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Erie's Black Wall Street seeks variance to use Parade Street building for neighborhood meetings and small events
Summary
Dr. Rhonda Matthews and Erie's Black Wall Street requested a use variance to allow meeting and assembly spaces at 1616–1618 Parade Street for community revitalization; the board discussed tailoring any approval with conditions and tabled the request for more information.
Dr. Rhonda Matthews, representing Erie's Black Wall Street, asked the Erie Zoning Hearing Board for a use variance to allow mixed office and meeting/assembly space at properties listed in the record as 1616–1618 Parade Street. Matthews said the renovation aims to create meeting and event spaces to support neighborhood revitalization and preserve a building with a long history in the city's African American community.
Daleen Hooks, identified in the record as vice president of Erie's Black Wall Street, explained the organization's primary use will be professional services and education (home-buying and entrepreneurship programs) and that meeting or event space would be available for other nonprofits and small community groups on a reservation or small-rental basis. She said the applicants do not intend to host large concerts or ticketed commercial events.
Solicitor Lydia Caparosa and zoning staff explained the difference between building code and the zoning ordinance: the applicants applied for a commercial recreation designation (section 204.9), which the ordinance defines to include broad recreational facilities such as bowling, skating, and pools, and that the applicants selected that category because the zoning code lacks a more precise "event space" designation. Applicants said they meant meeting and assembly space, not the wide range of activities listed in the commercial recreation definition.
Board members said any approval could be narrowly tailored with conditions that restrict activities inconsistent with the applicants’ stated plans (for example, prohibiting concerts or skating rinks) and emphasized that such permission would be specific to this property; future changes to the zoning code or subsequent owners could alter that status. After a brief executive session, the board voted to table the request pending additional information; Secretary Amy Francis will notify the applicants which future agenda will host the item.
