Bethlehem Council to consider office ordinance

Planning commission deadlocks twice on Quadrant proposal.

Bethlehem City Council will consider a amendment to its zoning ordinance to allow office space in a residential zone after the city’s planning commission’s tie vote Thursday night.

The planning commission voted 2-2 on whether to recommend approval of an amendment to the ordinance that would allow Quadrant Private Wealth, a financial services firm, to continue to operate in a single-family dwelling.

A subsequent motion to recommend denial also had a 2-2 vote.

Council will vote on the proposed amendment Nov. 20.

Located within the city’s RT High Density Residential zone, the 2 W. Market St. business is within the North Bethlehem Historic District.

The corner lot includes a commercial building with two retail shops at 511 N. New St.

Owners Morning Star Partners LLC opened Quadrant in June 2016 after a series of appeals to the zoning hearing board for a use variance, which was granted on the third try.

It was later upheld in Northampton County Court, but overturned in Commonwealth Court in May.

Attorney Jim Preston, representing Morning Star, proposed an amendment that would allow for both uses by special exception, which would need to be granted by the zoning hearing board if the amendment were first approved by council.

He contended that both the zoning hearing board and county court had upheld the variance request, finding it presented no harm to the surrounding community.

Tim Stevens, an attorney representing five residents opposed to the use, contended that allowing the amendment to pass would constitute “spot zoning.”

He said it would open the door for more non-conforming uses and would serve to diminish housing options.

“It’s self-serving; it doesn’t benefit the welfare of all the Bethlehem citizens,” he said.

Kori Lannan, of Quadrant, dismissed the notion that they would eventually flip the business to another entity, and said she and her four business partners are committed to the community because they are all lifetime residents of Bethlehem.

“We love being part of historic downtown Bethlehem and contributing to its preservation in a meaningful way,” she said.

Planning and Zoning Director Darlene Heller cautioned the board that there was no way to know how many properties would be affected in other parts of the city if the amendment is approved.

“Therefore the end result of the amendment is unclear,” she said.

Several nearby residents, some of them business owners, spoke in favor of allowing Quadrant to continue, and praised the owners for beautifying the building that sat on the market for an extended period.

Vito Spinelli, owner of The Brick restaurant on West Broad Street, said he supported the business for the improvements made to the house, which dates to 1840.

Daniel Nigito, a certified financial planner who lives on West Market Street and operates a business at a separate address there, said he supports the business, referring to himself and Quadrant as “the caretakers” of the district’s vintage structures.

“We take care of them because of what they represent to the city,” he said.

But not everyone who spoke saw it that way.

Neighboring resident Barbara Diamond said that, despite the effort put into beautifying the building, it still doesn’t fit into the character of the community.

Councilwoman Paige Van Wirt, who also lives nearby, made it clear how she would likely vote.

Adding her voice to the objectors, she said Quadrant should have sought to fill one of the vacancies along Broad Street, where zoning for professional office space is in place.

“Our zoning map is an aspirational map, it’s residential — that’s what we want it to be,” she said.

Planning Commissioner Joy Cohen, who voted against the amendment, said she was “very concerned” about how it would impact other portions of the city.

Fellow commissioner Matthew Malozi, who voted with her, said he had to base his decision solely on Bethlehem’s Comprehensive Plan, and not on emotion.

Morning Star received a cease and desist notice from the city in August after the Commonwealth Court ruling to overturn the use variance, and is set to appeal later this month after council’s vote on the amendment.

Kevin Duffy is a freelance writer