More than 60 Easton residents concerned that proposed zoning updates will change the look of the city’s historic neighborhoods attended a meeting in College Hill on Tuesday night to speak out.
They are worried the proposed changes, contained in 260 pages of zoning regulations on the city’s website, will do away with context-sensitive design standards that require new buildings to conform with the look of existing development.
Among their other concerns, they say the changes favor developers by allowing for more impervious surface and making it easier for developers to build multifamily housing.
In addition, there has been little explanation as to why the code is being updated, they said.
“The proposed zoning code is very difficult to find on the city’s website. When it is found, there is no explanation of why it was created or even how to understand how to read it,” said Peggy Palmer, a College Hill resident who organized the meeting at the College Hill Presbyterian Church.
The city’s original zoning code was created in 2007 with the help of state Rep. Bob Freeman and many local representatives. “It won accolades across the state, so why change it?” Palmer said.
Freeman attended Tuesday night’s meeting and said he was most concerned about the removal of context-sensitive design standards. While some of those standards are now spread throughout the city’s zoning code, other standards have been removed.
For example, Freeman said the new proposal does away with language that encourages adaptive reuse of old buildings.
“The city always has the ability to update and modernize its zoning code but that doesn’t mean change your underlying philosophy,” Freeman said, adding that the zoning he helped develop outlines a smart growth plan for the city.
Stephen Nowroski, Easton’s director of planning and codes, said the city’s zoning is being updated to make it more cohesive, and several changes were made to address College Hill residents’ concerns about the encroachment of Lafayette College into the neighborhood.
Nowroski didn’t attend Tuesday’s meeting because he had a prior engagement, but he spoke to The Morning Call ahead of the meeting. City Councilmen Roger Ruggles, Peter Melan and David O’Connell attended.
Over the years, provisions were added to Easton’s zoning. Some of those provisions were tacked on at the end of the zoning book, which made them difficult find and meant they were out of order, Nowroski said.
The update is meant to make Easton’s zoning more “user friendly,” he said. For example, if a resident wanted to see what was allowed in the West Ward, there will now be a West Ward specific chapter.
City officials also added some new uses that were not accounted for in the previous zoning. For instance, they added a short-term rental use, zoning for mobile home parks and kennels, he said.
One of the major changes centers around College Hill.
Nowroski said a proposal to allow midrise buildings by right on College Hill was removed from the proposed zoning.
But the maximum height of the buildings allowed on Lafayette’s College Hill campus was increased.
The maximum height increases the farther the buildings are from Lafayette’s property line with the neighborhood, allowing for a maximum height of 100 feet at the center of campus, Nowroski said.
Previously, only buildings of up to 60 feet were allowed. The new zoning would also increase the amount of impervious surface allowed.
Nowroski said those changes are meant to encourage the college to contain development to the campus and address concerns from residents about encroachment into the neighborhood.
The new provisions allow for mixed-use dormitories, educational services and parking structures on certain sections of Bushkill Drive, another move Nowroski said is meant to keep development from encroaching on the neighborhood.
He noted the college owns several properties there, including the former Rinek Rope Company, though the college has yet to submit official plans for it.
Nowroski said several community forums on the proposed zoning changes were held in November, though they were poorly attended despite advertising.
Palmer encouraged residents to attend next weeks’ Easton Planning Commission meeting to speak out.
The commission is scheduled to vote on the proposed changes at its 6:30 p.m. meeting next Wednesday. City Council will hold a public hearing on the changes at their 6 p.m. meeting on Feb. 12.
Morning Call reporter Christina Tatu can be reached at 610-820-6583 or ctatu@mcall.com.
