©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Bank’s permit not revoked
by Kristin Pazulski

The city Department of Licenses and Inspections says it will not revoke the zoning permit issued to Commerce Bank on May 1.

The Chestnut Hill Community Association wrote a letter to L&I on May 13, requesting that the permit be revoked, arguing that it was issued “based on false and misleading information provided by the applicant.” L&I’s Deputy Commissioner Eileen Evans told the Local that there were no grounds for revocation, and in a letter to the CHCA, said the application had been re-reviewed as a result of the CHCA letter.

Evans responded to the CHCA’s objection to the permit being issued on an “existing bank building,” saying that the term was accurate because in August a permit had been issued to Commerce, based on its intent to use the building as a bank.

CHCA representatives also argued that the site should be subject to “new construction” rules because of the amount of demolition that had been done. But Evans said that to be considered “new construction,” two-thirds of the building’s gross floor area would have had to have been demolished.

She said that the latest application requires Commerce to build within the existing C-2 zoning code.

The CHCA has not decided whether or not to appeal, but they are only given 30 days after the permit is issued to file an appeal. Next week is the intended deadline.