The Gettysburg Planning Commission re-examined a previous map change and proposed the creation of a new zoning district in their meeting on Monday, as part of the ongoing Zoning Code Update/Rewrite Project.
The Commission met for a little over two hours, its tenth meeting since undertaking the rezoning project. Member John Rice was absent, and Alternate Jenny Dumont served as a voting member.
The meeting started in standard fashion with approval of the last meeting’s minutes, but the Commission realized partway through the discussion that there seemed to be inaccuracies in the minutes.
The Commission believed that they had previously directed borough staff to include a section of West Middle Street in the NC-1 Neighborhood Commercial zoning district rather than the residential R-2 section, but this was not reflected in the minutes, and staff did not complete that objective.
Staff also presented a potential zoning map change that included part of Carlisle Street in the NC-1 district. Commission members recalled that that suggestion did not receive a majority vote and that staff should not have made the change.
The Planning Commission voted to supersede the approval of the minutes and table them until they could be reviewed and made accurate.
They then reopened the discussion about West Middle Street, ultimately voting 3-2 in favor of including it in the NC-1 zoning district. Nicholas Redman and Sarah Kipp voted against them, and Charles Strauss, Martin Jolin, and Jenny Dumont voted for.
Redman said he was concerned about “commercial creep,” given the goal of increasing housing opportunities in the borough. When properties are being sold, he said, “commercial can always outbid and outbuy families.”
Jolin said he was in favor because the commercial uses in NC-1 are limited, and he felt the model of a business on the first floor with housing above has been successful in Gettysburg.
Strauss felt that, as a corridor out of Gettysburg, more commercial uses in the area were appropriate, especially with projects like the new library branch down the road.
In discussing Carlisle Street — specifically the section north of Water Street, which includes many large Victorian homes — the Planning Commission considered that the area might be unique enough to merit its own zoning district. Some members felt that NC-1 permitted too much commercial development, while R-2 would restrict some businesses that could benefit the community, like cafes.
Sue Cipperly, a resident who has regularly offered feedback at each meeting, proposed the idea of a completely separate zoning district called NC-4.
Planning Director John Whitemore summarized: “What staff is gaining from this is that, looking at this area, an NC-4 district should be considered, making it such that it would be R-2 higher density [housing] focus, but also very low impact neighborhood commercial type of uses, centered around the general commercial — that use as opposed to the other retail-heavier commercial business or auto-dependent business.”
Borough staff will present specifics of what this could look like to the Planning Commission next month.
The Planning Commission could possibly resolve the remaining questions at their April meeting and vote on a draft zoning ordinance to send to the Borough Council. They could also decide to push that vote to a future meeting.
For more information about the rezoning project, or to make public comment, there is a dedicated page on the Borough of Gettysburg website.
In other news:
The commission decided unanimously to remove “electronic cigarette, vaporizer store, and smoking places” from the allowable uses in the NC-1 district.
The commission voted to remove storage facilities from the uses allowed by special exception in the revitalization district. The intent was to more actively encourage redevelopment of the storage facility properties in that district near the center of town.
Strauss said he was sure that discussion of the revitalization zone would continue as the zoning project comes before the Borough Council.
Video footage of the meeting is available through the Community Media Center of South Central PA.
The Planning Commission will next meet on Monday, April 21, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.
Catalina Righter, freelance reporter, lives in New Oxford. She previously wrote for the Carroll County Times and the Kent County News, covering crime, education, local government and arts. She works as a legal assistant.
I have commented regularly over the past year while the Planning Commission has been reviewing the Rezoning document. When my comments involve a map, and suggested revisions, I have been able to have the map shown on the screen in the meeting room, so I can describe it. This benefits both the PC members and those in the audience. In February, I was told the projector could no longer be used during public comment at borough meetings, per some pronouncement from the administration. Chairman Strauss did have John Whitmore show my 3 slides during my public comment — which took… Read more »