Diner Developer Approval Months Away In Hatboro

HATBORO, PA —All that is left is the land development approval. And that might not be coming for a few months.

After hearing nearly an hour of testimony, the Hatboro Borough Council approved two conditional use applications submitted by the developer at 21-23 and 37 N. York Road for 102 residential apartments and 4,732 square feet of first-floor retail/commercial/office use space.

The second motion involved reducing the required parking for the mixed-use development by up to 10 percent under the borough's code of ordinances.

Both motions were approved unanimously by the council.

Attorney Edward Murphy, who is representing the developer, brought a team of experts with him to testify for an hour on traffic, project specifications, and architecture.

JERC Partners LXIX, LLC last presented plans before the Hatboro Planning Commission in mid-November.

And they will have to appear before the commission again to get the stamp of approval on final land development after receiving preliminary land development approval in November. A meeting scheduled for last week was canceled due to inclement weather, meaning the developer might not get back before that board until February.

Depending on whether the commission approves the project then, the developer would have to return before the council —possibly in March —for final land development approval.

At an earlier meeting, residents had opposed the "look" of an apartment project at the former North York Road diner property. Developers made some tweaks and presented three new artist renderings that fit the borough's historical "look."

But the planning commission asked for the developer to combine the renderings and return to the board with a new one before it signs off and passes the project on to the council.

The developers are the second ones to come before the board under the borough new Town Center Ordinance, which allows for mixed-use residential and retail development.

The developer has proposed a three-story building featuring 102 residential units, 4,732 square feet of first-floor retail space, and 3,142 square feet of a first-floor amenity area that would only be for those living in the apartments.

The first project under the borough's mixed-use Town Center Ordinance received the stamp of approval by the Borough Council at the end of November.

Last January, the Hatboro Borough Council approved a mixed-use ordinance for a section of York Road after a public hearing of 50 people.

The ordinance allows developers to make proposals that could see building heights go to 60 feet provided they meet certain guidelines, meaning that the downtown district could have taller buildings and apartments.

The option allows for buildings along York Road —from Byberry Road to Montgomery Avenue —to be taller than the current 35 feet allowed.

All plans need final approval by the Hatboro Borough Council.