The Gettysburg Borough Planning Commission is continuing its public dialog as it makes wholesale changes to its zoning document.
Over the past months, the commission has heard comments from dozens of residents at two open houses, at information sessions at the Adams County Farmers market, and during its regular meetings (3rd Mondays of each month).
Planning Commission Chair Charles Strauss said that every document requesting reconsideration from community members had been transcribed and transmitted to the planning commission for consideration.
Planning Director John Whitmore said all public comments would be presented to the consultant on the project (Michael Baker International). A representative from Baker will be available at Monday’s Planning Commission (please note that the location has been changed to the Sterner Building at the Gettysburg rec park).
Comments have been received about a wide variety of issues and some changes have already been made to the document.
Whitmore said a proposed change to allow honeybees and chickens in some areas of the borough has been removed following public comment, and that the idea of creating areas around the railroad tracks downtown for industrial development is also off the table.
Whitmore said the goal of the proposed development in the downtown Revitalization District was to provide more “middle level” housing. Contacted after the meeting, Whitmore said building heights in the Revitalization District west of Carlisle St. would remain at 48 feet, consistent with other areas of the borough.
“Something we’re trying to do with this ordinance is to enable development. In those districts where [development] is encouraged we’d have better utilization of land with higher density,” he said.
Whitmore said that the current land value of the undeveloped and vacant Gettysburg Station property was about $500,000 per acre, while nearby properties including the Lincoln Diner and the Transit Station were valued at between $800,000 and $1 million per acre.
Whitmore said underutilization of properties can negatively impact property values while acknowledging “We should have a better understanding of the cost of community services for these developments during the planning stages.”
Whitmore said increased traffic was a concern with new development, but that the overall impact might be reduced because residents might drive their cars at different times than commercial traffic (e.g. people coming to Gettysburg to shop).
Other community comments have involved the regulation of occupancy in single-family dwellings, bed and breakfasts, and Auxillary Dwelling Units (ADUs) in residential areas.
Whitmore said the commission was being responsive to public comments, for instance by reducing the number of unrelated people who could live in a single building. Whitmore said the current limit of 4 would be reduced to improve health and safety.
Whitmore said the commission was looking across the commonwealth, and even farther, to ensure the rezoning was following best practices.
Thanks to the financial support of local residents, a video recording of the August 29 Open House is available, and an outline of Whitmore’s presentation from that meeting is available here.
The current version of the rezoning can be viewed here, and the proposed zoning map can be found here.
Featured image caption: Images from the redevelopment zone west of Carlisle St.
Charles (Chuck) Stangor is Gettysburg Connection's Owner, Publisher, and Editor in Chief. I would like to hear from you. Please contact me at cstangor@gettysburgconnection.org.