Hellertown Borough Council President Tom Rieger hopes to shoot down a proposed three-story apartment building for seniors at 30 Bachman Street.
The property at 30 Bachman Street in Hellertown is currently vacant land. Borough council members Monday expressed opposition to variance requests a developer is seeking to build a three-story senior apartment building on it. (FILE PHOTO)
And the rest of council was unanimously behind him at Monday night’s meeting. Rieger made a motion to formulate and approve a letter in support of denying all variance requests for the project, which was brought in front of the planning commission last Tuesday. The motion to approve the letter will be added to the next borough council meeting agenda.
“It is in my opinion that it does not benefit the neighborhood; it only benefits the developer,” Rieger said. “I know in the past, council has taken a stance and recommended to zoning (hearing board) one way or another… It is going to harm the character, and it is going to harm the residents… It is our right and duty to speak up.”
The project developers are seeking variances for use, building coverage, a loading zone and the maximum number of units allowed per acre.
“I wish we would have done that for the Sheetz (gas station proposed at Kichline Avenue and Main Street),” said councilwoman Terri Fadem, who seconded the motion to formulate the letter.
Mayor David Heintzelman then asked if the Sheetz project could have been stopped at an earlier stage of that project’s development.
“Just to clarify, there is a difference (between the Sheetz and Bachman projects), and I just wanted to point that out,” said borough zoning officer Kris Russo. “One of the reliefs that the applicant would be looking for, if he chooses to move forward over on Bachman, is a use variance. The Sheetz was a permitted use, so because of the zoning and the different uses that are permitted in those districts, they’re completely different.”
Councilwoman Liz Thompson said it’s important for Hellertown residents to understand the difference in the use variances that the Bachman Street applicant is requesting versus the permitted use in the area where the Sheetz is proposed. The land on which Sheetz is to be built is zoned Highway Commercial; a classification which allows for convenience stores and other uses that aren’t permitted by right in other parts of the borough.
“Sheetz was a permitted use that needed a variance for the number of parking spots,” Rieger said. “They had a right to build that use on that property that they owned, whereas in this particular development, they do not have a right to build that building under the zoning law, and they need a variance to get that right, amongst other variances to make the project viable.”
A number of Hellertown residents have voiced their concerns regarding both projects on social media and at borough meetings in recent months.
“I feel strongly about this, and hindsight is 20/20,” Rieger said. “Sometimes, looking back on things that were done in the past, it doesn’t mean that we need to do them again in the future.”