City Ave. Zoning at Top of Agenda for Building & Planning Meeting

Wednesday evening’s meeting of the Lower Merion Township Building & Planning Committee promises to be a lively one, as the creation of two new zoning districts, grouped together as the City Avenue District, is considered.

A month ago, the City Avenue rezoning project generated a heated public debate but ended with no vote from the Building and Planning Committee on whether to recommend that the Board of Commissioners authorize a public hearing on the issue.

The project involves an ordinance proposing use changes along City Avenue in Bala Cynwyd to  increase commercial development. In the month hence, the committee said it would hold informal meetings with any Lower Merion civic association that wanted to discuss concerns about the rezoning.

Thirteen members of the public spoke for and against the project at the committee’s April 13 meeting, during which Janet Giuliani, a board member of the City Avenue Special Services District, said businesses are leaving Bala Cynwyd for other communities.

Spring Avenue Project for Ardmore

The committee is also expected to discuss a preliminary land development plan for 15 E. Spring Avenue in Ardmore. 

The applicant and the property’s owner, Pennington Real Estate Partnership, is seeking approval for the demolition of a 2½ story, 1,982 square-foot office building and garage, along with the construction of a 4,950 square-foot garage and stormwater management seepage bed.

Updated Residential Rehab Booklet

Not on the agenda for the meeting but on a related note, the township's Community Development Division of the Building and Planning Department has completed an updated Residential Rehabilitation Guidelines booklet, now available on the Township's website, here.

This guide “was designed to help citizens better understand the Township’s participation in the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, the types of CDBG programs the Township offers, and how residential revitalization can benefit our low- to moderate-income homeowners,” according to a statement from the township.