the area\u2019s notable legacy shade tree<\/a>, as well as traffic, snow removal, parking, privacy and even safety of the neighborhood\u2019s schoolchildren.<\/p>\nCalypso Elementary School is about a quarter-mile away, and walking to class is common.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear what\u2019s next for the proposal. The property owner already made adjustments to the plans, following a previous sketch plan review from the city Planning Commission and commentary from residents.<\/p>\n
Changes along the way<\/p>\n
Zawarski altered his design from a proposed six-unit, three-story structure into the four-unit, two-story building as discussed.<\/p>\n
It would have a 15-foot buffered landscape area along both sides and a six-space parking lot in the rear. The apartment building would be 32 feet tall.<\/p>\n
The two-bedroom two-bathroom units, at 1,200 square feet each, were proposed to cost about $2,000 a month in rent.<\/p>\n
The 80-by-131-foot lot currently has a single-family ranch home on site that\u2019s planned for demolition as part of the development.<\/p>\n
Zawarski said it would cost about $40,000 to make necessary repairs to the home\u2019s foundation and more to keep it viable in a neighborhood with a mix of single-family detached, semi-detached dwellings and townhouses.<\/p>\n
Zawarski said of his apartment proposal, \u201cIt does bring it more in conformity to the properties more closely surrounding it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are three-story buildings on the street; three stories are allowed. But I thought it would be best to get my approvals and to meet some of the needs of the neighbors \u2014 and I believe I\u2019ve done that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Developer Martin Zawarski<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are three-story buildings on the street; three stories are allowed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I thought it would be best to get my approvals and to meet some of the needs of the neighbors \u2014 and I believe I\u2019ve done that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Project documents state, \u201cApplicant is not seeking to \u2018shoe horn\u2019 in an oversized building onto the Property.<\/p>\n
\u201cApplicant submits the [project] will not negatively harm the public welfare, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood and will not negatively impact surrounding properties.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phillip Albright of Lehigh Engineering Associates, speaking on behalf of the developer, said the new structure would be \u201cthe same general height as the other buildings\u201d nearby.<\/p>\n
Attorney Victor Scomillio said the applicant \u201cwill not be touching that tree with this proposed development.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scomillo said the decision to narrow the parking lot would avoid any interference.<\/p>\n
He also agreed \u201cto undertake snow plowing of the alley to allow its tenants and residents to have year-round access without issue,\u201d according to city documents.<\/p>\n
In Tuesday’s meeting, he said he would have the alley plowed up to his parking area.<\/p>\n
Zawarski also proposed adding a \u201cNo Left Turn\u201d sign in the exit of the parking area to prohibit use of vacated Walton Street and forcing a right turn northbound on Carter Street.<\/p>\n
Parking, privacy and more<\/p>\n
Kirsten Mondillo, who lives behind the property in question, said the neighborhood\u2019s children \u201care all in and out of that alley all day long.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo cars coming up or down, from Eighth or Ninth Avenue \u2014 traffic coming in there is a huge issue,\u201d Mondillo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a safety concern for our kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have several children and people with disabilities on our street, and even just the construction process alone for months is going to affect how people get around our neighborhood. And I don\u2019t think that can be stressed enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bethlehem resident Brian Foley<\/p>\n
She said that she can\u2019t even park in front of her own home the great majority of the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have three vehicles; I can barely park my work truck on my own street,\u201d Jorge Rivera, of Ninth Street, said. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine Eighth being any different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brian Foley, who also lives nearby, said, \u201cWe have several children and people with disabilities on our street.<\/p>\n
“And even just the construction process alone for months is going to affect how people get around our neighborhood. And I don\u2019t think that can be stressed enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Community’s character should be prioritized’<\/p>\n
William Scheirer, who lives a bit further away on Eaton Avenue, said officials have to think about future generations of the city when rendering a decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI care about the city of Bethlehem,” Scheirer said. “Everything you do sets a precedent.”<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this proposal, its variance, were to be approved, it would open the door for other developers to burden additional residents and property owners with aggressive construction drastically affecting their neighborhoods.”<\/p>\n
Bethlehem resident Nicole Boncik<\/p>\n
Diane Fegley, who had a number of concerns about what the development could mean for local families and more, also said the building\u2019s design could use another look.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looks like a poorly designed 1980s Tudor home, and I don\u2019t think it really fits the aesthetic of the neighborhood,\u201d Fegley said.<\/p>\n
After living next door for 17 years, Nicole Boncik said that for her and her husband, the \u201cintrusion on our daily living might ultimately force us out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this proposal, its variance, were to be approved, it would open the door for other developers to burden additional residents and property owners with aggressive construction drastically affecting their neighborhoods,\u201d Boncik said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFocusing on preserving our community\u2019s character should be prioritized.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2014 The city Zoning Hearing Board on Wednesday unanimously denied a developer\u2019s request for a variance…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39688,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[24098,153,24099,155,154,3926,24100,24101,23919,3931,24102,635],"class_list":["post-39687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-241-eighth-avenue-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-apartments","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-bethlehem-zoning-hearing-board","tag-calypso-elementary-school","tag-eighth-avenue-bethlehem-development","tag-martin-zawarski","tag-nicole-boncik","tag-west-bethlehem-development","tag-will-oliver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39687","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=39687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}