Owner seeks variance for two‑unit dwelling at 1330 Greenwood Street; board requests 2023 demolition permit

Eric Hardwick, owner of Hardwick Real Estate LLC, asked the Reading Zoning Hearing Board on April 8, 2026, for variances to construct a two‑unit attached residential dwelling at 1330 Greenwood Street in the R‑3 Residential district and the steep slope overlay.

Attorney Joan E. London Kozlov Stout described the lot as long and narrow (attorney: 88 feet deep by about 13 feet wide), said a house on the lot had been demolished in 2023 under the city’s demolition program, and asked the board to treat the parking variance as the minimum necessary relief. Counsel told the board that three parking spaces were identified in staff reports roughly 753 feet away and that the applicant later found three spaces at Ponce’s Parking at 1312 Oly Street that are less than 300 feet from the lot; counsel said the applicant would still pursue a parking variance to protect against spaces becoming unavailable.

Project architect Rick Fryer described the proposed attached two‑unit design and said each unit’s footprint is small ("I believe it's about, 600," he testified) and that the topography as shown on survey plans would not, in his view, materially affect construction. Fryer and counsel put plan renderings into the record and the board qualified Fryer as a witness.

Board member Jeff Catone asked for a copy of the 2023 demolition permit to confirm the attorney’s statement that the prior house was demolished for dangerous or dilapidated conditions. Counsel agreed to request the permit and Solicitor Steven Price directed staff to obtain the file from city records; the board asked staff to provide the permit for the record.

No members of the public offered testimony for or against the application. The evidentiary portion of the hearing was closed; the board said it will render a decision at its May meeting and mail a copy to the applicant.