READING, Pa. \u2013The Reading Zoning Hearing Board on Wednesday heard a request for zoning relief from Alexander Heredia to use an existing building at 1215 N. 11th St. for a content creation studio and a personal and private barber salon.<\/p>\n
Heredia is seeking a special exception and any other relief needed to use the space for the intended use.<\/p>\n
The building, which has previously been used for commercial uses, is located in an R-3 Residential zone.<\/p>\n
Heredia said he produces social media podcasts and plans to use the various rooms in the building as studios with varied backgrounds.<\/p>\n
He also testified that the use of a barber shop is more of a private studio for personalized appointment-based services.<\/p>\n
Reading\u2019s managing director Jack Gombach said he was attending the hearing on behalf of Mayor Eddie Moran.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe this project represents a positive step for the neighborhood,\u201d Gombach said. \u201cThis building has been underutilized for quite some time, and the applicant is proposing to bring it back into a productive use with a high-end, appointment-only barber shop and creative studio.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the mayor\u2019s priorities is growing the city’s tax base by supporting people who choose to invest and build a business here in Reading, especially our entrepreneurs, when someone steps forward to improve property and create a new business,\u201d Gombach added. \u201cIt strengthens the neighborhood and contributes to the city’s long-term growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
The zoning panel plans to render a decision on April 8.<\/p>\n
Boarding house<\/p>\n
In another case, Michael P. Bickel, a member of Mikae Holdings LLC, asked for a variance to use an existing building at 1216 Perkiomen Ave. as a boarding house with eight rooms and one basement apartment.<\/p>\n
Bickel is also seeking a variance from off-street parking requirements, as the building is in an R-3 Residential zoning district and has no on-site parking.<\/p>\n
Mikae Holdings LLC purchased the former Miller Personal Care home in April 2022.<\/p>\n
Bickel\u2019s attorney Joan London said the applicant had considered a single-family dwelling or an apartment building, but that wasn\u2019t possible as the property is basically a house with eight bedrooms and five bathrooms, with the rooms measuring anywhere from 142 to 222 square feet.<\/p>\n
Bickel testified that he is actively seeking to lease off-street parking in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
A decision is also expected on April 8.<\/p>\n
Solar canopy and carport<\/p>\n
From a previous hearing, the zoners granted a variance from the minimum rear yard setback requirements to the City Of Reading to install a solar canopy and carport on a parking lot adjacent to the public works building at 509 N. Sixth St.<\/p>\n
Last month, the panel granted a similar variance for the same use on the city hall parking lot along Cedar Street.<\/p>\n
The board continued the North Sixth Street decision until this month, citing some aesthetic concerns.<\/p>\n
Planner Emily Diaz-Melendez explained the panels that will be visible from North Sixth Street are not part of the application because the zoning issue only dealt with the rear yard setback.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"READING, Pa. \u2013The Reading Zoning Hearing Board on Wednesday heard a request for zoning relief from Alexander Heredia…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53022,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[62737,2005,22184,3066,62738,62740,62741,128,130,129,43515,62739],"class_list":{"0":"post-136066","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reading","8":"tag-alexander-heredia","9":"tag-eddie-moran","10":"tag-emily-diaz-melendez","11":"tag-jack-gombach","12":"tag-joan-london","13":"tag-michael-p-bickel","14":"tag-mikae-holdings","15":"tag-reading-city","16":"tag-reading-city-headlines","17":"tag-reading-city-news","18":"tag-reading-zoning-hearing-board","19":"tag-social-media-podcasts"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}