Zoning Hearing Board Meeting

January 22, 2024 7:00 p.m. The regular meeting of Doylestown Borough Council was held on the above date and time in Council Chambers, with the following members present: Council President Jack O’Brien, Vice President Amy Popkin, and Council Members Ben Bell, Larry Browne, Joe Frederick, Robert Kinney, Dennis Livrone, and Elizabeth Wyckoff. Also present were Councilperson Elect Jennifer Jarret, Mayor Noni West, Junior Councilperson Jack Swartley, Borough Solicitor Andrew Griffin, Borough Engineer Jim Dougherty, Central Bucks Regional Police Department Police Chief Karl Knott, Borough Manager John Davis, Building and Zoning Director Karyn Hyland, and Planning/Public Works Director/Deputy Borough Manager Phil Ehlinger. Finance Director Caroline Brinker was absent due to her attendance at the Fanny Chapman Pool Board meeting. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS Mayor West swore into office Council Member Elect Jennifer Jarret, who was reelected in November 2023. Ms. Jarret then took her seat on the dias. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. O’Brien called for a motion to approve the December 18, 2023 Council Meeting Minutes. (Browne-Jarrett) Mr. O’Brien called the vote, All were in favor and the minutes were unanimously approved. Mr. O’Brien next called for a motion to approve the January 2, 2024 Reorganization Meeting of Borough Council. (Kinney-Popkin) Mr. O’Brien called the vote, All were in favor and the minutes were unanimously approved. MAYOR’S REPORT: No report. PUBLIC SAFETY - Mr. Frederick 1. Mr. Frederick said the Doylestown Fire Company 2023 year-end report provided in Council’s packet is available to the public by following the packet link noted on this meeting’s Agenda. PUBLIC WORKS AND ADMINISTRATION - Mr. Browne Mr. Browne stated the Committee did not meet. He gave credit to the Public Works Department for their snow fighting this past week. Mr. Browne then asked Mr. Ehlinger for comments. Mr. Ehlinger stated that the Public Works Monthly Reports were provided in Council’s packet and are available to the public by following the packet link noted on this meeting’s Agenda. He commented that the department did have two snow events in one week which is a good way 106 to get back in practice since it’s been some time we’ve had snow. He said he felt that the department’s response was excellent and there were no major equipment failures. Mr. Ehlinger noted that we used a lot of salt thereby freshening up the bin. He said we are awaiting a 100-ton delivery, as is everyone else. COMMUNITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS - Mr. Bell Mr. Bell stated that the Committee met, but there were no items for Council. He commented that applications are now being accepted for the Youth Recognition Awards Program, and that the applications will be accepted until March 1. ZONING AND PLANNING - Ms. Jarret 1. Authorization to Advertise Ordinance Regulating New Driveway Access on Borough Streets. A draft Driveway Access Control Ordinance was provided which creates design standards for driveways onto Borough streets. The ordinance addresses sight distance, channelization, lane width, slopes, and other safety-related design criteria. Following the recommendation of the Zoning and Planning Committee, a motion was made to advertise the ordinance (Jarret-Livrone). With no comments from Council, Staff, or the public, the vote was called. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. 2. Zoning Hearing Board Report. Ms. Jarret asked Ms. Hyland for this report. Ms. Hyland said that the Zoning Hearing Board held a public meeting on January 18, 2024, in Borough Hall, 10 Doyle Street, Doylestown, to hear the following applications: 235 East State Street, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Parish, a dimensional relief request to allow for the construction of a columbarium; 41 East Ashland Street, Dr. W. Stover Wiggins, for a dimensional relief request which would allow the expansion of an existing office, the construction of a garage, and conversion of the doctor’s office to a house; 99 Lantern Drive, Suite 1B, by Columbrina Enterprises, for a sign variance; and, 400-456 North Main Street, by Target Corporation for variances. Ms. Hyland stated that all applications for relief were approved. 3. Historical and Architectural Review Board (HARB) Recommendations. Ms. Jarret reported that at its regular monthly meeting, the HARB recommended for approval for a Certificate of Appropriateness of the following: Sign Application: 19 North Main Street; and Building Applications: 41 East Ashland Street, for an addition and garage - approval for a Certificate of Appropriateness with conditions regarding the windows, the front shed roof height, and the thickness of the front pillars, 131 South West Street, for windows, 61 East State Street, for renovation - approval based on the application presented as amended by addendums #1 and #2, where the porch will mimic the existing front porch, and 84 East Oakland Avenue, for exterior doors, recommended for approval as presented in the digital submission, with edits of shop drawings shown in red lines, with the divided transoms. 107  Following the Zoning & Planning Committee’s recommendation that Council approve the applications in accordance with the HARB’s recommendations, a motion was made (Jarret- Popkin). With no comments from Council, Staff, or the public, the vote was called. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. 4. Code Enforcement Monthly Activity Report and 5. Building Inspection Monthly Report. Ms. Jarrett stated that these reports were provided in Council’s packet and they are available to the public by following the packet link noted on this meeting’s Agenda. ENVIRONMENT AND RECREATION - Ms. Wyckoff: No meeting and no report. WATER UTILITY - Mr. Livrone Mr. Livrone reported that the committee did meet, but there are no actionable items. He said at the meeting, Chief Operator Jeremy Matozzo brought them up to date on several things going on in the Water Department and everything seems to be moving very well with the water system. FINANCE/PENSION - Ms. Popkin 1. Ms. Popkin reported said that a list of prepaid bills and a list of bills to be paid this evening had been provided to Council members. She said the total of all funds expended was $957,673.57. A motion was made to approve the report (Popkin-Jarret). With no comments from Council, Staff, or the public, the vote was called. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. PERSONNEL - Mr. O’Brien 1. Appointments to Volunteer Boards. Mr. O’Brien said that on December 4, 2023, the Personnel Committee met to interview candidates to fill a vacancy on the Historical and Architectural Review Board (HARB). He said the Committee met again on January 16, 2024 to interview an additional candidate for the HARB and also candidates for other various board vacancies. As a result of the interviews, the Committee is recommending the following appointments: Board/Commission Applicant Term Economic Development Advisory Board Patrick DiBiase Partial Term, 1/24-12/25 Economic Development Advisory Board Rick Gallagher Full 3-Year Term, 1/24-12/26 Fanny Chapman Pool Board Mike Petrakis Full 3-Year Term, 1/24-12/26 Historical and Architectural Review Board John Eichert Partial Term, 1/24-12/24 Park and Recreation Board Molly Crotty Partial Term, 1/24-12/24 Park and Recreation Board Gary Harris Partial Term, 1/24-12/26 Shade Tree Commission Kayvon Tabatabai Full 5-Year Term, 1/24-12/28 108 Student Board Members May 2024-April 2025 Fanny Chapman Pool Board James Shandlay Human Relations Commission Thomas O’Reilly (Reappointment) Junior Councilperson Elisa Kremser September 2024-May 2025 Following the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, a motion was made to make the appointments as stated (O’Brien-Frederick). Mr. Kinney questioned why there were partial terms. Mr. O’Brien explained those were from someone stepping down from a board before the expiration of their full terms. With no further comments from Council, Staff, or the public, the vote was called. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. PROFESSIONALS’ REPORTS Engineer’s Report - Mr. Dougherty: No report. Solicitor's Report - Mr. Griffin: No report. Central Bucks Regional Police Department (CBRPD) Activities Report. Chief Knott said the report was provided. The monthly activity report showed there were 741 incidents in the Borough in December 2023, and year-to-date, the Department spent $6,954,690.45 and were at 101.84% of their yearly budget. PRESIDENT’S REPORT: None. OLD BUSINESS: None. NEW BUSINESS: None. OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT James Plummer, Pebble Woods Drive in the Township, said on December 27, he dropped off a Right-to-Know Request regarding the War Memorial Field agreement between the Borough and the War Memorial Field Recreation Committee, but hadn’t yet received a response. Mr. Davis said he knew that Staff had looked and did not find any of the documents requested. He had assumed Mr. Plummer had been informed. Mr. Davis said that Mr. Plummer would be officially informed before noon tomorrow. EXECUTIVE SESSION At 7:17 p.m., Mr. O’Brien stated that an Executive Session was needed and he expected that some action may be taken when Council returned. At 7:39 p.m., Council returned from Executive Session. A motion was made to adopt the proposed agreement pertaining to the development of 280 North Broad as presented and 109 discussed this evening (Livrone-Frederick). With no comments from Council, Staff, or the public, the vote was called. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. ADJOURNMENT At 7:43 p.m., President O’Brien entertained a motion to adjourn (Browne-Kinney). The vote was called and the motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, John H. Davis Borough Manager :sa 110