Court backs zoning board on Stenton Avenue development
Opponents of a proposed condominium building in Erdenheim suffered a third and possibly final defeat last month when the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the variances allowing construction to proceed.
In a ruling issued Oct. 27, the Commonwealth Court affirmed the decision of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas to uphold the variances granted for the project by the Springfield Township Zoning Board.
In appealing the variances, neighbors argued that the developer, 9425 Stenton Partners LLC, failed to meet the legal definition of hardship and that the board granted more than the minimum amount of zoning relief, as required by law.
On both questions, Commonwealth Court sided with the zoning board and the Court of Common Pleas.
“Daniel J. Helwig, a licensed Realtor and partner in Stenton, testified that the configuration of the lot would make it extremely difficult to build single-family dwellings,” Judge Johnny Butler wrote for the court, “and that due to the deteriorating condition of the [existing] building, i.e., heating problems, plumbing problems, failure to meet ADA standards, it would not be economically feasible to continue the existing non-conforming use. Thus, Stenton has proven that denial of the use variance would impose an unnecessary hardship.”
The two existing buildings at 9425 Stenton Ave. contain nine offices as well as 13 apartments. The Stenton plan calls for the buildings to be razed and a new building, with underground parking, to be constructed.
By eliminating the offices and devoting the new building entirely to residential use, the developer is making the property more consistent with the zoning of the surrounding neighborhood, Butler wrote.
Further, because the zoning board limited the number of condominiums to 35, “the variance represents the minimum variance that will afford relief,” he wrote.
The Springfield Zoning Hearing Board granted the variances in October 2007. Residents’ appeals have kept the project on hold for more than two years.
Dan Helwig, the Flourtown Realtor mentioned in the court’s decision, said in an interview Nov. 26 he expected construction to begin in 2010.
“I don’t know what the two people involved in the court suit are going to do, but we are proceeding with land development,” Helwig said.
The two people Helwig mentioned are Stephen Iula, a resident of Whitemarsh Avenue, and John Berman, a resident of Stenton.
Berman said in an interview that he has withdrawn from the case, but Iula vowed that he and other neighbors will continue to oppose the building.
“Suffice it to say that we are greatly disappointed in the decision of the court,” he said in an e-mail Nov. 18. “Such a pronouncement, as made by the court in their decision, does not alter our view that the zoning hearing board erred ‘as a matter of law’ and thus ‘abused their discretion’ in the granting of the variances. Nor has it shaken the resolve of the many neighbors that remain adamantly opposed to the proposed project for 9425 Stenton Ave.
“We shall continue to fight the project, if not before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, then before the [Springfield] Planning Commission when the time comes for that battle.”
Helwig said he believed the neighbors would be pleasantly surprised when the building is finished. The developers have tried to address neighbors’ objections, he said, and he didn’t know what more they could do.
“We had some things in mind that I may have to curtail because of the legal [fees],” he said.