NORTH WALES — A new zoning map for North Wales could pass key steps in September, while town officials are already looking at what’s next.
Council heard an update recently on the next steps toward updating the town’s zoning map, and another public discussion that could follow.
“We’ll have a public hearing, and then assuming that all goes as planned, we will then ask council to vote on the September 12th agenda, to put the new text amendment into an ordinance, which would be effective October 1st,” said borough Manager Christine Hart.
In March, council announced that the borough planning commission had started talks on text amendments to allow new uses in areas like the transit-oriented development district that was adopted in 2009. That TOD zone was the subject of an attempted update in 2014, which was voted down due to resident concerns about dense development and protecting historic properties, then was successfully updated in 2021 to modernize definitions and allow new uses in the area.
The planning commission and MCPC started a review of the town’s zoning map last year, hosted an open house in May to field feedback, developed a summary of the changes in early July, and created a dedicated page on the borough’s website detailing the changes later that month ahead of a final round of planning commission talks on August 2. Council then voted on Aug. 8 to advertise the zoning map update for action at a future meeting, after talks on how the new map and text were meant to update codes, expand the town’s commercial business district, encourage redevelopment and preservation, and streamline approvals for certain projects.
During the Aug. 22 council meeting, Hart gave an update, saying the legal advertisements had been done since the earlier August meeting, with an advertised public hearing slated for Sept. 12, during council’s meeting that night. Building on that effort, the manager said, the borough planning commission has started talking next steps.
“A spinoff of this text amendment is looking at the next phase for implementation of changes in our 2040 plan, and that is the possible expansion of the Historical Architectural Review Board district,” she said.
The “North Wales 2040” comprehensive plan is a document created by years of public discussion and feedback in 2016-18 that spells out a series of goals and recommendations for the town. The HARB district is an area of the borough roughly centered on Main Street that is subject to special provisions in the borough code, where exterior alterations to residences or businesses must be vetted by the borough’s Historical Architectural Review Board, which can make recommendations aimed at protecting “the distinctive character of North Wales Borough.”
Since the planning commission voted ahead the zoning map update earlier this year, Hart told council, she and the town’s HARB chairman have met with a state expert on such districts to see the current HARB area up close, and look at where it could be expanded.
“We did a complete walkthrough of the current district, and looked at potential expansion. We looked at areas that were once, back in the late ’90s, were suggested, and for whatever reason had not been part of the first HARB district,” she said.
“We all know the historic architecture of our community. The residents, and those who visit, have indicated that preserving that is important to the integrity of North Wales Borough,” Hart said.
As she spoke, the manager showed a map of the borough with the current HARB area shaded, and areas for potential expansion circled or highlighted in red, including near the intersection of Montgomery Avenue and Seventh Street, near Fourth and Summit Streets, between Church Road and Montgomery to Sixth Street, and blocks near Swartley Street, Shearer Street and Water Street.
“We want to go out to those other areas that once were identified as ‘Should be protected,'” Hart said. “Twent-five years now have passed, and we’re seeing architecture that is unique, and is part of our fabric.”
For now that map is only a draft, and the HARB board and planning commission will continue talks before making any formal recommendations to council, and staff will contact residents in those areas that could be impacted, according to the manager. Resident Andrew Berenson asked if those residents would be contacted before any hearings or charges or after, and the manager replied, “Absolutely before.”
Berenson then asked for details of the scope of the expanded areas, and Hart said those are still very much up for discussion.
“We looked at going up to Washington Avenue, but only encompassing some corner properties that are of historic, contributing value,” she said.
“Some of the areas that we have squares around, they’re not 100 percent filled with homes, that would be what they consider contributing to a historic district. So at times, you can kind of make a little L, or an extension,” to target certain properties but not full blocks, Hart said.
Berenson asked if those properties would be more formally spelled out in any map update for council to consider, and the manager replied that they would — and said some residents in those areas already know what’s in the works since they saw the walking tour.
“Several people did see a lot of us walking around, and asked what we were doing,” she said.
“Nothing’s been written in stone. We’re examining the potential. And the weigh-in of those residents, if we decide to move forward with this, will be very important.”
Councilwoman Wendy McClure added that she heard feedback from residents during the zoning map discussions who knew little of that ongoing conversation, even though the planning commission and council had discussed it for months beforehand.
“A lot of people, during the zoning (discussion), said they never heard of anything happening. So I think, starting today, we’re starting to talk about it,” McClure said.
“You’re here, so you’re interested, and you ask questions, but it would be great if we could have that not happen: people saying they never heard about it,” she said.
One more factor, Hart added: the current HARB has the power to make recommendations, but no requirements.
“A lot of times there’s a misconception of ‘Now I’m going to be in a HARB, and what my house looks like, I have to change it.’ That’s not the case. Everything will remain status quo, unless a property that’s in the district takes on a front, structural change. That’s where HARB weighs in,” she said.
“We don’t go through paint colors, we don’t make you change anything. If you want to add a structure or alter a structure that has a front-facing façade, then HARB will weigh in,” Hart said.
And council President Sal Amato added another qualifier: newer properties may not be impacted, only those with historic character as defined by the codes.
“If you’re in a historic area, and you have a house that was built in 2010, obviously it’s not going to come under HARB’s purview,” he said.
Councilwoman Sarah Whelan then asked if the HARB had authority over any side improvements, and Hart said the only such case would be on corner properties where a property has more than one frontage. Berenson then asked if roofs were also under HARB’s purview, and Hart said most are: “Yes — unless it’s flat.”
And for those interested in serving long-term, the HARB currently has a vacant position, for a term running through 2023 that must be filled by a licensed real estate broker. Other vacancies include three open slots on the town’s human relations commission, for terms running through each of the next three years, and one spot each on the Nor-Gwyn Pool commission through 2023, and on the civil service commission through 2025. Any resident interested in applying can send a letter of interest and resume to Hart at [email protected] or addressed to the borough manager, 300 School Street, North Wales PA 19454.
North Wales borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on Sept. 12 at the borough municipal building, 300 School Street; for more information visit www.NorthWalesBorough.org.
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