Gettysburg Borough Council members expressed broad opposition Monday to expanding the borough’s historic district along Middle Street and around the Lutheran Seminary while continuing to consider revisions intended to streamline the historic review process.
No formal votes were taken during the council’s Aug. 24 work session.
The proposed expansion, requested by the Historic Architectural Review Board, would have extended the district farther along Middle Street and included additional properties near Seminary Ridge and Southwest Confederate Avenue.
Planning, Zoning and Code Enforcement Director John Whitmore said some of the properties are old enough to qualify for inclusion. However, he cautioned that historic district designation creates additional costs and potentially lengthy review requirements for property owners.
Council President Matthew Moon said he had received approximately eight calls from people associated with the seminary who opposed the expansion. Other council members also indicated they did not support changing the district boundaries.
Moon said the borough should leave the historic district map as it is.
Council is still considering other revisions to the ordinance governing HARB. Those changes would clarify the roles of borough staff and the board, establish procedures for emergency demolitions and allow more minor projects to receive administrative approval.
Under the current ordinance, administrative approval is generally limited to projects that replace a material with the same material. The proposed revisions could allow staff approval for improvements that cannot be seen from a public area, such as screened heating and cooling equipment.
Whitmore said projects involving visible changes to doors, roofs and other exterior features would continue to require HARB review.
Whitmore also said the borough recently completed a planning process in which residents supported additional commercial development and creative reuse of properties along Middle Street.
Moon said the goal is not to weaken historic preservation but to make the process more consistent and less burdensome for property owners. A full ordinance draft is expected later this year.
Council also reviewed several possible changes to the borough’s parking system.
Parking Manager Joshua Mallernee recommended continuing discounted winter parking rates for conferences at the Racehorse Alley Parking Garage. The program was created to help the Hotel Gettysburg attract conferences during January, February and March, when the garage has considerable unused capacity.
Council members supported extending the program, although it apparently was not used during its initial trial period.
Mallernee also recommended retaining four downtown bus-parking areas and improving outreach to bus companies. Several companies he contacted were unaware that dedicated bus parking was available.
Council agreed to continue the program while the parking department develops better maps and promotional materials.
The borough will also collect more information before deciding whether to extend meter enforcement beyond the current 8 p.m. cutoff. Mallernee said parking demand appears to be limited early in the morning but remains strong near restaurants during the evening.
Council members discussed shifting enforcement hours later, possibly from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., but said consistent occupancy and revenue data are needed before making a change. Staffing hours would also have to be addressed through ongoing labor negotiations.
Council also began reviewing replacement options for Gettysburg’s aging parking meters. Mallernee presented two possibilities: upgraded individual meter heads that accept coins, cards and contactless payments, or multi-space pay stations.
Replacing all individual meters could cost more than $500,000, while pay stations could be less expensive but would require motorists to walk to a kiosk and enter a license plate number. Councilman William Mooney III agreed to work with Mallernee to compare the systems and arrange vendor demonstrations. A proposal could be considered during the fall budget process.
In another parking matter, residents of Hillcrest Place have requested additional residential permit spaces and an accessible space. Council agreed the recently installed permit system should operate longer before changes are made. Officials will study whether an accessible space could be restricted to vehicles with both a disability placard and a residential parking permit.
Council also reviewed proposed regulations for outdoor dining areas. The draft would require barriers around dining areas directly on Lincoln Square, limit fences to an open design, require furniture and planters to be movable and allow the borough to revoke permits when dining equipment interferes with sidewalks or municipal fixtures.
Staff will revise the language, including possible requirements for restaurants to keep the sidewalk beneath outdoor dining areas clean. The regulations would likely take effect next spring.
