Whitmore explains the proposed Gettysburg zoning plan

Contacted after Monday’s Planning Commission meeting, Planning Director John Whitmore gave his thoughts about the proposed new zoning plan.

Detailed information about the new plan including the proposed new document and map can be found on the borough’s website here.

“The development of property within the Borough is planned in accordance with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (MPC),” he said. “The proposed ordinance is intended to optimize development within the borough, by by agglomerating or clustering similar land uses.

“The regulatory basis for zoning ensures that incompatible land uses are not intermixed and allows property owners to forecast future development. Communities that lack proper zoning risk their historic property’s future preservation, appropriate land and environmental conservation, and do not fully incentivize redevelopment of underutilized or blighted properties,” he said.

Whitmore said the prior plan had major flaws that made planning and enforcement difficult.

Whitmore noted that although zoning focuses more on development goals than on preservation goals, he hoped the new plan would incorporate both. “HARB will keep things looking historic. We’re encouraging HARB to be more involved,” he said. “It’s not going to radically change the borough.”

Whitmore said the proposed new plan followed the Central Adams Joint Comprehensive Plan which makes recommendations for zoning in the borough as well as neighboring townships including Cumberland, Straban, and Mt Joy.

“The comprehensive plan is more than just a document,” he said. “It lays out ideas for how to plan for growth and land use in a 20-to-50-year time frame.  We’re trying to make clear what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.”

“Most of the core commercial areas are currently in the historic district, but we want to encourage additional business opportunities. And we need additional housing,” he said.

Proposed Zoning Changes

The new plan is anchored by the Old Town (OT) central business district which focuses on commercial enterprises and pedestrian traffic. This area is reduced in size in comparison to the existing Old Town District.

The Elm St. Overlay is disappearing, but Whitmore said the new plan does many of the same things the old Elm St Overlay was doing. “There are changes to the edges.  The nuts and bolts are not changing in Elm St.”

The new 9 acre Revitalization District (R), north of Old Town along Carlisle St. would allow currently underutilized areas to have additional density. The maximum building heights in this district would be increased to 72 feet, to be determined by offsets provided by the builder. This approach is already being used for the new Railroad Station Project.

Whitmore said whether the taller heights would apply to the whole district or only east of Carlisle St. was still to be determined and that he could see a handful of mixed-use buildings in this area. “The Gettysburg Hotel is 6 stories. It’s a big building. These are not going to be urban high-rise or even mid-rise buildings,” he said.

Three new districts are the Low Impact Neighborhood Commercial (NC-1) south of Lincoln Square, the Historical Corridor Neighborhood Commercial (NC-2) along Baltimore St. and Neighborhood Commercial (NC-3) on Chambersburg and York Streets.

The existing General Commercial District (C-1) which allows commercial activities including automotive (buses for instance), will be kept and applied to Steinwehr Ave.

“The goal is to make development easier along Baltimore St. and Steinwehr Avenue,” said Whitmore. “We want to make it easier for community development and more enticing for local mom and pop businesses. We hope to improve buildings and provide more opportunities for residential development. We’re trying to get rid of the hurdles.”

The old institutional district would now be divided into two new districts:  Civic Institution (C1) which includes the rec park and the battlefield, Institution (INS-1) which includes the Gettysburg College Campus and the public schools around Lefever St., and Healthcare (HC) which includes the Gettysburg Hospital.

Whitmore said the proposed zoning plan includes:

• Opportunities for additional housing, particularly encouraging currently-missing “middle housing” of mixed-use and multi-family structures.
• Encouraging less development of off-street parking with fewer parking mandates and designs that incorporate parking into the structure itself.
• Encouraging design that meets human and natural resource goals including green spaces, alternative forms of transportation, bike trails, and walking areas.
• Separating areas with truck traffic and associated noxious odors from the residential areas.
• Recreational opportunities.

Whitmore said the committee did not explicitly consider the tax implications of the plan, but did ask basic financial questions: Who’s paying? Are the expenses beneficial to the community? Does it make sense for property owners and the borough? How long will it last? “Having a mix of uses really benefits the tax base,” he said.

“We have a general declining economic environment – we need to allow for housing development,” said Whitmore.