Harrisburg City Planning Commission Meeting - November 6th, 2024

me order at approximately

635 uh Commissioners the uh September

5th and October 2nd M minutes

will uh probably be on the agenda at our

next meeting so we'll move on

on under old business this is a special

exception application for 27 43 North

Front Street this is Zone RF it's filed

by Justin

Hershey with first tourist home buyers

is to establish a Supportive Housing

facility on

site uh yes so the um applicants were uh

instructed by uh Commissioners uh at the

September meeting uh to re-engage the

community uh before coming back and then

there was some miscommunication uh

between myself and the applicants as far

as um the October meeting so they're

back here now um and I think they can

probably speak to the public engagement

that they did conduct that was requested

uh by the Commissioners um I believe

that was the one kind of outstanding

aspect that the that the Commissioners

wanted to hear from the applicants on

okay could you state your name address

and relation ship to the

project okay um you heard the staff and

U any requests from the Commissioners

did you can you fill us in yeah

definitely so yeah like said that was my

bad I totally Miss

I appreciate

the we took that recommendation that you

all had was to go ahead and um engage we

did that s out we actually four people

show up for

our took the time answer any

questions was

as and by end of they all ful on board

and um supporting what we want to do at

the building um and continue that

special exception um for the support of

did you want to add anything

um no okay Commissioners I no questions

um if you um have anything

Commissioners no I think we yeah pretty

much deliberated it the last time and

it's just a matter of getting the uh you

know the public engagement it' be

interesting to see if there's anybody

from the public here to talk about

it commissioner Reed although I wasn't

that the September meeting I did read

the application so I'm good with the

public engagement

aspect commissioner

M no I don't have anything additional

I'd be interested to hear if the public

has anything to say okay um if there's

anyone from the public for against this

project um please stand and state your

name and address and I'll start to my

left go to the

middle and to my right

okay this

meeting was

positive I think a motion we approve

where the conditions I don't have the I

don't uh yes so there are conditions

um yes the only condition was that uh

the applicant will provide the planing

Bureau with all federal state and County

licenses of the facility operator to

ensure that the proposed uses and

conforms with the applicable specific

criter

yeah light of the fact there's no public

here to complain or anything I'm no

reason not to make a motion to approve

with conditions is there a

second all second this been moved and

second for approval of this project with

the conditions all those in favor state

by saying I I oppos extensions motion

carried good

luck under new business um this is a

zoning map Amendment application for 640

a street this is Zone I and d f by Poet

Walker to change or parcel zoning

designation to the residential medium

density

Zone uh yes so the applicant is seeking

uh an amendment to the official zoning

map in order to change the partiel

zoning designation from the industrial

Zone to the residential medium density

Zone uh the property at 64 y Street is a

.11 acre lot featuring a 1 and 1 half

story 1294 ft structure which was

constructed Circ 1966 the property is

bounded by the property at 650 alri

Street to the north and west the

property at 6 or sorry 651 alri Street

to the north and west the property at

650 alri Street to the East and alri

Street to the west or to the South uh

this detached structure features

elements of vernacular architectural

style character defining features

include the varied brick and vinyl

siding facade these small porches at the

front rear entrances and the detached

shed in the rear yard the main entryway

features a panel door with a single

frame fronted by a 3/4 view storm door

and set in a simple frame is access by A

short flight of concrete stairs and a

concrete porch the rear entrance

features a similar door fronted with a

half view storm door and access via

short flight of wooden steps and a

wooden porch penetration also includes

12 one over one Windows around the

building most are individual with there

being one set of paired Windows

structure features a gabled roof clad

and asphalt shingles property primarily

features a maintained grass yard with

decorative planings around the base of

the building and a narrow concrete

walkway to the front entrance enclosed

by a 4ft high chain link fence uh

enclosing the front side and rear yards

as a small detached structure with a

sizable yard the property differs

somewhat from the residential row home

character of the neighborhood to the

South and significantly from the

industrial properties to the north and

east thus it does not contribute to the

architectural character of the

streetscape and neighborhood uh the

planning Bureau staff recommends that

the request be approved for the

following reasons the subject property

is adjacent to and representative of um

Residential Properties to the South

which are in the residential medium

density zoning District meaning that

uses permitted by the new zoning

District would not be contrary to the

character of the neighborhood and would

include those which could likewise which

could otherwise be established in

adjacent properties uh the property

appears to have been incorrectly zoned

as industrial by previous City staff and

era propagated during the 2014 review

and Adoption of the current zoning code

and map uh the property is and always

has been res itial yet the current Zing

designation would not permit such use by

right and finally the applicant has

provided evidence and testimony

documenting that the current industrial

zoning designation inverse adversely

impacts the value and salability of the

property thank you Jeff could you take

your name address and relationship to

the project my name is Carrie Lloyd my

address is 3503 Green Street in harbur

17110 the

for the owner she had a procedure done

had physical therapy and

wasn't okay uh you heard the staff

report did you want to add anything to

it um Commissioners um I have no

questions at this time we'll start with

commission all right yeah I guess I know

sooner tell you there's always

conditions we get when it doesn't have

conditions so Jeffrey this is just

primarily just to correct an error that

my understanding uh yeah uh this

property and the one next to it at 650

AR Street are also are both located in

the industrial district uh that or that

property owner hasn't come forward to

request something like this uh but if

they did you know we'd have a similar

approach to this it was likely that you

know whoever was creating the maps back

when the initial zoning uh map and code

were developed in 2008 to 2010 just

looop these in accidentally and so they

got kind of propagated forward with the

2014 adoption all right is there are we

permitted to or is there any reason not

to just go ahead and prove the other one

also uh well there hasn't been requested

so do we need a request or I I would

imagine you'd have to have a property

owner requests that to to change their

Zoning for I they may want to sell it as

an industrial property yeah all right

yeah yeah it's no brain

room commissioner re no questions

commissioner

no I don't have any questions

this is there anyone from the public for

against this project and again I'll

start to my

left middle to

right Commissioners this is pretty

straightforward could I get a

motion is there a second second it's

been moved to Second for approval this

project um all those in favor state by

saying I I I oppose exstension motion

Carri good

Lu this is item number three um this is

a special exception for 1100 North 6

Street which is Zone RM

is f by uh Gary Britton with Harrisburg

Quaker Meeting and it's to replace the

existing freestanding sign with a larger

freestanding

sign yes uh so the applicant is

proposing to relocate and install a new

freestanding sign in the northeastern

corner of the property which will

increase non-conforming aspects of the

existing signage related to height from

approximately 4 and 1/2 ft to 6 feet and

size from approximately 7t squet to 12T

F feet uh it should be noted that the

existing freestanding sign is also a

legal non-conforming aspect as such

signage is not permitted by right in the

RM zoning District property 1100 North 6

Street is comprised of two separate

properties uh 1100 North 6 Street and

111 Capital Street um and is a 1.22 acre

lot featuring a three-story 3749 ft

structure constructed in

1965 although there appear to have been

more modern additions on the northern

and western elevations in the following

decades project site is bounded by the

property at 111 or 1111 Capital Street

to the north and west North 6 Street to

the East and H Street to the South this

attached structure features elements of

a vernacular architectural style

character defining features include the

brick facade its divided light wooden

windows the multiple entrances with

brick Stoops and metal railings the

peace meal editions and The prominent

chimney at the Northern end of the

building there are multiple entrances on

the Northern and Eastern elevations of

the building although the main entryway

appears to be the one in the

northeastern corner it features a panel

door with two vertical panes flanked by

a half View sidelight and is accessed by

a concrete path and sheltered by a large

awning two entrances on the Eastern

elevation feature a similar design

although there are no pains and both are

sheltered by large gabled awnings clad

and shingles penetration around the

original wooden structure features

around the original structure features

wooden divided light Windows those in

the newer editions tend to be picture

windows are paired windows with molans

structure appears to be topped with a

gabled roof clad and asphalt shingles

the grounds are wellmaintained featuring

mostly grass with some larger mature

trees and decorative Landscaping portion

of the rear yard along her street is

enclosed by a 4ot high white vinyl fence

property differs significantly from the

context of the surrounding neighborhood

in the style and layout of the buildings

in site but is similar to the Housing

Development to the north and west thus

the project make the property makes a

minor contribution to the architectural

character of the

neighborhood the planning Bureau staff

recommends that the request be approved

with the following conditions

the applicant will ensure that the sign

must be installed at least 5T from the

property line along North 6 Street and

that's to be in conformance with an

aspect of the zoning code uh and then

the applicant uh the planning Bureau

staff recommends the request to be

approved for the following reasons the

applicant has met their burden of proof

demonstrating the special exception

request should be approved by the zoning

hearing board although the existing sign

is legally non-conforming its height and

size are similar to regulatory

allowances for other types of signs in

the RM district and the proposed sign

does not significantly increase these

aspects uh given the context of the

installation site with the proposed sign

located along a large Frontage and

across the street from a large

internally illuminated freestanding sign

that was approved earlier this year at

the Ben Franklin School it is reasonable

to conclude that the prop the proposed

sign will not create adverse impacts on

surrounding Properties or be contrary to

the general character of the

neighborhood and finally the proposed

sign will be more conspicuous and better

identify both the applicant's location

as well as the vehicular entry point

helping to provide safer traffic

circulation for visitors and the General

Public thanks de could you state your

name address and relationships from the

project my name is Gary Brenton I live

at

105 Drive in Harrisburg

17110 I am a member of and

representative for the Harrisburg

Quakers also known as the Harrisburg

monthly meeting of the Society of

Friends okay you heard the staff Report

with the one condition are you

acceptable of that condition the one

condition is the setback of 5T from from

the six Street property line okay have

no problem

that um staff again I think this is

straightforward but I have no questions

so um Can two questions no questions I

have no problem with it commissioner re

I have no questions commissioner I do

have a couple questions um I mean I I

assume this is probably straightforward

I was just curious about um

Jeff you're in your write up it's saying

from approximately 4 and a half feet to

six feet and

then from seven square feet to 12 and in

this narrative that the applicant gave

it says the sign would be approximately

4 feet by six feet so where did you

there's a discrepancy here on the sides

of the sign so they noted that the sign

would be similar to the freestanding

sign for the cumland court departments

and their own sign in which case the

height of the sign um in those cases

might be uh six it might be 6x4 feet for

the whole sign but the zoning code

actually only includes the signage face

so I presumed it would be two posts with

um a sign board between them in a very

similar sit format to both Common Core

departments and their existing sign and

that occupied about uh half of that area

do you have of any sort of image visual

of what the sign's going to be we didn't

know what the

designated size might be from this spe

we can certainly adjust the

size okay I would recommend it for the

zoning hearing board meeting to have an

example or a firm I can do that

depiction of of what you're proposing

for this sign because they'll probably

have questions about what actual looks

like and the height and you know

everything um

that's it yeah no other

questions okay again going to the public

is anyone or against this if they are

please stand I'll still my left and my

center and my

right okay commissioner as I said before

it's pretty straightforward could I get

a

motion I move to approve with the

conditions as stated is there a second

no second it's been moved a second

approval with the one condition all

those in favor state by saying I I oppos

abstention car good

luck item number four this is a Vance

and special exception for 25 37 North F

Street Zone I s

institutional is fed by Mike Schultz

with RPM signs and lighting to install

internal special exception but I think

it's just a variance it's it's just a

variance sorry

that just as a correction

I had variance a special exception for

all of these but I think I just copied

and pasted so it's supposed to be a

variance apologies okay item number four

this is a variance for 2537 no F Street

Zone

RNs by mik

Schultz with RPM signs of lighting is to

install internally illuminated

freestanding sign along the north Fifth

Street Front Frontage of the property

that is larger and taller than pered by

right uh so the applicant is proposing

to install a new internally illuminated

freestanding sign which requires relief

from three aspects of the signage

regulations regarding height size and

illumination The Proposal requires

approval of three variant is for a sign

larger uh 33.3 ft then permitted by

Wright which is 8 squ ft a sign taller

7.3 fet um then permitted by right which

is 4 feet and an internally illuminated

sign uh the property at 2537 North Fifth

Street is a 2.41 acre lot featuring a 63

63,64 ft building which was constructed

Circ 1960 but was substantially improved

last year when the building was reopened

property is bounded by rner Street to

the north Finn alley to the east reals

Lane to the South and North Fifth Street

to the West this three-story detached

structure features elements of the art M

architectural style character defining

features include the large horizontal

massing of the structure the modern

additions and reconstruction throughout

the building envelope brick facade with

decorative brick embellishments the

concrete water table caps bands and

adornments throughout the building and

The prominent awning with large

lettering steel ele Over The Faculty

entrance off reels Lane there are

entrances throughout the building in a

variety of materials and designs most of

the recently constructed entrances

feature full view metal double doors set

within simple frames and topped with PL

glass transoms four of the original

entrances two at the front and two at

the back of the building are recessed

within substantial brick porticos that

feature concrete adornments and are

topped with concrete panels penetration

throughout the building generally

features modern replacement windows in a

variety of sizes and configurations all

are divided light metal windows and some

appear to be double hung there are seven

two-story arched Windows along the front

elevation featuring concrete Sills

arched brick headers and decorative

concrete keystones and Associated

adornments structure appears to be

topped with flat rubber roofs the

grounds are generally well-maintained

and feature mostly well-maintained grass

Lawns with large mature trees along the

western and southern frontages of the

building there are two playgrounds in

the southwestern and Northern portions

of the property the front and sidey

yards are enclosed by 4ot high aluminum

fence parking for staff is provided in

two parking lots along the Eastern and

Southern portions of the building the

building is characteristic of historic

neighborhood schools with a massing

design that differs significantly from

much of the surrounding residential

neighborhood and a lower density setting

featuring a substantial building setback

play areas and expanses of grass Lawns

the building retains much of its

original integrity and the modern

alterations have been done in a manner

that complements the historic structure

while the property does not share much

if any architectural similarities with

the surrounding blocks of row homes it

does make a unique historic and

architectural contribution to the

neighborhood the planning Bureau staff

recommends that the request be approved

with the following conditions any

electronic messages displayed on the

proposed sign will conform to the

regulations in section 7-

32511 of the zoning code regarding light

and glare and prohibited electronically

changing messages and the applicant W

short of the sign must be installed at

least 5et from the property line along

North Fifth Street planning Bureau staff

recommends the request be approved for

the following reasons the signage is

consistent with the size height and

illumination of existing signage of

signage existing at or proposed four

other facilities owned by the Harrisburg

School District ensuring consistency and

messaging across all of its properties

the sign signage will be situated to

face Northbound traffic on North fth

Street and configured to minimize or

eliminate any potential impacts on

adjacent res Residential Properties and

finally the property currently features

no exterior signage which allows the

school district to convey information to

the general public parents and children

the proposed sign will be able to convey

more information about educational and

Community programs activities and

services and enhanced communication

between the school district and the

general public thank you J could you

state your name address and relationship

to um to the project still with my right

hi John re I'm the chief of operations

for the Harrisburg School District 1010

North 7

Street Mike Schultz RPM signs um I guess

I don't know if everybody can get to the

microphone it's been recorded okay U

Mike Schultz with RPM

signs Matt farer with M

Signs gentlemen heard the report with

the two conditions are you acceptable of

those

conditions did you see the condition or

hear the

condition uh basically yeah conformant

with uh the light and glare um

regulations of the zoning code and

digital messaging

yes okay I guess my one concern was the

uh since it's a Vance on here um

especially with the illumination of the

sign and moving um although it's with

the other ones like on Sixth Street but

the ones on like Sixth Street there's no

neighborhood I know along Fifth Street

there are residents along that way um is

there any concern there Jeff um not

really this uh we use as a a template

for this uh case report the approval

granted uh for 13 13 oh sorry 301 hail

Avenue um uh which I think the Marshall

School uh which is a similar situation

where uh you have a front yard um across

from in that case uh it's apartment

buildings as opposed to the duplexes

that are across the street from this

location um and as noted in the case

report the uh sign will be installed

perpendicular to the roadway so that any

glare will go up and down the road as

opposed to cross it into those uh

residences

okay okay

that's only questions I have at this

time commissioner you have any concerns

or questions no concerns no questions uh

commission re no questions commission

Merck no questions I I'd point out I

don't think there's any existing real

signage at this school to begin with so

it certainly makes sense to add

something you know identifying it so

thank

you um I I'll go to the public again is

anyone for against this project or

signage start to my

left Center and one person to my right

okay commissioner I guess this is

straightforward too so could I get a

motion motion to approve with condition

is there a second I'll second it's been

moved a second for approval with the two

conditions all those in favor state by

say I I oppose OB motion carries

thank

you uh the item number five this is is

this the only a variance je uh yeah it's

only the next two are only variances

okay this is a VAR

are for 1701 North 6

Street Zone i s is f by Mike schz with

RPM signs of lighting and is to install

internally illuminated wall signage that

is larger and more numerous that

permitted by writing yeah uh yes so the

applicant is proposing to install three

new internally illuminated wall signs

which requires relief from three aspects

of the signage regulations regarding

number size and elimination proposal

requires approval of three variances for

uh more signs three than permitted by

right which is one uh signs larger uh

than permitted by right and that's an

88.7 foot sign a 103.6 foot sign and a

105t sign uh and permitted by WR is 10

square feet uh and internally

illuminated signs the property at 1701

North 6th Street is a 0.9 acre lot

featuring a

69580 ft building which was originally

constructed in 1909 with more recent

additions having been added in 1937 and

1952 property is bounded by Granite

Street to the north Wallace Street to

the East Hamilton Street to the South

and North 6th Street to the West three

story detached structure features

elements of the Romanesque Revival and

Greek AR Greek Revival architectural

Styles character defining features

include the large horizontal Ming of the

structure the decorative brick

embellishment such as coins on the

historic structure which are reflected

in the modern additions The Brownstone

water table and band of the historic

structure The prominent entrance with

two simple door supporting an ornate

pediment featuring dentals a stone carou

and the name of the school the

decorative balcony on the third floor

featuring ornate fluted brackets and

wide turn spindles the differentiated

the regular fenestration pattern on the

historic building in the modern editions

and the substantial decorative wooden

cornet with large dentals on top the

third floor there are entrances

throughout the building in a variety of

materials and Designs although most

along the front uh the Western elevation

and side Southern elevations are full

View and half view Meadow doors with

plate top of PL glass

transoms those are the other the other

elevations those on the other elevations

are primarily solid metal doors

penetration throughout the building

generally features metal plate glass and

awning windows topped with metal panels

set in a variety of configurations most

notable penetration features are the

openings on the front and side

elevations of the historic structure

which feature Spade Brownstone headers

some of which have keystones on the

first and second floors Windows the

structure appears to be topped with a

flat white metal roof

the property otherwise features minimal

Landscaping in the entrance Courtyard

which is enclosed by an 8ot high

decorative metal fence and a maintained

grass lawn with a large mature tree

enclosed by a 4ot high chainlink fence

on the Southeastern Corner small

playground with a basketball court and a

hardscaped play area occupies

approximately half of the block to the

east the building is characteristic of

historic neighborhood schools with a

Massi and design that differs

significantly from much of the

surrounding neighborhood only remnants

of which exist as many of the

surrounding blocks are vacant due to

large scale in the 1970s and

1980s the historic building retains some

of its original Integrity although many

of the modern alterations such as

Windows appear to be historically

inappropriate while the property does

not share many similarities to the with

the surrounding built environment it

does make a unique historic

architectural and cultural contribution

to the neighborhood and the corridor

along which it

sits the planning Bureau staff

recommends the request be approved with

the following conditions any electronic

messages displayed on the proposed sign

will conform to the regulations in

section 7-325 11 of the zoning code

regarding light and glare and prohibited

electronically changing messages

planning Bureau staff recommends the

request be approved for the following

reasons given the lack of an existing of

any existing signage on site is

reasonable to install signage larger

more numerous and more conspicuous to

identify the site and communicate with

the public the context of the

installation site with the wall signs fa

facing vacant lots and buildings

mitigates potential impacts on the

surrounding Community due to the

internal illumination and finally the

property currently features Obsolete and

insufficient signage for the school

district to convey information to the

general public parents and children post

sign will be able to convey more

information about educational and

Community programs activities and

services and enhanced communication

between the school district and the

general public yeah thank you J um

gentlemen you heard the staff report um

with be one conditions are you

acceptable of that condition yes

okay um I have no questions

Commissioners but you may have and we so

what commission all to yeah uh actually

quite both of these deviations are

pretty significant but for Harrisburg

High School I have no problem with it

so favor Comm re I have a question for

Jeff they're requesting three signs are

you approving one uh no this is the

approval for all three signes yeah the

approval um the planning bureau's uh

recommendation covers all three SS okay

that's it commission meric no I don't I

don't have any questions I mean while it

is a a significant deviation in a a typ

you know signage but since it's for the

purpose of a school that doesn't have

much identification to begin with in

that you know existing building um it

makes a lot of sense so all in

favor again I'll go to the public uh who

for against the project or the signage

um

start with my

left middle and the

right again another straightfor it and I

got

approval motion to approve with

conditions I'll second it's been moved

in second to approve the signage with

the one condition all those in favor

state by saying I I

oppos Obion motion

Carri thank you

okay this is item number six this is a

barrance for 1601 stage street it's Zone

i s it's by Mike Schultz with rmp RPM

sign and lighting to install internally

illuminated wall signage that is larger

and more numerous that committ it by

right uh the applean is proposing to

install five new internally illuminated

wall signs which requires relief from

three aspects of the signage regulations

regarding number size and illumination

The Proposal requires approval of three

variances for uh more signs uh than

permitted by right five versus one uh

signs larger than permitted by right um

the by R permission is 10 sare ft the

proposed signs are 26.5 ft 72.3 ft

132.0 ft and two of them are 36 ft uh

and internally illuminated signs the

property at 1601 State Street is a 1.12

acre lot featuring a

5786 ft building which was constructed

Circ 1900 although it is evident that

more recent additions have been

constructed uh

recently the property is bounded by

State Street to the north North 17th

Street to the East Elm Street to the

South and North 16th Street to the West

this three and one half story detached

structure features elements of the

Romanesque Revival and colonial revival

architectural Styles character defining

features include the large horizontal

massing of the structure the

differentiated brick facade between the

historic building and newer additions

the decorative brick embellishments on

the historic structure The Brownstone

water table coins bands and Window and

Door surrounds the Deep wooden cornice

with brackets around the historic

structure and The prominent decorative

dormers on all four roof elevations

their entrances throughout the building

and a variety of materials and Design

mainly featuring Metal Solid and full

view door doors including the main

entrance on State Street which features

a full view metal doors topped with PL

glass transoms and fled flanked with

infill sidel lights most if not all of

the historic doors have been removed and

two of the three historic entryways on

the front elevation have been infilled

with Brownstone blocks and modern

Windows penetration throughout the

building generally features metal awning

windows topped with metal panels and set

in side by-side configurations the one

exception is is the gy asium Edition on

the Eastern end of the building which

features 16 narrow vertical Windows

comprised of glass block panes 15 of

which have small metal casement windows

at the bottom most notable penetration

features are the openings on the front

elevation of the historic structure

which primarily feature Spade brick and

Brownstone headers with the Brownstone

keystones on the second and third floor

Windows the historic structure appears

to be tapped with an asphalt shingled

maner roof and a flat metal roof while

the newer editions appear topped with

flat metal roofs the property other wise

features minimal Landscaping along the

front and side elevations with a small

playground in the southwestern Corner

parking for staff is provided in a

parking lot encompassing most of the

rear yard and enclosed by a 6 fo High

aluminum fence there is a similarly

designed accessory parking lot across

Elm Street to the South the building is

characteristic of historic neighborhood

schools with Massy and design that diff

significantly from much of the

surrounding residential neighborhood

although it does share height and design

elements with the 3 and 1 half story

semi-detached residence to the north

other nearby properties includ

institutional uses a church a former

charter school and a fire station and

Commercial uses a gas station the

building retains some of its original

integrity and the modern alterations

have been constructed in a manner that

does not significantly detract from the

historic structure but are conspicuously

differentiated while the property does

not share many similarities with the

surrounding built environment it does

make a unique historic architectural and

cultural contribution to the

neighborhood and Corridor along which it

sits uh planning Bureau staff recommends

the request be approved with the

following conditions any electronic

messages displayed on the proposed sign

will conform to the regulations in

section 7-

32511 of the zoning code regarding light

and glare and prohibited electronically

CH changing messages and the applicant

will only install one of the proposed

electronic message center boards the

plan Bureau notes that the proposed

signage um significantly exceeds the

allowances for permitted signage in the

ins District uh and that there is no

justification for two such signs and

that the signage proposal for a similar

corner property on our major route at

1701 North 6 Street the property we just

reviewed only includes one such sign

plan Bureau staff recommends the request

be approved for the following reasons

given the lack of any existing signage

on site and the recent establishment or

expansion of an educational campus not

just offices on site it is reasonable to

install signage larger more numerous and

more conspicuous to identify the site

and communicate with the public the

context of the installation site with

the wall signs facing a church and a

former charter school and the nearest

residents sitting approximately 200 ft

away diagonally across a large

intersection mitigates potential impacts

on the surrounding Community due to the

internal illum

illumination uh and finally the property

currently features no exterior signage

which allows the school district to

convey information to the general public

parents and children the proposed sign

will be able to convey more information

about educational Community programs

activities and services and enhance

communication between the school

district and general public

okay gentleman you heard the staff

Report with the two conditions are you

except all those

conditions yeah so just just for clarity

the

the screen on State Street is okay um I

mean I figured that would be up to um

you all to which one you'd want but I

assumed the one on State Street be the

one you'd prefer to keep yeah it's fine

okay um I probably missed it this uh

point but um I was wondering where are

you actually placing the three signs on

the

building placing the which

sign where where you're placing the two

signs you want to talk to that

corner small

building it's like first story and then

it goes up to a second story

so I know there's a side on 16th or 15th

Street of the building I don't know if

you got oh

no

okay okay that's my question

Commissioners you have any concerns or

questions and commission old to did did

the school district get to win the

lottery or something like the most money

I've seen them spent if they completed

the construction out there not okay you

must not

be uh don't believe them but we

are we are trying to improve the image

of the district uh we're also trying to

create some you know some some

modernness to uh to the school district

as well in terms of its image and uh you

know its identity that's good to hear I

can get behind that uh did the school

district didn't they just relocate some

administration offices out there maybe

within the last couple years we did we

moved administrators from several

buildings that we were out to to the

building at 1010 North 7th Street that

we recently purchased okay so they

didn't get relocated to this building

the Lincoln Elementary we we pulled uh

staff out of Lincoln Elementary and

relocated them to 1010 North

Center all right yeah I'm all in favor

uh commissioner greed I have no

questions commissioner

mer yeah I I do have another question um

we cleared up the the Dual electronic

messaging I'm good with the State Street

side selection um regarding the I guess

it's called the cougar Cloud signs with

sort of that three dimension 3D signage

portion um what is that M what is that

made of what's the material that's used

to make this 3D sign coming

out okay so fairly light it's a fairly

light then yeah right right so the the

securing of it you can just anchor it on

to like right CU like you said you're

working within that inset of the

building you can anchor it within

yeah yeah

yeah so is it the only thing I was

trying to Envision is is this the

actually overhanging off the

building it is it's coming off

okay okay just there to scoop up

children that are misbehaving all right

hopefully that thing doesn't fall off

and you know K okay okay um yeah no that

that's it thank you

okay um going to the public again are

you for against this signage um start to

my left

met all

right

again straightforward Commissioners can

I get a

motion motion to approve with conditions

is there a second second moved and

second for approval of the two for the

signage uh with the two conditions all

those in favor state by say I I

opposed extensions motion carried thank

you I think we're pished

right last sign

one this is item number seven with this

is a special reception for 262 North

Street which Zone commercial

neighborhood CN Tri By Conrad Rudy with

s real estate and to expand existing

non-conformity aspect of the site the

density by adding an additional unit in

the

basement uh so yes the applicant is

proposing to expand the existing 3unit

multif family dwelling through the

establishment of a fourth unit in the

basement because the property is legally

non-conforming with respect to the

density a special exception is required

to expand this non-conforming aspect per

section 7- 3214 B of the zoning code

property at 262 North Street is a 08

acre lot featuring a 2568 foot structure

which was constructed in

1872 property is bounded by Oliver

Street to the North Oliver alley to the

north uh the property is a 264 North

Street and 700 north3 Street to the East

North Street and the property is at 258

and 260 North Street to the the South

and ssan Street in the property at 260

North Street to the West this

three-story attached structure features

elements of the Italian 8 architectural

style character defining features

include the painted brick facade the

metal grates over the basement windows

the small wooden porch and and access

stairs and metal fire escape on the rear

elevation and the decorative brick

Cornus above the third floor the main

entrance features a wooden panel door

with a brass kickplate topped with a

simple transom it is accessed by a

concrete stoop with a short set of

concrete stairs and metal railings the

rear entrance features a half view

divided light door fronted by a half

view storm door accessed by a small

wooden porch and steps penetration also

includes six one over one wooden windows

fronted by aluminum storm windows on the

front elevation there are six windows on

the rear elevation those on the first

floor appear to be six over six wind

wooden windows while those on the Upper

Floor floors are one over one the

structure is topped with a flat rubber

roof as a middle unit in a row of seven

attached how homes Five of which appear

to have been constructed together the

property reflects the architectural

elements of the surrounding buildings

and retains much of its Integrity thus

the property contributes to the historic

and and Architectural character of the

streetscape and

neighborhood the planning Bureau staff

recommends that the request be approved

with the following conditions uh the

applicant must coordinate with the codes

Bureau on any building code requirements

such as sprinkling the basement unit or

providing two code compliant exterior

egresses uh any proposed exterior

alterations must be submitted to the

planning Bureau for review to ascertain

whether they require harb approval of a

certificate of appropriateness

application planing Bureau staff

recommends the request be approved for

the following reasons planing Bureau

notes that if the property were slightly

larger the request would require zhb

approval of a variance uh request and it

is that is unlikely that such a request

would be justifiable however because the

existing three unit configuration is

legally non-conforming the establishment

of an additional unit only requires a

special exception uh and because the

neighborhood features a variety of uses

including commercial institutional and

residential units of varying intensity

the proposed additional unit will likely

have a negligible impact on the

community thank you Jeff could you state

your name address and relationship to

the project certainly my name is Conrad

Rudy I'm a partner in seven real estate

um seven owns the property um our

address is 2939 Maple Road campill

Pennsylvania um you heard the staff

report uh with the two conditions are

you acceptable of those conditions yes

sir um and I'm sure you're going to do

this looking at the photo of the

basement I'm sure you're going to

renovate that and 100% because it's

pretty bad down there I'm like I'm not

gonna rent that

part okay that's my one question um

Commissioners any questions or concerns

commissioner

O2 yes did you rent this by any of the

neighbors let absolutely okay we sent

out a letter of notification um we have

support from all the adjacent neighbors

all right um we can get letters of

support they were supposed to be here

tonight but they couldn't make it um

that's Amanda Sachs Matt crup and uh pqu

Missoura all right all of our adjacent

neighbors all right I guess we take your

word yeah I think that's kind of

important because would create a little

bit of a parking you know another

another vehicle is coming in the

neighborhood that's always a

concern uh that's all I have for now it

is good to note that the property itself

has 10 parking spots right behind it

okay that are attached to the property

that's that's B yeah yeah I did note

that I was you know me and parking and I

was like this is one downtown has

actually 10 spaces uh commissioner Reed

oh I have no questions commissioner m i

I do have a couple question questions um

what's the square footage of this

proposed basement unit I can't make it

out on the drawings it is really hard on

the drawings it's between 450 and 500

square F

feet okay it's veryy small

um I know you've mentioned about the the

parking area have you confirmed that

there is actually a designated parking

spot for an additional unit because I'm

familiar with that that street that

property and lot you're talking about

and my understanding is all those spots

are assigned to the each property all of

them except for two are currently

assigned uh so that we have at least two

currently that can be used for that

apartment well that'd be for your whole

unit building no one one unit is

occupying one of the spaces and uh

several of the other ones are already

find out but we have two currently

available with no no commitment

does that make

sense sort of I'm not sure I'm not sure

i' totally because AR aren't there three

units in that in this property already

there there are three units in the

property already and you're saying you

still have two additional parking spaces

correct so you have five parking spaces

for a three unit house currently um the

restaurant uh maiki is is uh leasing a

few of the the

um the units that are um occupied

currently aren't using any of the spaces

um they don't have cars um but we have

three total available right now uh can

be four

if

okay uh no other questions it's not okay

um we'll go to the public again U if you

were against this project um please

stand and

state your name and address we start to

the left the center to the

right

um Commissioners I had my one question

and S of satisfied with the parking but

you have any concerns or questions so

we'll start with

commissioner I'm saying it's so

much okay could I get a motion

I move to approve the conditions as

stated is there a

second yeah second it's been second byal

to all those in favor save by saying I I

I

oppos exensions motion carried good luck

thank you

this is um item number eight um this is

a preliminary final land development

plan for 315 North fren Street which is

z Riverfront RF by Veron Jones with

Front Street Lo LLC to convert the

existing office building into an 8 unit

apartment building featuring six one

bedroom units and two two bedroom units

with two units designated as a portable

unit uh so the applicant is proposing to

convert the existing office building

into an 8 unit apartment building

featuring six one-bedroom units and two

two-bedroom units with two units

designated as affordable units the

applicant received approvals for the

requisite zoning relief requests

required to effectuate the project as

proposed at the April 2024 HPC and ZB

meetings property at 3:15 North Front

Street is a .12 acre lot featuring a 3

and 1 half story 8944 ft structure which

was constructed in 1850 property is

bounded by the property at 317 North

Front Street to the North River Street

to the east Barbera Street to the South

and North Front Street to the West semi

detest structure features elements of

the federal architectural style

character defining features include the

brick facade Stone water table on the

front elevation the ornate metal porch

above the first floor on the front

elevation the shutters flanking windows

at various locations around the building

the metal fire escape on the side

elevation The prominent cornice

featuring brick bands and wooden dentals

and then brackets the fourth floor

Dormers and prominent chimneys the brick

wall enclosing the rear Courtyard paved

with bricks and the detached two-story

carriage house with a maned roof the

main entrance features a large panel

door recessed within an arched paneled

entryway and top of the divided light

Sunburst transom and arched brick

surround featuring a keystone it is

accessed by Stone steps with metal

railings there are five other entrances

in the principal building including two

on the upper floors accessible by the

fire escape and three towards the rear

of the building all are wooden panel

doors with those on the upper floors

featuring transoms with infill panels

and those on in the rear featuring

simple transoms Carriage House features

three entryways all of which are wooden

panel doors topped with wood wooden

transoms one of the doors features two

half VI panes and two are topped with

divided light transoms two wooden rollup

garage doors with Windows which are

topped with a substantial wooden cornice

front on dear Street penetration around

the principal building features wooden

divided light windows in a regular

pattern some of the windows feature

metal grates While others feature

paneled or louvered shutters there are

three dormers on the fourth floor with

each featuring divided light windows

with great set within arched openings

flanked by pills the Dormer cheeks are

clad in asphalt shingles The Carriage

House features 10 Windows most of which

are the same wooden divided light

windows in the principal building all

are set within arched brick surrounds

front gable roof of the structure

appears to be topped with asphalt sh

shingles which is reflected on the maner

roof of the Carriage House in the rear

most of the other editions are topped

with flat rubber roofs although the

one-story Edition in the rear of the

principal structure features a standing

sea metal roof the building retains a

significant a significant amount of its

architectural and historic integrity and

features elements unique to the district

and streetscape as the end unit on a row

of historic buildings along the city's

Premier Waterfront Corridor all of which

retain a significant degree of their

original Integrity the building thus

makes a significant and unique

contribution to the historic and

Architectural character of the

streetscaping

district the plan Bureau staff

recommends the request to be approved

with the following

conditions the applicant will need to

submit a formal land development plan

set containing the formal cover sheet

illustrating the requisite site aspects

as opposed to only the internal building

space and addressing comments from City

departments before introduction to city

council uh the applicant will also

receive a certificate of qualification

pursuant to chapter 12-11 of the title

12 affordable housing certification

prior recording the land development

plan with the Dolphin County recorder of

deeds uh if any exterior alterations are

proposed other than those included in

the current application and the

previously submitted building permit uh

the applicant will submit a certificate

of appropriateness application and

receive approval from harb and finally

the applicant will coordinate with the

Department of Public Works to ensure

that the account billing is updated to

reflect the proposed change in use plan

buau staff recommends the request be

approved for the following reasons the

applicant has received the requisites

Zing relief approvals to proceed with

the project as proposed the proposed

project will adaptively reuse a vacant

office building bringing in historically

architecturally and culturally

significant property back into

productive use and in fact will

reestablish a residential use on site

and as opposed to other multif family

conversions in recent years the

applicant has been proactive in securing

enough off street parking to accommodate

all residents of the development

obviating concerns expressed by nearby

residents regarding the limited number

of on Street spaces and finally the

proposed reuse will add new residents to

the neighborhood to activate the street

on nights and weekend and grow customer

based to support local businesses thank

you je could you state your name address

and relationship to the project Vernon

Jones 263 Riley Street Harrisburg PA I'm

the

owner um you heard the staff report

and there's four conditions are you

acceptable of those conditions

yes I know I think in the report about

the parking I guess you're going to

lease what six spaces or you have that's

correct so we currently have four uh

onsite parking that we have and and that

that would be that would suffice but we

want to go above and beyond so we we

wanted to uh make sure that we had more

than enough parking to satisfy any

concerns with the local local community

okay

and I'm not too familiar with that along

fren street but did you talk to any of

their neighbors or that your we we did

so Vern mckisic who actually owns a

building right next door uh was very

encouraged by not only the work that

we've currently done since we've owned

the property in the courtyard area it's

it's a little space where people can do

things that people can't see on the

street so being able to clean that up

hundreds of needles I mean it was it was

really bad uh cleaning it up making sure

that you know are out out of there it's

it was uh I think we've gotten a good

response from the community so far since

owning the property Burns opinion means

nothing us you just lost

it um commissioner is that was my

concerns and questions um if you have

any we'll start with commission over

Tool uh Jeffrey the first uh requirement

the applicant will submit a formal Land

Development uh and address comments

that's not for our approval just to

submit it to you and

yeah um and this kind of came up I think

with um maybe the one phase of the

Capital Heights where they had submitted

basically an architectural plan set for

a land development plan um and we made

them resubmit um or at least submit a

formal land development plan with things

like title blocks and the signature from

the architect or the engineer uh that

created them and and that's you know

requirement um of the documentation

submission so we just wanted to make

sure the applicant was aware of that was

able to get that done and submitted

prior going before city council all

right no further questions commission re

I have no questions commission

mer now far as the Land Development

submission goes um Jeffrey captured uh

the comments and the conditions that I

would have

so be interested to hear from the

public okay since you said that we'll go

to the

public uh anyone for against this uh

project to my

left to the center could you state your

name and address come to the

microphone my name is Jonna seatan I

live at 119 South Street in harisburg

17101 and I am a neighbor um I was very

concerned about the parking because I've

been to the city council I've been to I

haven't been to the planning committee

yet but maybe I'll come there but um

we're really worried I've lived there

for about 30 years and um it's really

really hard for my neighbors even the

ones that have moved into harmony Towers

um they they have to park and some of

them are elderly they have to park far

far away to you know just to bring their

groceries home um um a lot of them have

come to me and said will you help and I

did try I tried to help um but I I get

nowhere and so I I saw the sign on the

the window and I thought ah you know

more cars and I know I know the property

I know they have the garage I know they

have that little Courtyard and

everything I have nothing against that

but I just worry about the parking and I

I am lucky because I have a car space

behind my my

house but I know my neighbors are not so

I speak for them more so than myself

because they're really struggling um

most of them are elderly and you know I

talk to them frequently because I I love

my neighborhood and you know they they

really they need somebody to speak up

for them because they're not going to

come down here although I bet I could

get a group of them down here um but um

I'm I'm worried about that I just worry

about the parking and I've it's not like

this is my first time you know I've

really I think you've probably heard

from Angela Enos before um well I tried

to carry on what she had begun and um I

guess I didn't do a very good job but um

I'm still trying for the parking

situation in our area it's really Grim

yeah you're right and thank you for your

time I think we thank you but I think um

he did sort of answer that with leasing

six spaces and my recommendation is for

you two to talk after the meeting maybe

so he could maybe guarantee like they

not going to be any parking problems

that's fine for sure thank you thank you

thank you for her benefit Jeffrey the

applicant going above and beyond

required to do as far Asing cop that

that's correct I believe they would have

been required to have like seven spaces

um because they're two of the units are

affordable but they'll have 10 in total

so yeah nothing we could do no what you

talking about it's a problem ever since

the developments went in there the

apartments went in there on Pine Street

100 block it's uh but unfortunately we

can't help you on this one because he's

he's supposed to have seven spaces and

he has 10 so

any other concerns to my

right if not uh commission is going to

get in a mo

motion motion to approve with with

conditions is there a second second this

been moved and second for approval with

the four conditions all those in favor

state by I I I

oppose exensions car good much thank you

and please please talk to the young lady

back okay item number nine this is a b

consolidation and ldp for uh 101 North

18th Street in 1801 Bo stre it's Z

residential medium density is spelled by

Amber belli Latino connection Foundation

is to consolidate the three Parcels

comprising the project site and

construct a four story 48 unit

residential building with Associated

site access

improvements uh jar yeah uh so the

applicant is proposing to consolidate

the three Parcels comprising the project

site and construct a four-story 48 unit

residential building with Associated

site and access improvements project

receiv received the requisite zoning

approvals at the November 20th 2023

zoning hearing board meeting uh the

project size comos is comprised of three

vacant Parcels 1,1 North 18 Street 1800

boa Street and an unaddressed parcel

totaling 1.03 acres and featuring a

regularly maintained grass lawn there's

no development on site currently on site

aside from a fence along the Eastern

property line lines and a small portion

of the Southern Property Line propert

the project site is bounded by her

street to the north Long alley and the

property at 1815 her street to the east

B Street to the South and North 18th

Street to the

West the plan Bureau staff recommends

the request be approved the following

conditions uh the applicant is required

to receive a certificate of

qualification pursuant to chapter 1211

of title 12 the affordable housing

certification prior to recording the

lock consolidation and land development

plan with the Dolphin County Recorder of

needs uh the prior to to city council

review of the project uh the applicant

must provide information regarding the

economic development impact of the

project such as the construction value

effect on taxes and jobs generated to

allow the council members to fully

understand the impact of the project uh

the planning Bureau recommends that the

applicant coordinate with the city

engineer on the prohibition of on street

parking along the north side of boa

Street between Long Street and North 18

Street to allow for easier and safer

access to the accessory parking lot uh

the applicant must reconstruct the north

18 Street sidewalk to match the full

width of the existing sidewalk between

the property line and the back of the

curb planning Bureau would recommend the

bo that Bois Street also be fully

reconstructed although acknowledges that

this would present represent an

expansion of the existing sidewalk uh

the planning Bureau recommends a minor

change to the project site specifically

the expansion of the proposed dog park

to the South with an Associated access

path Al also relocated to the South

closer to the proposed dumpster path

um the applicant should consider a

vertically differentiated facade

treatment and materials that reflect the

architectural design and elements of the

surrounding neighborhood um and planning

Commissioners will probably repres

recognize that as something we've

consistently done with some of the

larger uh developments within row home

um uh neighborhoods uh and then finally

the applicant should coordinate with the

City Arborist on the use of native tree

species and pollinator plants planning

Bureau staff recommends the request be

approved for the following reasons the

applicant received approval of the

zoning relief request necessary to

effectuate the project as proposed at

the November 20th 2023 zhb meeting

Planning Commission and Zoning hearing

board previously approved a proposal for

a similar development in September 2020

although that approval was automatically

revoked per section 7- 23.5 of the

zoning code after a land development

plan was not filed and the project

design has been modified to be less

intensive than the previous proposal uh

the project site is a conspicuous

location on a state route and the

applicant has incorporated design

elements that Max maximize the potential

of the site including the provision of

sufficient off street parking and

incorporation of amenities such as a dog

park finally approval of the proposal

will enhance the character of the

neighborhood and improve the streetcape

of the corridor by developing prominent

and long-standing vacant Lots with a new

infill Housing Development and

Associated site improvements providing

affordable housing in demand throughout

the

city thank you Jeff did you state your

name address and relationship to the

project sure Matt Wht with eustus

engineering 161 South 32nd Street

campill PA and I am the uh design

engineer the site

engineer Dr I'm

theor I guess my question

is have you talked to the community have

you met with community and the only

reason I asked this the last time we had

here this is like a full place and

there's nobody here from the

neighborhood I know I so I'm just

wondering have you met with them yes we

have we had a community meeting on July

6th before we even began developing out

the idea for the project we just had

kind of a sketch a rendering of what we

had intended to do there uh we got a lot

of feedback um so in July 26 had

done additional uh additional meeting

with mayor Williams as well as some of

the neighbors and some folks from city

council um and we talked about you know

some of the the issues with the design

that residents were concerned with we

made modifications um to that design and

we had another meeting on August 28th of

last year with neighbors um in the

neighborhood in the community and

presented the new design without

the um and the neighbors were really

in agreement with that the ones that

were present and then on October 10th we

went and knocked on doors prior to the

November hearing from last year we

knocked on doors and placed door hangers

on doors home you know letting them know

that he and if they have any feedback to

reach out to us uh we've been keeping in

contact with some of the neighbors that

wanted us to keep in contact with them

as the project and and

program okay and I I'm sorry I believe

there were two Neighbors at at the

November okay and I did beget to ask you

are you acceptable of the um seven

conditions generally yes I wanted

clarification on two of them um if I may

the uh the Reconstruction of the

sidewalks along front edge on boas and

18 Street we had proposed uh I think

they're five foot wide sidewalks to

match what the not so much the ex

sidewalks were but the existing

sidewalks on the opposite side of 18th

Street and then further down uh South on

18th Street same thing with boas those

are narrower sidewalks with the tree

Laine in between the curb and the

sidewalk go up the hill on boas going

going east so that was the intent behind

that we're happy to provide the full

width but we were trying to kind of fit

that site a little bit more into the

neighborhood with that that treatment

yeah I mean I think as a general rule

the planning Bureau is always um uh

always promotes wider than the minimum

for pedestrian infrastructure um the

minimum often is frankly not sufficient

in a lot of cases especially if for

example you have two people in

wheelchairs going past one another um

and so especially in cases where there's

already existing wider sidewalk like a

North 18th Street we usually like to uh

retain that full width because people

have been using that and especially with

a project of you know this um uh size

you're going to be having more uh

pedestrian traffic going back and forth

um with respect to boa Street as we

noted you know that would be a a good to

have I think a nice to have as opposed

to more uh replacing what's already

there um although there is a portion at

the East End of the site there where it

is like the full width um but you know

that's more like I said that's more of

like a making sure that you know

pedestrians are not kind of given the

bare minimum um and uh hopefully it

encourages people to like get out and

walk because they have wide spaces for

doing

uh the second uh clarification was uh

comment number five or condition number

five and that was to increase whatever

we can the dog park area to the South by

re uh relocating the uh the ramp that

runs between the parking lot and the

back of the dumpster enclosure the idea

with the dumpster enclosure is that this

is a 48 unit uh building so we're going

to have to have a maintenance personnel

and a cart or with a cart push the the

compacted material out of the the

compactor across the parking lot and

then over to the back of the dumpsters

that ramp because of the vertical relief

between Long Street and our parking lot

which is coming off of boas um it's

basically an adaa ramp with railings on

both sides so uh we looked at all types

of different alternatives to that and

really the ramp is located where it

needs to be in order to maintain um ADA

Compliant slopes so to move that further

to the right on the plan uh would

increase the slopes take us out of the

88 compliance but it would increase the

dog park area so that's why the dog park

area is as small as it is now I mean

it's I think it's it was difficult to

tell from the plan sets that that was

why that was done for the Ada uh

compliance and and again it was a

recommendation not kind of a requirement

we just I just saw like that extra kind

of interstitial space there between the

path and and the dumpster and I just

thought well it'd be better to have a

slightly larger area for people's dogs

but if it's if there's a you know

technical enging reason why it's like

that I think that's fine I would would

want to point out and I think we we we

talked via email that the dog park area

is meant to be for residents only

residents of the of the units only just

because of liability issues um it will

be permitted to have dogs but the dogs

will be small dogs they're putting a

weight limit on the dogs it's not like

we need a huge area

that so Jeff we can delete number five I

mean we're yeah I'm fine with um not

having five again we would encourage

them to take as much of that space for

the dog park as possible you know more

for the benefit of the residents and the

dogs U than any else but um if there's

not a reason to do that or if there's

not a way to do that and still be ADA

Compliant we're fine with the design as

proposed okay Commissioners that's all I

have at this time commissioner questions

concerns okay uh Jeffrey did somebody

come before us with a

proposal for Dollar General here or was

that just a rumor uh I think that was

probably more a rumor we had a meeting

with somebody and I um expressed uh the

planning bureau's opposition to that and

uh you know I can never tell somebody no

um that anybody's able to welcome to

present an application to you and either

planning commit or city council or the

zon hearing board but I think they kind

of tended to get the gist that that

might not be the best place for yeah

this this would been an improvement over

then what's that this would be an

improvement over this yes yes I think so

based on the location I in the

neighborhood I'm sure it's all going to

be affordable which is great we much

needed um Latino connection you guys did

the one in down in Hall Manor correct

yes constr oh you so constructing it yes

it's

underr okay all right yeah nothing

further commission uh I have a couple of

questions can you tell me a little bit

more about the Latino connection

Foundation

abely connection found new nonprofit

organ developed by it was funded

initially by Geor connection about two

years ago we filed for 501c3 status got

that

status of last year was when we started

operations and we provide um a lot of

different services for

marginalized um affordable housing but

we also

and as

well okay and uh the the uh clothing

bank and the food pantry are those open

to the public or is that just for the

residents they'll be primarily for

residents because

it's the liability of having the general

public com in and out of

an um can create some concern but

generally that will be open for

residents however if we find or know

that there's a need in the community we

will

definitely open that up

especially did you say this is for

senior housing this is senior housing

okay senior housing we were

approved and the food pantry is that

under the opes of the central

Pennsylvania food bank we'll partner

with the F Bank to provide that but it

won't

okay

okay those are all my questions

commissioner

Meritt um yeah thank you I couple

questions um my first one maybe Jeff um

I direct it more probably more towards

towards you um

so condition three is the one regarding

the sidewalk with and the you're making

a a recommendation to what you want to

see but then at the same time we have

the city

engineer making a recommendation and a

comment as to what they want to see

they're sort of in line but sort of

conflicting and then we're hearing the

applicant's request of what they would

like to do

I'm not sure if I hear a consensus as to

how we're handling the sidewalk

Improvement well I think usually what

the city engineer is going to give you

is like the statutory or regulatory

minimums um you know just making sure

that something meets this standard um

and usually the planning Bureau wants to

go um above and beyond we feasible uh

both from an engineering perspective and

a financial perspective um and so uh you

know I think the engineer

uh response and the engineer is pretty

new too he just started this year um so

we haven't had a lot of coordination on

some of this stuff and like talked to

back and forth about how we each

approach these things but from my uh

discussions with him it's more of like

hey I want you to meet this regulatory

standard and our approach is more we'd

like you to go a little bit above and

beyond because there is a wider sidewalk

it's in filled with u asphalt or

whatever and that goes all the way back

to when the school was there um so there

has been the ability to like walk across

the whole the whole full width of that

right away we would like to retain that

as much as possible yeah because I I'm

thinking about um a previous project I

think Capitol

Heights where we had a lot of back and

forth about the sidewalk situation and

what that WID should be right because

we're we kept going back and forth about

set back in sidewalk with an ADA comp

you know trying to be more Ada

accessible um so having more of the

full maximum width I should say full

build full maximum width made more makes

more sense yeah and especially because

it's a senior project so you'll probably

have be more likely to have people with

limited mobility and Walkers or or

Scooters or whatever it's possible just

not not all elderly you know you know

not everyone just statistically more

likely yeah so then are

you I mean it wasn't like like the Ada

you know and the engineer the city

engineer I think brings up a good point

about you know making sure that there

are Ada curb ramps right at the the

corners and whatnot so that's not

mentioned in your in the

condition but are we assuming that's is

that would that still yeah so that would

be just yeah as part of I don't cover

everything the city engineer might cover

um so my I get like I said I try and go

like my my uh comments are more but and

when it comes to like what the engineer

wants to do again they're doing

statutory minimum they're going to make

him have ADA Compliant um curb Rams

things like probably tactile surfaces uh

things like that which I'm not

necessarily going to mention the case

report it'll just be kind of Presumed

because the engineers got that comment

okay all right just wanted to make sure

you guys had coordinated kind of the we

were on the same page about what we're

what we're after here with with part of

that

construction um my only other question

would then just be about um the

applicant is requesting a waiver on the

traffic impact study and I can't

remember from last year did we have any

discussion around that like not being

needed you know so the um is that waiver

approved on the on a city's perspective

sure I believe the city's uh standard

for that is um 40 trips per peak hour I

think to generate that and I think with

a 48 space lot they you know presumed

that there would not be that

traffic so wouldn't hit that threshold

okay thanks for that clarification I

wasn't sure couldn't remember um that's

that's all I had I think it's a

well-designed project

overall thank okay I'm gonna go to the

public since there's one person left to

my

right three people sorry and state your

name and uh

address hello my name is Michael Brown I

live at

922 North 18th Street harburg

Pennsylvania um 1 103 I lived there for

approximately 30 years and sir you are

right um if the notice was posted on the

30th as it as it reads on it uh it would

have been a lot more um neighbors here

tonight but it was posted on the 4th of

uh November instead of opposed to the

30th of October um

um parking is horrendous over there um

what are we going to do about the

parking because they're fighting for

parking spaces now my neighbors you know

and

um uh and and another thing we were

talking about um

lowincome uh HUD um we don't want it to

turn into the

projects because we have children that

we have to raise

uh and that's our ma major that's one of

our major

concerns thank you very much

okay um maybe you want to oh no go ahead

another

person no no go ahead my name is

Patricia Banks I was down here before in

2023 and some of the things that Miss

belli has stated was incorrect about

going around the neighborhood placing

placers on the door for people's um to

see if they wanted to be a part of what

they're proposing now we had meeting at

one of the

churches and the majority of the

community was opposed they they didn't

want this to happen at all and she

didn't even state that um we also been

down here in the micophone okay we also

um we're here

to give uh our objection to this whole

situation we have in our community we're

we're residents right and we're invested

in our home we're homeowners in that

area and they're proposing to put a 48

unit building which would be out of

place with architect in that area um

parking are there going to be 48 parking

spaces um what about some people own two

vehicles that could be parking you know

where they going to park at then you're

also talking about coming down Bose

Street um the 1700 block of B Street to

widen it or something you were just no

you you decided not to do that okay

excuse me excuse me us I'm sorry that

I'm talking to him but I heard yeah I

know sorry I apologize for that respond

later that's fine okay so um like I said

before we did meet they did meet at um

the church chch on 17th Street um the

community the community came out and

they stated why they didn't want this to

take place uh right now we want to keep

it green we don't need to have all this

influx of traffic with meaning people um

there's nowhere for elderly um what

they're suggesting one minute is for

senior citizens next minutes is for lwi

income housing um which one is it but

but anyways we like I said we oppose

this whole um situation because we feel

that it's going to have a negative

impact in our community not just with

the community also with our children our

children use that space they you know

they enjoy like I said the green why

can't we keep it

green um Everybody sitting here I know

you're saying oh this sounds like an

improvement but nobody's really out here

talking to the community the community

is saying

otherwise and no one everybody sitting

here like oh yeah I can see the

Improvement you know oh that would be

nice but you're not talking to the

community the community is here we do

not want this to take

place we you um to oh I'm trying to okay

you had mentioned about the

um Dollar Tree Dollar yeah and we again

we as a community stood together we was

during the pandemic we had phone

conversation and we were opposing that

too um we like the way it is now um our

children um like I said they have a

space that they can go to they don't

have to walk up to the park and even

when the mayor did the park that's for

little children our children are a

little older than toddlers so that whole

thing of like I know

the parents in the community would like

to see their children they don't really

want walking too far away um Harrisburg

and itself I grew up in Harrisburg you

really never even had any um social or

or Center for our children um I know one

of

the um commission I mean one at the um

city council she was trying to push the

thing of having um some type of

recreational um facility so our children

can go to right but but I like I said

I've been in Harrisburg All My Life um

you don't you didn't even have a pool

here in Harrisburg you had one over at

Jackson link but Jackson lck was not a

public pool that was for the buildings

you had you you we would go out to

Edgemont Edgemont would kick us out you

know there was never anything for the

people in Harrisburg to enjoy then also

getting rid of the um school um William

pen you got rid of of the skill you know

for somebody to do trade they can't even

do trade anymore they have to be shipped

out to another and then it's a lottery

process but I'm not here for that I'm

just here to say that these are some of

the concerns that our children do have

anything really to do um that land and

how it was purchased um we weren't given

the opportunity to buy it ourselves

everything was just out you know people

making decisions not talking to the

community and and when they did come and

talk to the community the community said

no that's not what we want and like I

said I'm I'm listening to the feedback

here I'm listening to y'all the

commission Commissioners here and

everybody oh it seems nice well the

community doesn't think that it's nice

they think there's going to be a

problem and you know we're all getting

to know each other anyways yeah there

are new people coming into the

neighborhood and we all are working

together but when you have a Development

Group saying that they were there

canvasing talking to people that was mis

stape they that's not they only had a

few people that they know their friends

know and that's who was at those

meetings right so it was only a few

people it wasn't the whole neighborhood

the second time that they met but the

first time at the like I said at the

church everybody was there and they was

like no okay and I even have signatures

okay too um to present to y'all not with

me right now but I do have signatures

from the community that's that's saying

no okay to this project thank you thank

you yep

okay is there

another St your name and address hi my

name is jar Harter I'm also a resident

of the 1700 block of boa Street and I am

against this project um piggybacking off

of my mother um this uh project is bit

of a monstrosity safety is also my

number one concern U when you bring in

large developments like this it can have

a devastating impact on the community

with crime parking traffic emergency

services you know we don't want that

really in our neighborhood and I mean I

live there so I canvas the

neighborhood and um it was an

overwhelming response against uh large

development we wanted to keep it green

and right now it is kind of a

self-sustaining Green Space that a lot

of the children come and play and

connect with each other and if given the

opportunity with no more like short late

minute plans to buy land without the

community's consent we would like a

chance to you know keep it green and

keep it a space for the community so we

can like significantly reduce crime

because we have

had less crime since it's been green and

I just think that with a development it

just would be a terrible impact for

us okay thank you now now you had you

CH okay um did you want to respond

to and you're saying you did not meet

with them so no it wasn't that I didn't

agree um there are units there are 48

parking spaces proposed all street

parking spaces proposed uh we did our

our best to maximize the amount of

parking knowing that it was going to be

a concern with the community um the

number of parking spaces and I'm just

saying this for the record is double

what we're actually required because

it's 100% affordable and is 100% senior

affordable the senior cut off the age

cut off is 62 so 62 plus so we're not

talking about families movement and

there we're talking about two person

occupancy and that's they can they can

govern that they're manage the site um

given that it is a lihtc a low-income

housing tax credit project is funded by

the uh phfa there are certain

regulations that they have to follow

that are going to help it not turn into

a project it's not like they're going to

build this and flip it and and then just

let it go they have to manage this I

think it's for a 30-year period and the

um phfa is very invested in what this

looks like 10 years from now what this

looks like 15 years from now what this

looks like 30 years from now they don't

want to see them turn this into so there

are some some things in place to address

some of those concerns those General

concerns uh as far as the widening of

boaster wasn't anything as for the

widening um it was more so the city has

suggested um a concern that the new

driveway uh location is the only really

the only location to get in and out of

the site that makes sense uh directly

across the street from whatever that

other alley is um that there's a short

section there of on street parking that

they like to see removed so it be

prohibited park there so we're going to

lose two three four parking spaces along

boas but everything else is going to

remain the same but our intent was to

provide enough parking for what we

anticipated inside

this yeah just like you

said oh sorry I usually think I'm loud

enough my apologies well it's been

recorded so oh got it that's right so we

did have several meetings we had the

community meeting and then we had the

meeting at the mayor's office and then

during that meeting um we had op offered

the opportunity to go to the community

and host another meeting and that's when

we were invited um to come out and host

the meeting so um the purchase of the

property was adjudicated in the

Commonwealth Court with the school

district and the current owner of the

property um and that was um open for 30

days after that for appeal no appeal was

filed and the sale went

through um again we we intend for this

to be an affordable housing complex for

senior 62 plus and to be a

well-maintained

um infrastructure investment in the city

um understanding that yes there's a lot

of issues that are happening in

different neighborhoods but bringing

affordable housing is not going to

exasperate those issues B on the data

that's been received by Hud and has been

analyzed through HUD um you know we just

hope to bring this project and to

provide um really good quality

affordable housing for our seniors here

in thank commission do anybody want to

make any

comments yeah uh you know if I lived in

that neighborhood I I'd want it to

remain a green space too I I totally get

that uh but it's

it's really not fair though to compare

comparing anything to Green Space isn't

going to measure up to the Green Space

you're going to be disappointed uh and

uh you know unfortunately once the the

once the property left the the ownership

of the school district it's now the

Market's going to dictate what goes

there um and you know I believe that

this this would be better than a lot of

other definitely better than the the

Dollar General Dollar Tree or even just

a a regular uh you know 40 unit

apartment building uh the fact that it's

limited to uh to seniors would probably

cut down on the on the traffic in the

parking uh but you I understand where

you're coming

from okay any other comments Dan um Jeff

what's so this project had received the

zoning approval November 20th of last

year so what is the timeline that this

project is operating on so they just

have to uh file within a year of

receiving Z approval which which they've

done um where it goes from now they're

on the MPC timeline where it must be

reviewed within 120 days of submission

or 90 days of the Planning Commission

meeting um

so there's a chance this goes into

January I think using those timelines I

don't know off the top of my head um I

don't know whether Council will be able

to take them up they're doing getting

into budget season here so uh but they

are on that MPC mandated timeline

right

right so for the benefit of the public

who who is here where this will go to

City Council next correct that would be

correct it will it will be it will go to

city council where it will be introduced

at a legislative session then it will be

assigned to a workshop committee and it

will be discussed at a workshop session

and then it will have one more final

legislative session where a final vote

would take place and there'll be public

participation at which one of those that

is correct all for at all of them I mean

you can at the legislative session not

at the work session

sorry and and that's why I was asking

about the timeline too because we are

looking at you know so the 90 days

looking at City

council's meeting timeline right we're

coming up on the end of the year which

Jeff did point out you know there is

some time and there is more room for

public engagement and attendance at

these upcoming meetings to you'll have

more time in advance too you know you

you mentioned about not getting enough

notice on this tonight's meeting right

but um there are a couple more meetings

where um there could be more um

conversation and public engagement with

the project you know the neighborhood um

coming

up you

know it is always hard to see a green

space go away in the city because

Harrisburg doesn't have a lot of good

green spaces right that that are just

sort of open and and accommodate to you

know like you said older kids you know

kids not Todd you know not little kids

that want the little toys on the

playground right but but um you know a

safe open space for them to play games

and and recreate

um that's a tough spot for us to be in

because we can't mandate you know that

you put a new park in when you take a

green space away and that would be

something that you know you'd want to

get the cities Buy in you know folks

from the city to say yeah we recognize

the value of of having Green Space um so

perhaps that's something that could be

more of a conversation at the City

Council

meetings um I'd like to add to this I

can understand the community we deal

with community's input that's one of the

things I'm proud that we do

um but we we walk a thin line you know

regulations versus um other input and we

try to guard against like you said um

bringing a just another building there I

think we had a couple years ago someone

came in it's you know they were just

going to build a housing unit but this

one is going to be for senior citizens

now if you understand I don't think

you're going to have the crime you're

talking about with with senior

citizen looking at other senior citizens

that have being built around the city

and I understand you know saving the

green space

but the longer that stays there like my

other commissioner said

told it's on the market when it's on the

market anyone can purchase it and like

we said it could be in a store there

that would create a lot of crime and out

of all the

projects a senior citizen which they

will keep up and they have to go by

federal regulations

probably your

best person to move in now I'm not

saying you shouldn't I I still feel that

you could leave with them again before

city council meeting and you know just

to make make sure that you know they're

going to and they have the parking

they're going to have 40 40 spaces on

site and that's going to take care and

again with senior citizens how many of

them going to drive you know

um I should

because I'm a sen

yeah but

U um but I think you know just looking

at all

the things that could happen you know

waiting

around I'm telling

you I think you're getting a pretty good

deal here with these folks because I

think I think they should meet with you

more and since they didn't they could

meet with you a couple times but

if you you wa around and like shut this

down and then it goes back on the market

and who knows who got to purchase that

you know so um that's my only comment

any other

isses okay um let's move to the um the

vote

um one thing I want to say is that we

can either vote on the six or seven or

we can take number five

out yeah are we moving the fifth right

that can be resed sure

okay motion to approve with all the

conditions with the exception of number

five is that it

right okay is there a second I'll second

it's been move the second for approval

of

the uh all the conditions is item number

five all those in favor state by saying

I I I opposed extensions motion carry

thank

you I hope you do you know

get Jeff you have

anything uh nope uh you know last

meeting of the Year here um I think we

are pretty close to having a deputy uh

planning director candidate um for who

would be starting relatively soon so I

think they would be um probably managing

the January meeting uh so is that

necessary what do you think we need more

help um so hopefully um they're able to

start pretty soon so I can get them up

to speed ahead of the January meeting so

you know i' I'd probably be in

attendance anyway but um the individual

is is pretty EXP experienced so I think

they'd be able to come in and probably

take over without my uh Direction but

I'm love to be here to like introduce

him um and then hand off the duties so

uh with any with any luck um we'll have

you'll have a new face here uh in

January Merry Christmas to you

yeah you usually give us a schedule at

the last meeting of the year for next

year yeah so so I've been working on

this uh agenda then getting the meeting

minutes done for the city council

reviews of the the Land Development

plans uh but I will be putting together

a um agenda for 2025 I'll need to work

with the HR department to confirm the

vacation days uh so I don't schedule

anything on those um but uh I will

hopefully have that to you guys by the

end of next week yeah so that means if

you get another staff you can um

personally bring down the water for us

what's that yeah a water boy or girl

yeah

hey you guys all got

water you

your is what that is that anything good

for the good of the

water if not can I get a motion for

adjournment so move

second stand