize advertisement of the ordinance so the public can comment at a future hearing; staff noted existing, lawfully established operations would be grandfathered until their grandfathering status terminates, at which point they would become nonconforming uses under the new rules.
