©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

City Zoning Board directs Commerce Bank, community leaders to meet
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

On Monday, July 24, John Palladino was the only workman to be found at the Commerce Bank sight on Germantown Avenue, despite the fact that the bank received the permits required to begin construction. (Photos by David Soffa)

The Zoning Board of Adjustments, at the Tuesday appeal hearing, directed the Chestnut Hill Community Association and Commerce bank to meet and discuss the specific designs for the building at 8600 Germantown Ave. Another hearing date is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 8 at 9:30 a.m. to discuss the matter.

In the meantime, the bank’s contractors, Builders, Inc. will work on the building that was partially demolished last October, much of it n excess of the bank’s initial permits.

The bank received its most recent building permit on July 18.

Tuesday’s appeal hearing was an attempt by the CHCA to have the city invalidate the Department of Licenses and Inspections decision to issue Commerce Bank a zoning permit on May 1.

Discussion at the hearing was heated on both sides as members of the ZBA listened to the banks lawyer and CHCA board members argue over the quality of communication between the two parties since initial discussions began last summer. They ZBA also pressed the CHCA members present to explain the grounds for the appeal noting the conflict centered on the lack of communications involving the design of the building, not a legitimate zoning issue.

The CHCA, however, still believes the work being done should be ruled “new construction” as opposed to “renovation,” which is how the current building permit describes the bank’s work. CHCA board members have argued that because of the extent to which the bank has razed the previous structure, the term renovation is inaccurate. If the ZBA found the bank’s work to constitute new construction, it would in effect nullify the building permit.

Jim Foster, executive at-large CHCA board member, said the CHCA plans to hold a special executive committee meeting before August 8 and expects to invite other community organizations involved, such as the Chestnut hill Business Association.

Vito Canuso, the attorney representing Commerce, said design plans would be supplied at this meeting, and ZBA chairman David Auspitz encouraged both parties to enter discussions with open minds.

In the meantime, little to no work has been done on the corner of Germantown and Evergreen avenues since L&I ordered construction to stop and revoked the bank’s initial zoning and building permits in October, because the demolition done to the property’s building exceeded what was allowed in the permit.

When work on the building started in September of 2005, the CHCA had not yet received an official agreement from the bank that it would follow the designs discussed between the parties in the months before construction began. This agreement never came about. The CHCA suspected, as evident by the amount of demolition, that the designs were not being followed, and Commerce Bank official’s silence fed this assumption.

The only CHCA request Commerce Bank responded to was the installation of a plywood barrier around the site, which the CHCA requested because of safety concerns.

In April, Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller coordinated a meeting between the two parties, and a promise from the bank to supply designs for 8600 Germantown Ave. to the CHCA by the end of month was kept. But the plans were incomplete according to the CHCA, and no other details were provided later.

On May 1, the bank received a zoning permit, legalizing the work already done to the property, which allowed them to apply for a building permit to “re-erect” the roof and walls it tore down. This came after months of refusals to legalize the work done. The May 1 permit was issued after the bank scaled back the size of the building so it would fit within the zoning code’s limits.

The CHCA’s belief was, and still is, that the building is not an “existing bank,” despite L&I’s insistence that the term fits, reasoning that the permits issued last were to Commerce for a bank. The board members view the current state of the building as “new construction” and believe it should be judged as a whole new project, not a “re-erection,” said community manager Betty Brady.

The bank applied for a building permit on June 16, despite the ZBA appeal hearing scheduled for July 25, and received the building permit on July 18.

Contact staff writer Kristin Pazulski at 215-248-8819 or Kristin@ChestnuthillLocal.com.