The next stop for PREIT’s proposed zoning text amendment will be the Land Use Committee. Up for discussion will be the proposed zoning text amendment submitted by PREIT for consideration. This amendment makes modifications to the Business Center (BC) Willow Grove Zoning District that would allow for transit-oriented development (in this case, multi-family residential development) within 2500’ of a train station.
Currently, the Township has five BC Zoning Districts- BC Willow Grove (the district in question), BC Noble (adjacent to Old York Road at Noble Train Station), BC Foxcroft (Old York Road at the Pavilion), BC Abington Towne Center (in the area of Target), and BC Huntingdon Valley Shopping Center, in the eastern half of the township. Three of these five allow for a residential use- BC Noble, BC Foxcroft, and BC Abington Towne Center. The question before us is to consider whether residential use should be allowed at the Willow Grove Park Mall, and if so, what are the parameters- how many units per acre, what are the setbacks, what are the height limitations, etc.
The text amendment process is not the only off-ramp in consideration of this project, but given precedents set in the other BC zoning districts, it is a conversation worth having. Within the text amendment, a Conditional Use approval has been proposed:
Use H-13: Transit Oriented Apartment/Condominium Building. A Transit Oriented Apartment/Condominium Building [Use H-13] is a multifamily residential Apartment/Condominium Building or Buildings, each containing at least three, separate Dwelling Units, arranged in a variety of combinations, including side by side, over and under, or back and forth with another dwelling unit. A Transit Oriented Apartment/Condominium Building or Buildings shall be a permitted use within BC-Business Center District: Willow Grove Park, subject to the Developer/Applicant obtaining conditional use approval for such use in accordance with Section 1806 of the Zoning Ordinance.
This is the second off ramp for the project. A conditional use is basically what it sounds- an approval conditioned upon certain parameters set forth by the Board of Commissioner that are in line with the intents of the Zoning Code. Per the Municipalities Planning Code (MPC):
Uses, which could be provided as conditional uses rather than as special exceptions, are often those uses that could have a direct effect upon the lives of all persons within the community. Some examples of such land uses are airports, paper manufacturing plants, or land fills. Such uses would be specifically listed under the various districts, and to use land for any of these purposes a conditional use application would have to be filed. The governing body would then have the opportunity to thoroughly examine the proposal and to impose any reasonable safeguards necessary to implement the purposes of the ordinance and to protect the public’s general welfare.
Our third and final off ramp is the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (SALDO) approval. SALDO includes discussions of stormwater management, parks and recreation, and some technical aspects of the project. If Zoning is the “where” portion of the approvals process, then SALDO is the “how”. How is the project sited, how is parking handled, how is stormwater management handled, how is green space handled?
Previously:
This past week, the Economic Development Committee met to discuss two agenda items- a grant for Razzi Radiators right here in North Hills, and the proposed apartments at the Willow Grove Park Mall.
I would like to express my gratitude to the EDC for granting the grant to Razzi Radiators, a long standing business in North Hills. It is important that we do whatever we can to support small business in Abington, and to see a small business in North Hills win this grant was… well, it was gratifying. Our small community is nothing without successful business, and its important to support those businesses. If you are a small business in North Hills and want to apply for a grant from the Economic Development Committee to make improvements that benefit our streetscape, please click the link below.
At last week’s meeting, proposed development of apartments at the Willow Grove Park Mall was also discussed. The EDC requested certain information from PREIT, the landowner, as well as their developer partner, which they hope to discuss at a special meeting of the Committee on October 12, starting at 7:30 am.
Information from this past week’s discussion can be found at the button below, although no meeting minutes are available yet.
Additionally, PREIT has built a new website regarding proposed apartments at the mall. That website can be found at the button below.