Council Agenda for Tomorrow

Still no agenda for the Special Zoning Meeting listed on Norristown.org for tonight, but an agenda was posted for tomorrow night's Council Meeting at 6:30 pm in Municipal Hall. You can read the entire agenda at this link. I just picked a few highlights to comment on below.

Council will be voting to approve or disapprove the following: "To support reprogramming of RACP (Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program) funding to facilitate the proposed residential use of condominium units on the 4th and 5th floor while maintaining commercial uses on the ground floor through third floors."

Now I read that and think, how many 5 story buildings do we have, let alone 5 story buildings that have commercial uses on the first 3 floors? Seems obvious to me that this item is intended for a specific building, though it's not mentioned in the agenda. It SHOULD be listed, or at least, the zoning district involved should be listed. Otherwise, I could see this set a dangerous precedent for landlords wanting to add extra apartments or condos in houses in residential zoning districts on even in some of the older smaller properties downtown where parking is already a problem.. The building should also be listed so residents know if they'll be effected by the change.

Here are the other Action Items:  They're voting on Mascaro's contract (I'm guessing, with 1/3 of the town in possession of new trash containers, they'll vote yes). They're also voting whether to award the construction contract for 9 W Main to United Home Builders of Philadelphia, though, from the wording on the agenda, it almost seems like the bidding process doesn't end until today, so I'm not sure how they know who won the bidding yet. And under Planning and Zoning, voting on the conversion of a garage/warehouse on Lafayette Street to a metal ductwork shop.

Under Items for Discussion:

Carver Center -- I know a lot of you are concerned about the George Washington Carver Center. There will be a discussion about it at the Council Meeting. No specifics listed on the agenda.

Update on New Horizon effort - A description of the New Horizons Collaborative can be found at this link.  It's essentially a way of improving neighborhoods--especially those with chronic crime problems, by involving the residents of those neighborhoods.

Other Items for Discussion have to do with reports, committees, the auditors and State and Federal visits.

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