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Narberth schedules informal Feb. 26 open house on zoning recodification; council stresses it will not be a recorded hearing
Summary
Council says the Feb. 26 planning open house will be an informal tabling event (not recorded) where residents can review posters, speak with planning commissioners and leave written comments; the planning recodification is presented as content-neutral but some non-neutral proposals will be discussed in parallel.
Narberth Borough Council on Feb. 19 confirmed an informal open house for Thursday, Feb. 26 to present a content-neutral recodification of the borough’s zoning code and to take public feedback on related proposals for downtown and housing.
Carol Marie Skow, a resident who spoke during public comment, asked whether the session would be a formal meeting with microphone-based public comment and whether it would be recorded. “Will the open house meeting with the planning commission and council on February 26 be a formal meeting where people can stand at a microphone and ask questions,” Skow asked. Council members replied that the Feb. 26 event would be a tabling-style open house, not a formal meeting, and “is not going to be recorded,” giving residents opportunities for longer in-person conversations and written comments.
Council and planning staff said the recodification effort is intended as a content-neutral reorganization of the zoning code — reorganizing language and cross-references without changing what is legally permitted — while noting a parallel track will examine non–content-neutral proposals. Council members said the planning commission and MCPC planners will be on hand to explain the draft changes and to collect written feedback, and that staff would try to post the planning commission’s recent recommendation letters and other open-house materials on the borough’s zoning-ordinance update web page.
Council members stressed the distinction between the content-neutral recodification and separate proposals that could alter height, density or permitted ground-floor uses in downtown districts. One council speaker said the recodification will keep the current 45-foot height limit in the 5B district but may allow four stories under that same height by changing ceiling-height rules — an item flagged for public discussion rather than immediate adoption.
Officials encouraged residents to attend in person because the open house will have physical posters and interactive materials; written summaries from the planning commission were requested to be posted online ahead of the event to help attendees prepare. The council also said formal public comment opportunities will remain available at regular planning commission and borough council meetings for those who prefer a microphone-and-recorded format.
The council held no vote on substantive zoning changes at the Feb. 19 meeting; it confirmed the open-house format, outreach plans and the intention to post planning-commission documents to the borough website.
