Lower Merion Residents: City Avenue Rezoning Proposal Lacks Vision

Lack of a vision, the need to address existing traffic problems now, and a recent letter from the Montgomery County Planning Commission were among the topics discussed at a City Avenue rezoning workshop the Lower Merion Township Board of Commissioners held Monday night.

Residents and civic association members argued about many points during the meeting, but several agreed on one: they do not see a real plan in the City Avenue district and the proposal to rezone it as part of an economic revitalization effort.

About 25 people attended the workshop. The next City Avenue Rezoning Workshop is scheduled for July 18 at 7:30 p.m. and the township plans to schedule additional workshops to be held in the fall.

“There really hasn’t been a stated vision for this and there’s been a lot of disagreement about what that should be,” said Hugh Gordon of Ardmore.

Commissioner Cheryl Gelber echoed what many residents said.

“I’m not sure we have defined the end goal,” Gelber said.  “If we defined what in 20 years would be there, what would be the vision?”

Roger Moog of the Neighborhood Club of Bala Cynwyd said the township needs to come up with a plan for improving the traffic problems on City Avenue and spend money to address the problems now, rather than waiting.

Moog said the township does not currently “have any realistic mechanism for improving City Line Ave.” and any revenue it will get from proposed redevelopment would not start until the new development begins.

“I don’t think we’ve given enough energy or time to what can be done with what we have and how we can make it more attractive as we go forward,” Moog said.

Commissioner Brian McGuire said Moog was correct in saying that most of the problems along City Avenue are existing ones and the township needs to start addressing them.

McGuire said the Board of Commissioners “has been remiss for a long time in addressing traffic issues,” and more needs to be done along City Avenue.

Residents also expressed concerns about a June 22 letter  the Montgomery County Planning Commission wrote to Lower Merion Township, concerning the City Avenue rezoning proposal.

Louis Barson of Merion read excerpts from the letter, which states that the commission is “supportive of the overall concept.”  However, “…rezoning of the scale proposed is a dramatic undertaking and there is still much work to be done in creating a zoning district that gives the township its best chance to capture these ideals.”

Barson noted that while the township has scaled down its tallest proposed buildings for the rezoning from 300 feet to 200 feet, the letter states that, “The reduced number would still enable the tallest structures in the county…”

The county planning commission wrote that it endorses the proposed height but stresses the importance of the design.

In regards to the design, Barson read an excerpt from the letter which states: “Despite the adequate setback, buildings of the maximum height would still likely create a canyon-like feel or more resemble Center City.  Buildings should be stepped back from the build-to line with a certain height to alleviate this issue.”

Barson suggested that the township place a cap on square footage for new development along City Avenue, but McGuire said his understanding was that the township was not legally allowed to do so under the ordinance.

“My point is we could always go up, and change it,” Barson said.

Commissioner George Manos said everyone was thinking of development in terms of big buildings, but big buildings come because there are jobs.

The current commercial vacancy rate in Bala Cynwyd is 17 to 20 percent which means 1,900 jobs have left Lower Merion and gone to other economies, Manos said.

Manos said if there is no flexibility “you’re going to end up with all low, squat buildings,” which would be “very unattractive.”

Residents of Bala Cynwyd expressed concerns about residential neighborhoods being in close proximity to the proposed new development—although the buffer area between residential neighborhoods and new development was increased based on public input—and of possibly losing the character of Bala Cynwyd when it is rezoned.

Richard Kaufman of Bala Cynwyd asked the commissioners, “You really want to live within a half-mile from this density?”

Debbie Hoffman of Sutton Terrace said new development should be in keeping with the character of Bala Cynwyd and the people who live there and the township needs to consider the residents and their quality of life.

On a recent walk down City Avenue, Hoffman said she observed, “The buildings are nice.  They kind of fit into the whole character of the Bala Cynwyd suburban thing … Right now, it’s all open, there’s space, you feel like you can breathe.”

Hoffman said when she is in Center City in Philadelphia, she feels there is not as much space because the buildings are closer together, and she is concerned that Bala Cynwyd will have the same feel if it is rezoned.

McGuire disagreed. He said he does not like City Avenue the way it is now and he does not find it walkable or pedestrian-friendly.

McGuire said he would like to see changes and he would like to see a place where people live and people walk.

Manos said that everyone one at the workshop is trying to do something that will benefit the residential neighborhoods.

With the 300-foot buildings that were originally proposed, the township  was trying to aim for a proportion of office space to residential space in which one third of the building would be residential.

But now that the maximum height has been lowered to 200 feet, no one is going to split the building, so the plan has been altered and now calls for separate residential buildings and office buildings under the proposal, Manos said.

Gladwyne Civic Association President Karen Aydt asked if the township was taking into account what City Avenue will look like on the Philadelphia side of the street. 

The maximum building height which is being proposed for rezoning on the Lower Merion Township side was scaled back, but Aydt said that does not account for what the rezoning in Bala Cynwyd would look like when the proposed new development is across from buildings on the Philadelphia side of City Avenue.

“If you put the buildings that are 300 feet along the other side (in Philadelphia), I think you will shock them,” Aydt said.

Another Gladwyne resident, Bernard McNamee, said the township administration and commissioners are “giving away development rights” to the existing property owners in the City Avenue District.

McNamee, who said he is in the real estate profession, estimated that the development rights are worth $300 million.

McNamee suggested that the township charge for retail, office and residential development rights and offer incentives to build affordable housing developments.

Manos said the township has an affordable-housing ordinance which is pending and if it passes, the township would not know how to apply the incentives until they know how many people would qualify for them.

Other concerns raised by residents at the meeting included how much an increase in new square footage for commercial space would increase new parking, what could be done to increase use of public transportation and link new development to public transportation through shuttles or trolleys, and concerns that the poor economy will not recover quickly enough for the development proposal to be successful.

At the end of the meeting, Commissioner Brian Gordon asked residents to provide the commissioners with written submissions of their vision for City Avenue, as well as their concerns.

Board of Commissioners President Liz Rogan acknowledged that many people think there is no vision for the City Avenue District, but she disagreed.

Rogan said the City Avenue District is very successful right now and it is built for cars.  More public transit is desired for the area, but Rogan said the township will not have more unless they have more people to use it.

Rogan said they all have the same goal.

“We all want this township to be the place we love right now,” Rogan said.