Hamburg upholds denying Firetree permit
If you've attempted to reach our Web site at berksmontnews.com, you may have noticed that it is not working at the moment. We're on the case, however. In the meantime, I attended last night's zoning hearing to determine the validity of John Leonforte's denial of a building permit from Alcat Reentry. It had planned to lease the Windsor Knitting Mill to Firetree Ltd. to operate a "halfway house".
Leonforte, Hamburg's zoning officer, denied this permit and Alcat (now Orange Stones Co.) appealed the decision. Following last night's decision, a crowd of about 35 cheered the borough's decision.
By Joshua Sophy, Item Editor
Hamburg's Zoning Hearing board nearly unanimously backed the decision of its Zoning officer, John Leonforte, in denying Orange Stones Co. (Firetree Ltd.) a building permit for the former Windsor Knitting Mill, Pine St. in Hamburg. The non-profit corporation planned to operate, among numerous roles, an 18-bed halfway house, a fact which troubled neighbors.
Members Mary Alice Wertz, Ronald Musser Jr., Ray Dunkle and Robert J. Gust all voted against the Firetree appeal. Anthony Merklinger did not vote because he missed the first session of the hearing, held Aug. 25, when a balance of testimony was presented. The
board registered only a voice vote, and has 45 days to submit a response detailing its position, and the reasons for the vote.
Earlier this year, Alcat Reentry Inc. (which has now become Orange Stones Co.) purchased the former Wright's Knitting Mill in Hamburg for $1.5 million. Firetree Ltd. was going to lease the property to run its operation. The building was to serve as a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility and detoxification center, a place where addicts attempt to "get clean." It submitted an initial building permit to Leonforte, which he denied. Less than a week after the first denial, and following some amendments, it submitted a second building permit, which Leonforte again denied.
Firetree decided to appeal this second denial, thus bringing about this month-long hearing. A decision in August was impossible because Hamburg failed to properly "post" the property, or improperly inform the public about the hearing. Since that first hearing, at which Firetree defined what it planned for the former knitting mill and Leonforte defended the reasons for his denial, the borough made all legal ramifications and called for a continuation.
After nearly 55 minutes of impotent legal wrangling Monday about the validity of both the hearing and the existence of Alcat Reentry Inc. as a registered corporation, only one new witness testified, Dennis Capozzolo, president of Alliance for Building Communities, an Allentown-based non-profit which owns a neighboring knitting mill to Wright's, in which a senior citizen-exclusive condominium cluster just opened. Capozzolo testified against the idea of having a proposed Firetree facility next door to his property.
"Seniors deserve a quiet atmosphere. They have a right to feel secure," he said under oath.
He also testified that opening such a facility in that specific neighborhood in Hamburg would taint his original conception of his property fitting into that scheme.
"We were supposed to be the jewel of that neighborhood," he said. "I don't believe it is the best use of that area."
Under cross-examination, Daniel Schranghamer (representing Orange Stones Co.) attempted to show that Capozzolo was not aware of the plans, as submitted, and presented a line of questioning to that tone. Capozzolo said he didn't know how many parking spaces, employees or what Hamburg's zoning plan was, though he testified he was concerned about those specifics of the Firetree plan in his sworn testimony.
"There's a stigma attached to that type of business," Capozzolo said, adding that his corporation's aim is simply to "provide affordable housing."
He added, "It causes some fears. I don't believe the two purposes can co-exist."
It was Capozzolo's testimony, especially, that tipped the scales in Gust's vote in favor of Leonforte's denial. Aside from being concerned about the proposed location being in a flood zone - established at the August hearing - Gust said the "halfway house" being located next to the senior condos was concerning.
"I didn't think of it until he testified about it," he said. Schranghamer could not pinpoint his company's next move. He said he's likely to wait until the Zoning Hearing board issues its written reasons for the denial before acting again.
Leonforte, Hamburg's zoning officer, denied this permit and Alcat (now Orange Stones Co.) appealed the decision. Following last night's decision, a crowd of about 35 cheered the borough's decision.
By Joshua Sophy, Item Editor
Hamburg's Zoning Hearing board nearly unanimously backed the decision of its Zoning officer, John Leonforte, in denying Orange Stones Co. (Firetree Ltd.) a building permit for the former Windsor Knitting Mill, Pine St. in Hamburg. The non-profit corporation planned to operate, among numerous roles, an 18-bed halfway house, a fact which troubled neighbors.Members Mary Alice Wertz, Ronald Musser Jr., Ray Dunkle and Robert J. Gust all voted against the Firetree appeal. Anthony Merklinger did not vote because he missed the first session of the hearing, held Aug. 25, when a balance of testimony was presented. The
board registered only a voice vote, and has 45 days to submit a response detailing its position, and the reasons for the vote. Earlier this year, Alcat Reentry Inc. (which has now become Orange Stones Co.) purchased the former Wright's Knitting Mill in Hamburg for $1.5 million. Firetree Ltd. was going to lease the property to run its operation. The building was to serve as a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility and detoxification center, a place where addicts attempt to "get clean." It submitted an initial building permit to Leonforte, which he denied. Less than a week after the first denial, and following some amendments, it submitted a second building permit, which Leonforte again denied.
Firetree decided to appeal this second denial, thus bringing about this month-long hearing. A decision in August was impossible because Hamburg failed to properly "post" the property, or improperly inform the public about the hearing. Since that first hearing, at which Firetree defined what it planned for the former knitting mill and Leonforte defended the reasons for his denial, the borough made all legal ramifications and called for a continuation.
After nearly 55 minutes of impotent legal wrangling Monday about the validity of both the hearing and the existence of Alcat Reentry Inc. as a registered corporation, only one new witness testified, Dennis Capozzolo, president of Alliance for Building Communities, an Allentown-based non-profit which owns a neighboring knitting mill to Wright's, in which a senior citizen-exclusive condominium cluster just opened. Capozzolo testified against the idea of having a proposed Firetree facility next door to his property.
"Seniors deserve a quiet atmosphere. They have a right to feel secure," he said under oath.
He also testified that opening such a facility in that specific neighborhood in Hamburg would taint his original conception of his property fitting into that scheme.
"We were supposed to be the jewel of that neighborhood," he said. "I don't believe it is the best use of that area."
Under cross-examination, Daniel Schranghamer (representing Orange Stones Co.) attempted to show that Capozzolo was not aware of the plans, as submitted, and presented a line of questioning to that tone. Capozzolo said he didn't know how many parking spaces, employees or what Hamburg's zoning plan was, though he testified he was concerned about those specifics of the Firetree plan in his sworn testimony.
"There's a stigma attached to that type of business," Capozzolo said, adding that his corporation's aim is simply to "provide affordable housing."
He added, "It causes some fears. I don't believe the two purposes can co-exist."
It was Capozzolo's testimony, especially, that tipped the scales in Gust's vote in favor of Leonforte's denial. Aside from being concerned about the proposed location being in a flood zone - established at the August hearing - Gust said the "halfway house" being located next to the senior condos was concerning.
"I didn't think of it until he testified about it," he said. Schranghamer could not pinpoint his company's next move. He said he's likely to wait until the Zoning Hearing board issues its written reasons for the denial before acting again.
posted by Item Meister at
11:40 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home