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Planning commission approves several land‑use items, recommends council actions and schedules SALDO workshop
Summary
The commission approved final and preliminary plans (317 Franklin, 138 S 8th, Reading Tech) and recommended multiple ordinances and resolutions to council — including Castlewood street dedication and removal of a piece of 730 N. 3rd Street from the Center Park Historic District — and authorized support letters and waivers; a SALDO working group was announced.
At its June 27 meeting the Reading Planning Commission cleared a slate of planning actions, including final approval for an adaptive reuse project at 317 Franklin Street, a conditional approval for 138 South 8th Street and several procedural recommendations to city council.
Jerome told commissioners that the 138 South 8th Street plan had been approved previously and that the applicant submitted a revised final plan addressing conditions; the commission granted approval subject to resolving Hawk Valley Associates’ review letter and execution of municipal/stormwater agreements and a $2,000 deposit. The commission also approved final plan approval for the adaptive reuse at 317 Franklin Street (daycare on first floor, apartments above) provided missing plan pages are restored and Hawk Valley conditions addressed.
The commission recommended council adopt an ordinance to accept street dedications in the Castlewood Subdivision (King and Queen streets) and reaffirmed the plan of record for PC 2024‑105. Members voted to recommend council proceed with modifying the Center Park Historic District to remove a vacant portion of 730 North 3rd Street to allow annexation for a restaurant parking lot; staff noted council action is required for the historic district map amendment.
Commissioners also granted a waiver from land development to the Berks County Intermediate Unit for its 2101 Center Avenue property, contingent on an easement for the city to inspect stormwater facilities. The planning commission approved a standing recommendation that reuse of blighted row houses for residential purposes aligns with the comprehensive plan and approved recommended changes to the home‑occupation ordinance (section 600‑1006) to remove conflicting language about collection of fees.
Staff announced planning and SALDO workshops to evaluate potential amendments; the planning commission scheduled a workshop meeting for July 21 and set the next regular meeting for July 28.
