Borough ZBA Considers Fire Company’s Requested Zoning Variance

By Andrew Gorosko

Borough Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) members April 29 received written legal arguments from the Newtown Hook and Ladder Volunteer Fire Company and from the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers concerning the fire company’s controversial proposal to expand its firehouse in a residential zone at 45 Main Street, behind Edmond Town Hall.

Attorney Robert Accomando, representing the fire company, and attorney John Fallon, representing the town hall managers, submitted their arguments to Borough ZBA members at a brief public hearing. The April 29 session concluded a public hearing that had begun on April 9.

Janet Woycik, who is serving as the Borough ZBA’s acting chairman for the fire company’s variance application, set a tentative May 15 date for the panel’s discussion and possible action on the requested variance. The Borough ZBA would have until early July to act on the application.

 If the fire company receives the requested zoning variance from the Borough ZBA, it also would need approval for the expansion project from the Borough Zoning Commission.

But the fire company has encountered some stiff opposition to its zoning variance request. Representatives of the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers and some Main Street residents have voiced various objections to the firehouse expansion proposal.

To improve its facilities, the fire company wants to demolish one existing garage bay on the eastern side of its firehouse and replace it with a brick, three-bay garage covering 2,750 square feet.

Borough zoning regulations would require a minimum setback distance of 25 feet between the proposed new construction and the property line to the north at 49 Main Street. The fire company instead proposes that the building addition be only 5½ feet from that property line, which is the same distance that the existing firehouse lies from that property line.

Mr Accomando has said that the Borough ZBA might determine that no zoning variance is needed, and thus waive the fire company’s need to obtain that approval. Citing various physical problems with the firehouse, Mr Accomando has said the expansion project is necessary if the fire company is to continue providing its service to the community.

Although the firehouse is a town-owned building, the fire company would cover firehouse expansion costs.

Opposition

The fire company’s zoning variance application does not have the town hall managers’ approval, which is necessary because the managers are the state-endorsed agent for the management of the municipal property at 45 Main Street, according to Mr Fallon. Also, it is unclear how a firehouse expansion would affect a planned town hall improvement project, according to Mr Fallon.

The town hall and firehouse share common parking lots and driveways.

Mr Fallon has charged that the fire company’s variance application is incomplete, saying that the group has not applied for all required approvals from the Borough ZBA, terming the expansion proposal “an illegal expansion of a nonconforming use.”

Main Street residents have expressed concerns that if the firehouse were to expand, commercial properties along Main Street also might seek expansion projects.

Other issues raised by Main Street residents include the visibility of an expanded firehouse from Main Street, which is in a historic district; decreased property values; and traffic safety concerns.

Arguments

In legal arguments submitted to the Borough ZBA, Mr Accomando states the fire company’s zoning variance application is not defective because there is no requirement that the fire company obtain the town hall managers’ approval for seeking a variance.

Mr Accomando further argues that the fire company is not required to seek various ZBA approvals, beyond the single approval that it is seeking from the Borough ZBA, as has been claimed by Mr Fallon.

Mr Accomando argues that Mr Fallon’s contention that the fire company’s proposed firehouse expansion is illegal is “meritless.”

Although the fire company does not even need a zoning variance for its project, the zoning variance that it has nonetheless requested meets the standards of zoning variance approval, based on the evidence that has been submitted, according to Mr Accomando.

The lawyer further argues that the proposed firehouse expansion would not alter the character of its neighborhood.

Not granting the requested zoning variance would deprive the fire company of the reasonable use of the firehouse, according to Mr Accomando.

In his legal arguments of behalf of the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers, Mr Fallon maintains that the fire company’s variance application is deficient and should be rejected.