Highlands rezoning issue to get more council airtime

Although there will not be a vote on the Highlands neighborhood zoning amendments at the State College Borough Council meeting tonight, a discussion about the neighborhood is expected.

There are still a lot of unresolved issues regarding property rezoning, said council member Donald Hahn.

The possibility of an actual vote is slim, he said, due in part to the absence of council member Richard McCarl. However, the meeting will attempt to establish a plan creating an equal balance between providing adequate housing for students and preserving family neighborhoods, he said.

"We have to maintain sight of both goals and, to the extent possible, meet both," Hahn said, stressing the importance of not putting the Highlands issue into terms of "anti-student" vs. "anti-neighborhood."

The proposed zoning amendments in the Highlands neighborhood would downzone areas to guard against high-density housing in the future.

The amendments would not change the current uses of buildings.

The council is aware that students contribute enormously to the town and does not want to exclude students from the borough, Hahn said.

"The need to provide adequate housing for students is a goal all (council) members share. No one disputes this," Hahn said.

"By the same token there is no need to dispute the need to maintain our family neighborhoods."

Hahn acknowledges that the proposal is very complicated.

"My view of balance is probably different than some views of my colleagues and leaders of Highlands (neighborhoods)," he said.

"We all agree that there should be a balance."

The council will meet at 7:30 p.m. today at the Municipal Building, 118 S. Fraser St.

--by Beth Baumgardner