Lower Merion Endorses Renovations at Bala Cynwyd BMW Dealership

The Lower Merion Board of Commissioners unanimously voted Wednesday evening in favor of a tentative sketch for additions and changes to the existing on Bala Avenue.

The plan includes the construction of a series of additions and canopies to the existing building; construction of a car wash; installation of 24 vehicle lifts and 36 parking spaces at 215 Bala Ave.; a 415 square-foot addition to the existing building at 225 Bala Ave.; and exterior renovations to both buildings.

Because cars are always seen parked on the sidewalk outside the dealership, the township is proposing a “greening plan” to restrict that as much as possible, said Chris Leswing, assistant director of building and planning.

“The standard we will hold BMW to is Ardmore Toyota,” Leswing said.  “It has as much landscaping as any streetscape in Lower Merion Township.”

Leswing said the vehicle lifts would be screened with landscaping to make them as visually unobtrusive as possible. However, commissioners expressed concern about the lifts, which would sit in a lot along Bala Avenue. Commissioner Daniel Bernheim questioned if the landscaping would shield the lifts from neighbors, and if not, they would “be the greatest eyesore.”

No one at the meeting was sure about the exact height of the lifts.  Leswing estimated 15-20 feet while George Broseman, the attorney representing the applicant, guessed eight to 12 feet. Broseman said Township staff believes the lifts will be screened adequately, but the tentative sketch plan is only the first step. When the preliminary plan goes before the committee for approval, a landscaping plan will be required, he said.

Leswing said the dealership was also proposing to change the architecture and look from Bala Avenue through exterior renovations to the buildings and the township sees the proposed plan as an opportunity for the BMW dealership to better fit in with the character of Bala Village.

Steven Dickstein, a homeowner who lives nearby to the dealership, disagreed. He said that while he appreciated Leswing’s efforts to make the dealership’s plan as attractive as it could be, “The plan so far does nothing to promote a village-type atmosphere.”

Dickstein said he had once hoped that Bala Village would become like Narberth’s downtown but that Bala Avenue has experienced a “consistent turning over in businesses … until we are up to our ears in nail salons.”

Dickstein expressed concerns about the dealership’s plan creating light pollution problems for residents.  He said he already feels like he and his wife live in a “very beleaguered little cul-de-sac” with a post office to the east that includes the unloading of mail in the parking lot at 3 a.m. and the railroad tracks directly south.

Commissioner George Manos said he hoped that the applicant would be receptive to Dickstein’s concerns about the lighting at the dealership and try to redirect it, but that he supported the application.

Manos said BMW is a successful business which brings people to Bala Avenue and the plan could be the beginning of the street's  revitalization. Manos noted that the Neighborhood Club of Bala Cynwyd did not attend the meeting to express opposition because the applicant had already appeared before the civic organization to discuss the plan.

Commissioner Philip Rosenzweig said because the BMW dealership is in a by-right area, “we are really compelled to give an approval.”

Rosenzweig said the best the commissioners could do was get the best conditions possible, adding he realized that was little comfort to residents if the dealership was their neighborhood.

City Avenue Transportation Service Area

In a 7-4 vote, the board voted in favor of three matters pertaining to the proposed City Avenue Transportation Service Area: the Roadway Sufficiency Analysis (the traffic study for the service area); the Transportation Capital Improvement Plan (including a timetable and proposed budget for constructing each roadway improvement); and the Pennsylvania Act 209 Transportation Impact Fee Study.

Act 209 “amended the Municipalities Planning Code to allow municipalities to assess transportation impact fees on new development provided that a transportation impact fee ordinance was adopted,” according to a public memorandum from Duncan.

Commissioners Jenny Brown, Cheryl Gelber, Lewis Gould Jr. and Rosenzweig voted against the recommendation.

The Board of Commissioners is scheduled to hold a public hearing and vote on the proposal for the fee—which would be charged to new developers along City Avenue in order to fund roadway improvements—on July 27. The Board’s approval of the impact fee does not require the approval of another proposal—the rezoning of City Avenue for new development.

Gould said the resolution “ignores completely…the fact that the Roadway Sufficiency Analysis is fatally flawed,” and that taxpayers stand to pay millions for road improvements.

Commissioner Daniel Bernheim said there appears to be a downside if the board does not accept the proposed City Avenue traffic impact fee. Duncan responded, saying the township already has three intersections that are failing, and that over time, those intersections and others will get worse.

“Even without investment, we’re going to have to invest in this corridor to improve conditions,” Duncan said.