The Reading Zoning Hearing Board voted in favor of zoning relief for the developer Alan Shuman's proposed 156,000-square-foot retail facility.
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Previously located at 1853 N. Third St., the Glidden paint plant stood on 19.3 acres before closing its doors in 2007. Afterwards, the manufacturing buildings were demolished. The empty area is located between Center Avenue (Route 61) and the North Fifth Street Highway (Route 222), bordered by Bern Street, Richmond Street, and Rockland Street.
The property is being sold to Glidden Development LP, with Anoread LLC being the registered owner. Due to the site's location in the M-C Manufacturing Commercial zoning district, a special exemption is needed to allow the proposed use. Variations from the loading dock and off-street parking regulations are also part of the zoning flexibility given.
Shuman stated during the hearing last month that during the previous 15 years, he has previously built three other neighborhood shopping malls in the city with success. On the disputed 13 acres to the south, Shuman plans to build his fourth commercial center. Shuman's designs allow for 500 parking spaces, but the city zoning regulations would demand 800 due to the size of the development. According to Shuman's prior testimony, if the tenants have comparable purposes, the zoning officer has the power to waive the parking requirement by 50%. Shuman has already received the waiver at his other city shopping locations. The assignment of loading spots was the subject of the second zoning dispute.
Shuman noted that because the tenant design has not yet been determined, the loading spaces are located in the upper left corner of the plan. Shuman had requested zoning clearance on the understanding that many loading spaces would be necessary in that location with the completion of the land development plan.
The proposal must go through a thorough land development plan evaluation by the city planning commission, even if it has zoning permission. Additionally, the board made decisions regarding two requests for multiple variances made by the Reading Parking Authority for proposed residential parking lots on Mulberry Street and North Ninth Street.
The projects' higher than required percentage of impervious coverage, the need to do away with screening requirements, clear sight triangles, parking lot setbacks from existing homes, buffer strip landscaping requirements, and dimensional requirements for handicapped parking spaces are the reasons behind the requests for variances.
The appeal for the lots on North Ninth Street was accepted by the board, however the appeal for the lots on Mulberry Street was rejected. The board did not provide an explanation for why it granted one appeal while rejecting another.
The board considered proposals in fresh appeals from:
Harnoor Properties LLC, 1014 North 13th St., is requesting a special exception to allow for the addition of a crispy chicken franchise to the existing non-conforming gas station/convenience shop. The applicant claims that this will not negatively affect the existing company.
The applicant requested that a variance from the allowed uses in the R-3 Residential zoning area be taken into consideration as an alternative to the special exemption. September 11 will see a decision.
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