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A notice about a zoning board hearing is staked outside the former Mountainview Moravian Church on Constitution Avenue in Hellertown. Neighbors told borough council Monday they are concerned about the property’s proposed redevelopment as an ice cream shop and event venue. The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, July 16 at 6:30 p.m.

A proposal to turn a former Hellertown church into a multipurpose business that would attract ice cream lovers isn’t sitting well with some nearby residents, who spoke out at a borough council meeting Monday.

Mountainview Moravian Church at 331 Constitution Avenue was a spiritual center for over 70 years, before the congregation dissolved last November due to dwindling membership numbers.

The modest church building is in a well-established residential neighborhood, with homes bordering all sides of the property.

In its place is being proposed the “Mountainview Family Center,” which would consist of an ice cream shop and event center, according to plans recently submitted to the borough Zoning Hearing Board. The board is scheduled to hear an appeal related to the proposal on Wednesday, July 16 at 6:30 p.m. at Borough Hall. According to a zoning office notice displayed at the church property, the owner–identified as Mountainview Moravian Church Inc.–is asking to “convert the existing use of a church into a standard restaurant and community center” as well as for a parking requirement variance and for “an interpretation of the proposed continued use of the property as a lawful, pre-existing and non-conforming use.”

According to a Mountainview Moravian Church Inc. press release about the plans, the Mountainview Family Center would benefit the community as a place that provides employment to individuals with different abilities and retirees.

Above, a press release exuberantly describes plans for the proposed Mountainview Family Center in Hellertown.

“Our mission is to establish a welcoming and inclusive space that promotes family connections, encourages community involvement and offers meaningful workforce development opportunities,” it said.

The family center would achieve these goals by operating an ice cream shop called Scoops of Joy and a “dedicated family event space.” According to the release, the ice cream shop would feature a glass-walled observation area and an “immersive ice cream experience room…for birthday parties, ice cream flavor creation nights, small group events and community youth events.” There are also plans to build an addition that would serve as “an additional venue for community events,” it stated.

“The applicant sort of tries to conceal their purpose by calling themselves a ‘family center,’ but there is nothing family, and there’s nothing community-oriented about what they do, because this is a for-profit enterprise,” said Jayne Shinko, who lives near the church property.

“There is nothing in the state documents that says it’s a non-profit,” she told council. “It’s not affiliated with the church to the best of my knowledge, it is not a successor or arm of the church to the best of my knowledge, or at least there is nothing in the paperwork produced to date to say that they are church-affiliated, related or have any public purpose at all.”

Shinko said she is concerned about the size and scope of the proposed venue, which would host weddings and other events.

“As an event facility, there is nothing in the liquor code that prevents staff from having a BYOB event or affair,” she said. “The facility can allow people to bring in booze for any time for any event with minimal supervision. The liquor code allows boroughs to pass ordinances or to regulate that use, and that’s what I’m asking you to consider.”

Mary Van Gieson, a borough resident and church neighbor for the past two years, told council she is concerned about the potential increase in traffic an ice cream shop and event center could generate.

“Especially on Constitution (Avenue)…all of the kids that can’t take the bus are walking to and from school…and (because of) all of the other activities, (such as) the (Saucon Valley) farmers market…adding to commercial traffic in that area just seems like a very bad idea, and I would hate for my family to have to move again,” she said. “If it comes down to it, whatever council can do to stop that variance from happening would make me and pretty much everyone I’ve spoken with in my immediate neighborhood very happy.”

The former Mountainview Moravian Church property in Hellertown is the subject of a redevelopment proposal. The borough’s zoning hearing board is set to consider variance requests for a plan to turn the building into an ice cream shop and event center known as the Mountainview Family Center.

Council president Tom Rieger responded to the concerns raised by Van Gieson and Shinko.

“The zoning hearing board is an independent, quasi-judicial body that is ruling on the variance, so in this particular zoning case, (the applicant is) not asking for zoning changes; they’re going for a variance in front of that semi-quasi-independent judicial body that makes a decision on the variance,” he said.

Rieger said the July 16 hearing is open to the public, and that there will be an opportunity for objectors to testify at it.

“The zoning hearing board has the option of debating in public or private,” Rieger added. “They do not have to make a decision that night; they can schedule another meeting for a time in the future. They have 45 days from the hearing to make a decision, so it may not happen that night, but that would be the process.”

The Hellertown Zoning Hearing Board meeting will be held in the council meeting room on the second floor of Borough Hall as well as livestreamed on Zoom (meeting ID: 899 6472 8465, passcode: 2025). Residents who wish to review documents related to the appeal beforehand can do so by contacting borough zoning officer Terri Fadem at 610-838-7041.