Zoning Board To Issue Decision On Doylestown Court Street Hotel Appeal

DOYLESTOWN BOROUGH, PA — The Doylestown Borough Zoning Hearing Board is scheduled to announce its decision this week on whether to grant zoning relief for a proposed hotel project at 57 West Court Street.

After more than two months of deliberations, the board is scheduled to reconvene on Tuesday, April 30 at 7 p.m. to render a decision in the case. The meeting takes place at the Doylestown Borough Hall at 10 Doyle Street.

After hearing three nights of testimony, first from the applicant and then from neighboring residents mostly opposed to the project, the zoning board closed the record in mid-February and entered into deliberations.

Doylestown businessman Larry Thompson is seeking zoning relief, including dimensional variances for building height, parking, and setbacks, to build a 32-room hotel at 57 West Court Street, the site of the former Doylestown Borough Hall and police station. The proposed hotel would include a full-service restaurant and an event space.

During the hearings in December and January, the zoning board heard from Thompson and from his professional engineer who laid out their case for zoning relief.

Thompson said he had initially investigated apartments for the site, but he said they were not a permitted use. He eventually settled on a hotel use, which he testified would fill a major need in the community where hotel rooms and event space is lacking.

Thompson said the proposed hotel would include a mix of one and two bedroom traditional hotel rooms. It would also house an upscale sit-down restaurant, an event venue and an outdoor rooftop terrace where guests can sit outside and "get some fresh air." Live music or bands would not be permitted on the roof, said Thompson.

The former Doylestown Borough Hall. (Photo by Jeff Werner)

Thompson said initially he had planned a 40-room hotel, but had reduced the number of rooms to lessen the size and impact of the proposed building on the neighborhood.

"The ideal minimum for a hotel to be a worthwhile venture they recommend 40 rooms. But given this location, 30ish would be a viable project. But you need an event space to support the hotel," said Thompson.

At the start of the hearing, the zoning board granted "party status" to numerous property owners living close to the site. "Party status" means they were allowed to cross-examine witnesses and appeal any decision made by the zoning board.

The neighbors, many of whom are from Harvey and Hamilton Avenues, argued during the hearings that the proposed building is too large for the infrastructure of the neighborhood; that public safety would be impacted by guests drinking and driving to and from the establishment; and that parking and traffic generated by delivery trucks, staff and guests would overwhelm the small side streets of the neighborhood, negatively impacting residents and merchants.

During the third and final meeting, they asked the zoning board to deny the zoning relief being requested and that the developer consider a significantly smaller operation with less impact on residents, arguing that the borough's zoning laws were designed to protect neighborhoods like theirs.

Janet Clifford of North Hamilton voiced concern about the height of the building, traffic flow in and around the site, and parking. "Right now I look out, I look over the building and I see sky and I see trees from upstairs. With the proposed building I'll see nothing but wall."

"This will change the essential nature of this quiet, quaint community of homes," Thomas Beahm told the zoning board. "I have faith in the good judgment of our leaders to do the right thing. ... This is an ill-conceived, ill-planned project and a project that does not fit in with the fabric of the Court, Hamilton, Harvey Avenue neighborhood ... This project is not consistent with the core values of this community. On numerous levels, it just doesn't fit. And to paraphrase the late Johnny Cochrane, 'If it doesn't fit, you must not build it.'"

In his presentation before the board, Tim Edbrooke took the audience into the sky with drone footage showing what the surrounding neighborhood would look like from the rooftop and balconies of the proposed hotel.

"These images show what you can see down Hamilton and Harvey Avenue. You can see the extent to which they (the balconies) overlook the parking lot and more importantly the rear of the houses, the private yards. There is no privacy anymore," said Edbrooke.

He also presented to the public and to the board a series of still photographs showing the neighborhood from the second- and third-floor balconies and the rooftop of the proposed building. "You can see further down the street to more properties," he said as images flashed across a screen.

Edbrooke asked the zoning board to deny the height variance.

Laura Morocco, who lives on North Hamilton Street, said the majority of residents from Harvey and Hamilton are not in favor of the granting of the variances. "The residents are not opposed to improvements that are being suggested, but are opposed to the granting of the three variances. The approval of the height, buffer and parking requirements will change the characteristics of the area. While these variances might be considered in the center of town it's very different when they abut up against a residential zone."

Several at the meeting spoke in favor of the hotel, including Nick Molloy, who owns five properties in the borough and is a broker of record at a real estate company in town. "We need this hotel because we need something new and exciting and vibrant and this property is a typical one to rejuvenate. We don't need any more commercial and we don't need any more apartments in the borough. I'm fairly sure that a hotel will do very well here."

Lisa Povlow who lives near the site said she'd like to see a hotel open there. "I've been here for 20 years and I care about my neighbors and their concerns, but I’m not seeing a real problem (with traffic). This hotel has 61 parking spaces. A lot of the restaurants here don't have any parking. I would think people who stay there are going to park there and there won't be a constant flow in and out. They're going to be walking into town. On the height issue, she sympathized with her neighbors. I wouldn't want anyone looking into my yard. That's something to work out. I think we have a developer who is someone who lives in town and is going to do something beautiful. My concern is that by right this building could be 200 square feet bigger than it is currently."

After the testimony concluded, the zoning board adjourned into executive session. When it returned, the board's solicitor Christen G. Pionzio, Esquire, announced that there would be no decision that evening.