HERMITAGE PLANNERS Proposals shorten distance between buildings, street

HERMITAGE, Pa. -- A debate over a proposed 25-foot front yard setback for a Bob Evans restaurant prompted the city planning commission to come up with a suggestion to replace the building setback requirement with a 25-foot "green area."
The Hermitage Zoning Hearing Board turned down a request from Bob Evans to allow it to build just 25 feet off the right-of-way along Pa. Route 18 in the Hermitage Square Plaza.
City zoning requirements call for a minimum 50-foot setback.
The ruling prompted Bill Scanlon, president of the board of city commissioners, to call for legislation formally reducing the setback to 25 feet from the right-of-way in central commercial, highway commercial and institutional zoning districts.
The Hermitage Planning Commission came up with a slightly different suggestion Monday, proposing that the city replace the 50-foot setback requirement with "a minimum 25-foot-wide green area measured from the curb or edge of the cartway."
The 25-foot strip might not be green at all but would have to contain sidewalks, lawns, utilities and landscaping.
No building could be placed on it and parking would be banned although it could be used for an access driveway.
As part of the change, the proposal requires that all new buildings be at least 10 feet behind the legal right-of-way of any street abutting the property.
The planning commission plan will now go to city commissioners for consideration.