A Newtown Township Zoning Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday Jan 16, 2014 at 7:30 PM in the Township Building. 3810 West Chester Pike Variance request has been postponed until next month's meeting.
The Newtown Zoning Hearing Board meeting will still take place on Thursday, January 16, 2014 but the request for a use variance by the owner of 3810 West Chester Pike has been postponed until the February meeting. It was postponed because the property was not properly posted with the variance request information. The request is not going away. It will be back next month. As I get more information, I will pass it along.
The questions are: What do you do when the C-R Zoning amendment is denied and you still want to change your zoning and negatively impact neighborhoods? And, when is a zoning change not a zoning change? In Newtown Township, the answer is: Ask for a zoning use variance from Residential R-3 to allow for retail store, personal services , bank, restaurant, residential, office and accessory uses thereto, single use or any combination of the above. Basically, almost every Commercial C-1 use.
If granted, you have your zoning change. That way, you don't have to wait to try for C-R zoning in a wider area. You can just attempt your spot zoning for a single property.
Sadly, if neighbors do not attend the Zoning Hearing Meeting on Thursday, January 16th at the Township Building at 7:30PM, there is the risk that this will succeed. And, if this change is made, it will open the door for all those properties that had been included in the C-R zoning amendment to get the same treatment.
In the request to be heard on Thursday, January 16th, the property attempting this sleight of hand is at 3810 West Chester Pike at Ellis Avenue and West Chester Pike which was formerly the site of the home of Alice Grim which was demolished and is now vacant ground. It is zoned R-3 residential.
Some years ago, the Owner asked for a zoning change. That zoning change request was denied. After an appeal, there was a settlement between the owner, the Newtown Township Zoning Hearing Board and Newtown Township which allowed both residential and office as specified in the agreement. That was 2006.
Here it is:
Re: 2014-01 3810 West Chester Pike, Inc. (c/o Rocco Imperatrice III., Esquire, 3405 West Chester Pike, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073), pertaining to the premises at 3810 West Chester Pike, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073. The applicant is respectfully requesting a use variance from section 172-34 of the zoning ordinance to permit single or mixed use for the following uses: retail store, personal services, bank and/or other similar institution, restaurant, residential, office, and accessory uses thereto.
Hundreds of residents attended meetings on the C-R amendment and made it clear that zoning changes that are negative to neighborhoods should be denied. This is a request that will hurt residents and neighborhoods. Unfortunately, it's back.
Please come to the meeting on Thursday night at 7:30PM at the Township Building. You can also call the Township at 610-356-0200 and leave the Zoning Hearing Board a message. Ask the members of the Newtown Township Zoning Hearing Board to say NO to this request. Ask them to work with Newtown's Planning Commission on Comprehensive Planning for the Township that prioritizes neighborhoods over commercial development.
We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here
