Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Udc topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council reviews UDC changes to define 'specialty food stores,' considers variance route and temporary sign carve‑out
Summary
The Bethlehem City Council held a public hearing on proposed UDC text amendments that would define and limit "specialty food stores," allow accessory fuel pumps by special-use permit in C-1, and shorten public-notice minimums. Council members asked to add a variance process and discussed a temporary sign carve‑out for a school crisis response.
Liz Mitcham, filling in for Sarah McQuade at CPL, presented proposed updates to the city's Unified Development Code that create a new section (89‑187) to define "specialty food stores" and add supplemental standards for the use. Mitcham said the draft sets a 10,000-square-foot gross‑floor-area cap, requires storefronts to face public streets, limits outdoor displays to avoid conflicts with ADA and pedestrian routes, requires landscaping and at least one outdoor amenity, and allows alcohol sales under specified conditions.
"We've set a limit of 10,000 square feet of gross floor area for operation," Mitcham said, and she described qualifying criteria that would require a specialty food store to meet at least two characteristics such as an on‑site butcher counter, a deli or prepared‑food counter, a curated selection of local products, or on‑site production by an artisan retailer. She also said accessory fuel pumps would be permitted only by special‑use approval in the C‑1 district.
Council members and the public pressed for clarity on which existing corner convenience stores would qualify and whether certain products would be prohibited. One resident asked whether tobacco and lottery sales could be allowed as variances; Mitcham replied that as drafted those items are listed as prohibited uses, and councilors discussed introducing a variance mechanism so site‑specific exceptions could be considered. Members directed staff to draft a variance process and to separate some grouped prohibitions (for example, distinguishing vaping from alcohol or tobacco) so the council can make more granular decisions.
During public comment, a council member recommended a temporary carve‑out to allow crisis‑response signage tied to the Apalachee High School tragedy so community organizers could post signs immediately; the council discussed placing that carve‑out on the next agenda with an option to refund previously paid fees for affected applicants.
The public hearing was closed after input; councilors asked staff and CPL to return with revised UDC language that splits prohibitions into discrete items and includes a variance section so the council can consider site‑specific approvals.
