UPDATE, Jan. 21, 2025: The Fountain Hill Zoning Hearing Board meeting scheduled for Monday, Jan. 20 was continued to Monday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. According to a public notice issued by the borough in mid January, in addition to a special exception, applicant Johnathan Cummings is now also seeking at least nine variances for the boarding house he is proposing at 600 N. Hoffert St. The specific variances he is seeking are for the following requirements: Minimum lot area of 20,000 square feet; Minimum side yard building setback of 20 feet per side; Maximum density of 3,000 square feet of lot area per bedroom and a maximum total of 20 persons per dwelling; Each bedroom shall be limited to two adults; Buffer yard with screening shall be provided between any boarding house building and any abutting dwelling; One parking space shall be provided for each rental unit or bed for an adult, whichever is greater; Parking areas shall not be within a required buffer yard or street right-of-way; Except for parking spaces immediately in front of individual dwellings, all areas for off-street parking, off-street loading and unloading and the storage or movement of motor vehicles shall be physically separated from the street by a continuous grass or landscaped planting strip, except for necessary and approved vehicle entrances and exits to the lot. Copies of corresponding plans that have been submitted are available for public inspection at Fountain Hill Borough Hall during normal business hours. All objectors and interested parties may attend the zoning hearing board meeting and have an opportunity for their objections to be heard, according to the public notice, which was mailed to property owners whose properties are within 150 feet of 600 N. Hoffert St., Fountain Hill.

PREVIOUS UPDATE: The Fountain Hill Zoning Hearing Board meeting scheduled for Monday, Dec. 16 has been canceled. According to an updated public notice, the meeting will be continued on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 at 7 p.m.

A single-family residence in Fountain Hill could be turned into a boarding house for around a dozen residents, according to documents that are part of a zoning appeal filed with the borough.

The property at 600 N. Hoffert Street in Fountain Hill is located near the intersection of Cherokee Street and N. Hoffert Street, which can be seen from the intersection of N. Hoffert Street and Broadway, above.

The borough’s zoning hearing board is scheduled to consider the appeal at a meeting scheduled for Monday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. at Fountain Hill Borough Hall. At issue will be a request for a special exception use as a boarding house for the property at 600 N. Hoffert St., which is under an agreement of sale for $400,000. The single story, roughly 4,100 square-foot building was a commercial garage and later housed a custom cabinetry business before it was turned into a home a decade ago.

The property is located in the borough’s Town Center (TC) zoning district, which exists “to provide for mixed uses, including residential and public uses, and select commercial uses and businesses; to promote pedestrian-friendly commercial activities; and to avoid heavy auto-related commercial uses that are most likely to conflict with nearby homes and the pedestrian orientation,” according to the borough zoning ordinance. According to the Fountain Hill zoning map, the property–which is located at the northwest corner of Broadway and N. Hoffert Street–abuts two other zoning districts: the Medium High Density Residential (MHDR) district to the north and the Residential Commercial (RC) district to the south. Explanations of the various borough zoning districts may be found here.

A special exception use, according to the zoning ordinance, may be permitted if the zoning hearing board “finds that the use is generally not detrimental to the neighborhood and that the minimum standards specified for the use are proposed.” The zoning hearing board can also attach any “reasonable conditions it deems appropriate” to its approval of a special exception use.

The buyer of the property, Johnathan Cummings, said the building is currently a one bedroom, one bathroom home that incorporates a very large garage area.

A diagram included with the notice of appeal filed with the Fountain Hill Zoning Hearing Board depicts an interior layout containing 10 private bedrooms. In other documents included with the appeal, buyer Johnathan Cummings stated that his plan is to create 12 to 13 private rooms as part of the boarding house he is proposing for a building at 600 N. Hoffert Street.

“With its current square footage, I would be looking to make 12-13 private rooms, with two shared kitchen areas, 4-5 shared full bathrooms, shared living areas and on-site laundry for occupants,” Cummings wrote in a Nov. 1 appeal filed with the zoning hearing board. While acknowledging the building’s uniqueness and “that it provides a lot of space to be used,” it would not be “worth the cost to turn (the building) into apartments or make (it) into a business,” he said in the filing.

“It’s basically going to be a rent-by-the-room,” Cummings said in a separate interview. “I know a lot of manufacturers in the area and I know that the Lehigh Valley is promoting manufacturing… I worked in manufacturing for a while… I know that they travel in a lot of maintenance workers, salespeople and a lot of people in general. I was looking to reach out to a few of them and say, ‘you could rent this space for a year and it could be available for you any time that you’d like.’ …I’d charge a flat fee for the year, and that’s the initial plan with it.”

Cummings said security cameras are part of his plan, as is off-street parking for 14 vehicles, which would be located on an open area next to the building he proposes turning into a paved lot. A diagram included with his zoning appeal lists the dimensions of the open area as approximately 80 feet by 40 feet. Lehigh County assessment records for 600 N. Hoffert Street only include the structure’s footprint.

Cummings said he expects to rent rooms in the boarding house for $600 to $700 per month.

“To find a studio around this area for anything less than $1,000 is nearly impossible,” he said.

“I don’t really see why this wouldn’t be approved if done right,” he added. “This is the highest and best use for this property, in my opinion, and it’ll fill a need in the area, being so close to Bethlehem.”

At the Dec. 2 Fountain Hill Borough Council meeting, several council members expressed concerns about the proposed parking lot and the proposed size of the bedrooms, which would be 10 feet by 8 feet according to the appeal.

“I don’t see 12 to 15 (vehicles) fitting in there…even the amount of people for the size of that building…that’s a jail cell,” said council president Stewart McCandless with regard to the proposed bedroom sizes.

Cummings, who is employed as a realtor, called the space “flexible.”

“We’re not even more than a quarter of a mile away from (St. Luke’s) hospital…that’s kind of the clientele I want to get into, more of the professional working individuals,” he said. “They’re not necessarily making a whole lot of money right now because they’re trying to go to college or they’re traveling for work or working on their trade… This is kind of filling that void.”

He added that he plans to convert the property “the right way.”

“There are a lot of people out there right now that are doing this to single-family homes, dividing up kitchens, living rooms, and they’re throwing a bunch of bedrooms in single-family homes. And they’re all unofficial. They’re not zoned,” he said. “I”m trying to do it properly and I want to do it up-to-snuff and work with the township.”

Cummings intends to spend approximately $115,000 on renovations to the building, according to the documents he submitted as part of the appeal, and estimated that the building will be ready for occupancy by May 2025 assuming that his special exception request is granted and work begins by the beginning of the new year.

Monday’s Fountain Hill Zoning Hearing Board meeting will be held in person and will not be streamed live via the borough Facebook page. Individuals whose properties are within 150 feet of 600 N. Hoffert Street received letters about the meeting last week, and the property has been identified with two laminated yellow notices about the upcoming meeting, which is open to the public.

Council was told it could vote to oppose the plans, however several members said they want to know more about the proposal before potentially adopting such a stance.

“Personally, my gut feeling is that I do not like opposing things without information. That makes us look stick-in-the-mud,” said councilman Will Rufe. “On knee-jerk, it doesn’t sound great, but I think we should be a little more proactive in hearing what the propositions might be.”

Council unanimously approved a motion for solicitor Dave Berger to attend the zoning hearing board meeting, take notes and bring the information back in front of council for further evaluation.

The next borough council meeting is a workshop meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. at Borough Hall.