Effect of zoning laws on growth considered

By ANGELA J. GATES
Collegian Staff Writer

Despite proposed zoning restrictions limiting building height in certain sections of the downtown area, plenty of room exists for growth in the area, said a State College planning officer.

Drew Hyman, chairman of the State College Planning Commission, said the commission is making projections of what potential growth would be if the proposed zoning ordinances were enacted.

The effects of limiting the height of certain buildings to 45 feet, or four stories, is just one zoning issue the State College Borough Council will discuss at its meeting at 7:30 p.m. today in the State College Municipal Building.

The planning commission expects to see 6,000 to 8,000 more people living in the State College borough by the year 2015, Hyman said.

The commission is looking at two areas in the downtown region where an additional 1,000 to 1,500 apartments could be built, he said. In addition, several more stories could be added to downtown buildings less than four stories tall.

Height limits should not have a major impact on the continued growth of the area, Hyman said.

Council member Janet Knauer, author of the building height proposal, said although her proposal will decrease the amount of student housing in the future, it will not prevent anyone from building.

"There is quite a bit of possibility for continued growth within and outside of the borough," Knauer said.

However, possibilities for more student housing have not been fully explored by students or anyone else, she said. Penn State and the borough need to balance their efforts to provide more housing for students, she said.

The demand for off-campus housing is greater because "once students get to their junior or senior year, they prefer to live off campus," said Stephen MacCarthy, executive director of University Relations.

Penn State is planning to increase on-campus housing for students, but options are not as great as in the downtown area, he said.

"There's a limit to how much we can handle on campus," MacCarthy said.

Regardless of whose responsibility student housing is, the council needs to consider the issue of zoning carefully, said Jean McManis, council president.

"If we rush in, we're on the brink of making mistakes," she said.