BETHLEHEM, Pa. – As their meeting reached the four-hour mark Wednesday, members of the Bethlehem Zoning Hearing Board voted unanimously to deny a variance for a proposed four-unit, two-story apartment building at 241 Eighth Ave.
The decision came before a packed audience of neighbors who largely opposed the project and cheered when the vote was announced.
“I just want to say thank you to everyone who came out. We do appreciate you guys,” board Chairman Peter Schneck said.
The applicant, ABDA Properties on 8th LLC, sought a 10-foot lot width variance from the required 90 feet because the existing lot is 80 feet wide. The proposal called for replacing a single-family home on the 10,480-square-foot lot, which is in an RT High-Density Residential district where multifamily dwellings are permitted.
The zoning hearing board functions similarly to a court, taking testimony from applicants and interested parties before deciding whether to grant requested variances. Variances may be granted when a property has unique conditions that make strict compliance with zoning rules impractical. Relief can be approved only if the hardship is not self-created, the request is the minimum needed for reasonable use, and the change will not harm the neighborhood or public welfare.
Property owner Martin Zawarski testified that the home has a foundation crack that would cost roughly $40,000 to repair, calling the expense prohibitive.
“The whole house was built to substandard conditions,” he said.
The applicant also argued the hardship was not self-created because the lot width was established before Zawarski purchased the property.
Each proposed two-bedroom, 1,200-square-foot unit would rent for $2,000. Board members questioned Zawarski about affordability during what city officials have called an ongoing housing crisis. Board member Paige Van Wirt also asked whether he considered other development options.
“Why can you not develop this into a one- or two-unit building?” she asked.
Schneck asked whether Zawarski could sell a new building and recoup any losses on the property. Zawarski acknowledged that “in theory” he could.
The plan presented on Wednesday was a revised version of an earlier proposal for a six-unit, three-story building. Zawarski said he incorporated feedback from a sketch plan review before the city’s planning commission, where several residents strongly opposed the initial design.
“I thought it would be best to get my approvals to meet some of the needs of the neighbors. I believe I’ve done that,” he said.
In addition to reducing the size of the building and the number of tenants, the updated plan cut parking from 11 spaces to six to preserve a 100-year-old neighborhood willow tree. Parking would be located at the rear of the property, accessible from the alley, along with on-street spaces.
Neighbors say a proposed three-story residential building on Eighth Avenue in Bethlehem would impact an alleyway where local children regularly play.
“There’s already a parking issue,” resident Brian Foley said.
He added the project would create “a lot of hardship, especially for people with disabilities,” who would park behind the building but enter from the front.
Neighbors also voiced concerns about traffic and the impact on Carter Street, a narrow alley they said is regularly used by children for playing, biking, riding scooters and learning to roller skate.
The applicant said he plans to install a “no left turn” sign to prevent traffic from using the vacated Walton Street.