Zoning Text and Map Amendment to Create Transit-Oriented Development District Before Planning Commission in Whitemarsh on November 28th

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All Around , Fort Washington | Commercial Real Estate , Real Estate

November 28th, 2017 | By Deana Clement

The proposal to create new zoning district in Whitemarsh Township is on the agenda for the Planning Commission at its meeting on Tuesday, November 28th at 7:00 p.m. The creation of the zoning district would permit an apartment community with a limited number of retail spaces at 451 Bethlehem Pike in Fort Washington.

The proposal was before the Planning Commission back in August and met with resistance from the community due to concerns over traffic, proximity to Bethlehem Pike and flooding.

We asked Greg Harth, a developer involved with the project, if any changes had been made since the last time it was before the Planning Commission in August. He stated that three main changes had been made, but there are a total of five changes. They are:

  1. We pulled setback back to 25′ for the majority of the building.
  2. We reviewed the architecture to be more consistent with historical feel of the township and the fabric of the community.
  3. We stepped the 4th floor back along Bethlehem Pike on portions of the building to be respectful of the architectures proximity to Bethlehem Pike.
  4. We considered the streetscape along Bethlehem Pike.
  5. The language in the text amendment was cleaned up to be very specific to the building and development that we are proposing and removed any ambiguities.

Harth went on to state that “These changes are also consistent with the recommendations suggested by the Montgomery County Planning Commission’s review in their recommendation letter.”

We asked what “stepped” means in No. 3 and were told that it means that it was moved back off of street.

We looked to see if there were any recent social media posts about this proposal from the organization leading the opposition, Fort Washington Rescape, and we could not find any (there were a couple people sharing older posts). Prior to the last meeting, Fort Washington Rescape held a community meeting where it outlined it opposition.

Acknowledgement – Harth Builders’s home remodeling division is an advertiser on AroundAmbler.com, which is also a publication of Burb Media.