Community Corner
Jaindl Should Buy, Rezone Shoemaker Property, Officials Say
Or risk another developer putting in a larger business next to the Hills at Winchester, South Whitehall officials say.
Several South Whitehall Township officials say the township and residents are best served if developer David Jaindl buys the Shoemaker auto dealership and builds small neighborhood shops and a restaurant on it.
Otherwise, the property could get sold to another developer, who could continue the auto dealership's non-conforming use or put in a more ill-suited business for a residential neighborhood, township Alternate Solicitor Jim Preston and Alternate Engineer Bill Erdman told residents Wednesday at the Board of Commissioners meeting.
The car dealership at 4131 Walbert Ave. is next to Jaindl's proposed development of 90 single-family homes called the Hills at Winchester on about 94 acres of farmland.
The auto dealership is a non-conforming use under current zoning, which Erdman called "the challenge in this whole thing."
Preston said the owners of a non-conforming use property can expand that use as long as it's related to the current use, but even that can change.
"It can become something bigger," Preston said, such as a CarMax, auto repair shop or dealership.
Preston said the non-conforming use is an opportunity for other developers to come in, but "we thought it would be more advantageous for the residents to get a seat at that table."
Preston said neighborhood commercial uses are "much less intense than anything that could be brought in now. We would know what it is and we would be able to control it and integrate it into the plan that Mr. Jaindl will most likely go forward with," he said.
Township officials say it is the best-case scenario for the tract, which they had proposed to Jaindl several months ago. Jaindl then presented a concept plan of neighborhood-friendly shops and a restaurant, and extending Hampton Road north of Walbert Avenue into the housing development, but it was opposed by residents.
Neighborhood commercial development in South Whitehall includes businesses such as art galleries, gift shops, pizza shops, dry cleaners, bakeries, barbers and small professional offices.
Some residents at Wednesday's meeting continued to object to any commercial use of the Shoemaker property, saying it would destroy the character of their neighborhood and create more traffic.But officials told them it was unlikely the Shoemakers would sell such a valuable property for residential development, which would be worth 15 percent to 20 percent less than commercial.
"We can't turn it into a field with bunnies or houses," Preston said. "We're not going to be able to do that. But we can maybe get a handle on it and turn it into a more palatable, acceptable and more integrated type of commercial use," Preston said.
Erdman said if another developer buys the Shoemaker tract, Jaindl would probably build a buffer to separate the Hills of Winchester from whatever commercial use the new developer would put in.
"Which of the two forks in the road do we take?," Erdman asked.
"Do we go down the route of saying the Shoemakers will do something down the road that isn't as well-controlled? Or allow Mr. Jaindl, as part of a unified plan, to develop the adjacent Shoemaker tract with a neighborhood commercial-type use?", he asked.
The board took no action. Jaindl will discuss his proposed development at the commissioners' Aug. 7 meeting.
Find out what's happening in South Whitehallwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.