Architect Mike Rosen answers questions at the conditional use hearing.
Efforts to create a six-story, state-of-the-art apartment complex on West Third Street in Lansdale will be delayed another month, after borough council requested a continuance following Wednesday night’s two-and-a-half hour conditional use hearing.
In its current state, developer Ross Ziegler proposes placing a 74-foot tall, 204 unit apartment building along the unit block of West Third Street. The building would feature many green-friendly features, such as solar power, recycling of rain water, zip-cars and bike racks, as well as a fully-automated underground parking system that could handle up to 313 vehicles.
A conditional use hearing is required because the property is located in the Residential C-District, and is part of Lansdale’s Downtown Business Overlay District, which requires approval for the creation of multi-family dwellings with six or more units.
Much of the discussion from council members centered around fire safety, exterior parking, the inner workings of the automated parking system and the potential traffic impacts. Architect Mike Rosen, along with counsel, stated that traffic and parking impacts would be minimal, and that every aspect of the proposal has been designed to meet standards set by the borough code.
The latter statement was later backed up by Lansdale Borough Planning Commission Chairman Kevin Dunigan, during the public comment portion of the hearing.
“We have gone through every word of the code, and this building complies with it,” said Dunigan. “I think it’s a very exciting time for the borough, and I look forward to the construction beginning.”
Additional public comment was mostly positive, with resident Vira Katolik—whose property would become part of the proposed project—stating that this type of development makes her want to stay in Lansdale, instead of moving to Doylestown or Ambler.
“A project like this really puts Lansdale on the map. It’s very different, it’s very new, it’s very courageous in so many respects,” said Katolik. “It’s really exciting.”
“I think a lot of good will happen in Lansdale because of this project,” Katolik said. “It’s not going to be easy, but I think this will be huge for Lansdale.”
Not all public comments were as enthusiastic, though. Ridge Street resident Bette Conway expressed concerns about the environmental impact of the proposed development, and Oak Drive resident Bruce Schwartz took issue with the size of the building, and how it would blend in with the existing aesthetic of the area.
“I know these buildings, and they are beautiful…when they are surrounded by four-lane highways, and other buildings that are planned to be of similar height or slowly being scaled down to the residences in the neighborhood,” said Schwartz. “Once you put this building in, then what you have is a downtown that is [composed of] all of these buildings, or you’re going to have a downtown that has this sore thumb sticking out forever. There’s really no in-between.”
“It’s a pivotal moment,” Schwartz added. “What you do here will pretty much map out what downtown Lansdale will look like for the next 20 to 30 years.”
Following public comment, borough council requested a continuance in order to allow time to process the new proposal, see if any new questions may arise and verify that it meets the standards set by borough code. Though initially reluctant to agree, counsel for the developer agreed to the continuance, which was then scheduled for April 24 at 7 p.m.
Borough Council President Denton Burnell said it’s unclear if the currently scheduled business meeting on April 17 would be moved to the new date, or if a special meeting would be called to conclude the hearing on April 24.
If the conditional use request is approved in April, the proposal would head into land development as the next step. As it's currently constructed, the development would be the highest-density housing unit in Montgomery County.
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