Narberth planning commission backs package to allow fitness uses on downtown ground floor, will forward recommendations to council

The Narberth Planning Commission on June 1 discussed draft zoning changes to allow certain fitness and indoor-recreation businesses on downtown ground-floor properties and agreed to forward a consensus package of recommendations to borough council.

Chair Adam Kron opened the conversation by placing a proposal before the commission to consider "how to add active recreation to the land use permitted in downtown." A borough planning staff member presented draft language that would create two categories — a smaller "fitness studio" (yoga, Pilates, strength classes, martial arts) and a larger "indoor recreation" (racket sports, swimming, larger gyms) — and recommended performance standards to protect the street retail character of Haverford Avenue.

Why it matters: Commissioners said they want to allow business models that activate the street while protecting retail frontage, minimizing large single-tenant storefronts and limiting noise or late-night operations that would upset nearby residents. The commission’s recommendations will go to council for potential inclusion in the borough’s zoning recodification.

Key details and agreed principles

- Definitions and mapping: The staff memo proposed distinguishing smaller fitness studios from larger indoor recreation uses and allowing fitness studios in both 5A and 5B downtown districts while reserving larger indoor recreation primarily for 5B. A planning staff member said the two definitions reflect different scales of business and that keeping them separate would help map appropriate locations.

- Frontage activation: Commissioner Todd Grassley said the commission should require that the first portion of a ground-floor frontage remain an active retail, food or beverage use "accessible to all customers, not just customers or members of the studio," so the street remains lively. Commissioners generally favored requiring retail/food/beverage for the initial 10–12 feet of depth from Haverford Avenue and allowing the fitness activity behind that frontage.

- Spacing and width: The existing performance standard for certain personal-care uses is 350 feet between like businesses. Staff measured alternatives and recommended 250 feet as a less onerous spacing that still prevents clustering; commissioners discussed 150 and 250 feet and signaled 250 feet as a practical compromise for Haverford Avenue. The group also coalesced around a 40-foot maximum storefront width for a single ground-floor use (with larger allowances for mixed-use buildings, e.g., 65 feet when a building is newly constructed), and proposed requiring additional independent doors for wide storefronts to preserve pedestrian scale.

- Noise and hours: Staff recommended adopting noise performance standards (lot-line-based decibel limits with different daytime and nighttime thresholds) and limiting overnight operations (examples discussed included prohibiting operation between roughly 9–10 p.m. and 6–7 a.m.). Commissioners asked staff to refine precise thresholds and enforcement mechanisms.

- Alternative layouts and vacancy risk: Commissioners discussed interior subdivision (creating a small active storefront with another use behind it) and the risk that owners could partition a narrow retail bay without truly activating it. They asked staff to draft language that discourages vestigial unused storefronts while preserving pathways for viable businesses.

What the commission decided

Commissioners agreed on the core principles — clarified definitions, frontage-activation requirements (retail/food/beverage in front), shorter spacing than the current 350-foot rule (staff recommended 250 feet), a 40-foot storefront width limit for single uses, and the inclusion of noise and hours performance standards — and directed staff to forward the recommendations to borough council for consideration as part of the zoning recodification.

Quotes

A borough planning staff member, presenting the analysis, said: "250 feet . . . seemed okay and appropriate" as a practical spacing alternative to the current 350-foot rule. Commissioner Todd Grassley urged a frontage requirement so the front "must include retail or food or beverage uses on the Ground Floor," adding that such uses should be "accessible to all customers, not just customers or members of the studio."

Procedural items

The commission moved to adopt the May 2026 minutes; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The meeting concluded after a brief public comment period in which a resident suggested pop-up programs to temporarily activate vacant storefronts.

What’s next

The commission will forward the draft definitions and performance standards to Narberth Borough Council for review as part of the broader zoning recodification. Staff will provide refined language on spacing, frontage depth, noise thresholds and hours of operation for council consideration.

Reporting note: Article quotes and details are drawn from the commission’s June 1, 2026 meeting transcript and represent statements made by commissioners and planning staff during that meeting.