Zoning Board says miniature golf course plans not up to par

[GAcoaster]

From the Allentown Examiner:

 

Zoning Board says miniature golf course plans not up to par

Applicants 'dumbfounded' by second-time rejection

 

Back in late January 2009, the Zoning Board of Adjustment rejected an application for a proposed 36- hole miniature golf course along Route 537 in a 6-1 vote.

 

Almost exactly three years later at the Jan. 26 meeting, a revamped application for the miniature golf course was rejected by a 4-3 vote.

 

Board members Steve Lambros, Robert Bailey, Frank Curcio and Anthony Conoscenti voted against the application, while Steve Morelli, Vice-Chairman Steve Barthelmes and Chairman Michael Novellino voted in favor.

 

While the applicant's request for a use and bulk variance was rejected, a minor subdivision proposal in the application was unanimously approved. The applicant, Route 537 Holding Company LLC, sought to convey 2 acres from a neighboring property, increasing the original lot size from 4.16 to 6.16 acres.

 

The applicant's engineer, Peter Strong, testified that the 4.16-acre site fronts on Route 537 and KFC Drive. It currently contains a Dunkin' Donuts, and the approved subdivision would bring the property up to 6.16 acres. He said the 36-hole miniature golf course, called Canyon Falls Miniature Golf, would be located in the center of the property, with a proposed 1,200-square-foot clubhouse facility and 44 parking spaces.

 

Allison Coffin, the applicant's planner, testified that miniature golf is not a permitted use in the highway commercial zone, but that permitted uses include retail and wholesale businesses, banks, business and professional offices, theaters, bowling alleys, health spas, indoor or outdoor tennis courts, child care facilities, and farming, while conditional uses include restaurants and swim clubs.

 

The proposed facility would cover 29.2 percent of the entire lot, she said. According to Coffin, a special reason for the board to grant a use variance included the site's close proximity to Six Flags Great Adventure, a major regional attraction.

 

"Historically, outdoor commercial recreational uses are appealing to children, teenagers and families, and thrive in higher volumes of tourist traffic," she said.

 

Coffin said some miniature golf courses may be aesthetically "tacky," but the proposed golf course is "tastefully designed," resembling a botanical garden with paths and walkways, "rather than a tacky tourist trap."

 

She said the miniature golf course and Dunkin' Donuts have a "symbiotic relationship," and many other permitted uses in the zone could not coexist with the existing fast-food establishment. The miniature golf course is seasonal, with small parking demands, and therefore can easily coexist with Dunkin' Donuts, she said.

 

The Dunkin' Donuts received a conditional use variance several years ago, since restaurants in the zone require a minimum of 6 acres. Under current zoning, the two uses on the site would require a minimum of 9 acres to conform.

 

Curcio asked why the applicant was purchasing only 2 acres rather than the additional 5 acres that would make it conform.

 

Township Planner Richard Coppola said he was told by the applicant's representatives that to do so was "exorbitantly expensive" and could not be accomplished. Curcio said he did not feel comfortable granting a variance for the applicant's economic interests.

 

When comparing the current application to the previous one, the golf course is farther from Route 537 but closer to residential areas, Lambros said. He added that people living in that area were already burdened by the uses there, and he was concerned about making the use more intense than it already is.

 

"I think the negatives outweigh the positives," he said.

 

The applicant's attorney, Kenneth Pape, responded by saying the property is surrounded by a pitch pine forest, which was solid green even in the winter. The lighting plan is half the intensity included in the previous proposal, and the entire area is zoned highway commercial, he said.

 

 

"We have tried incredibly hard to get it right," Pape said of the board's rejection of the application, adding that he and his clients were shocked at the vote. "It's outdoor recreation on 6 acres, with one 1,200- square-foot building and one 2,000-square-foot building [Dunkin' Donuts]. It's 71 percent green. We're dumbfounded."

 

[CoasterPrince]

I actually think this is a good idea. It gives guest of the park and area more things to do and I think it would look great on 537!