New Hope rejects height-restriction waiver

A developer wants to build nine condos at 50 S. Main St. with some of them rising to four stories.

By: Linda Seida
   NEW HOPE — The Borough Council refused a developer’s request to waive the town’s 35-foot height restriction or its three-story maximum.
   The developer presented an informal plan Dec. 20 to construct nine condos at 50 S. Main St., north of the Bucks County Playhouse. Some of the condos would be four stories, with a maximum building height of 50 feet, which would raise them above the floodplain. Each condo would be approximately 3,000 square feet.
   The developer’s representatives identified him only by his corporate name, Rocki Rockstar LLC of South 7th Street in Philadelphia.
   "Everything but parking would be above the floodplain," said the project’s architect, Christopher Scalone, of Philadelphia.
   Officials, who recently rezoned the site for commercial use, refused to waive the height restrictions.
   "To me, that’s a wall in New Hope," Councilwoman Geri Delevich said.
   The council has made exceptions for property owners who have had to repair badly damaged homes three times following major floods in recent years.
   "That’s a real hardship," Vice President Sharyn Keiser told the developer. "What I’m seeing now isn’t a hardship."
   "I would never vote for one above 35 feet," said Councilman Randy Flager. "I think it’s way too dense. I think it’s way too big. I think it’s way too high. If this came back in substantially the same form next month, we would oppose it with the zoning board."
   "I think the advice from council is spend some time working on this plan and see if you can accommodate some of the things we talked about," President Richard Hirschfield told the developer and his professionals.
   After council members gave their opinions, the developer took his architectural drawings, his architect and his lawyer and left the meeting. But before he left, he ordered Mr. Scalone not to give his own name to a reporter.
   He said, "This project is dead. We don’t need the publicity."
   Two days later, the developer’s attorney said in a phone interview the plan may come back before the council.
   "We’re taking into account the comments of the board," said Daniel S. Coval Jr., an attorney with Andrew L. Miller and Associates in Bala Cynwyd, Pa. "We’re re-examining the plan to see whether we can meet their requirements."