Infill in the Urban Village was the main topic of discussion at a public hearing during last night's State College Borough Council meeting.

Council conducted the hearing in order to get input from residents before voting on the elimination of infill, which is the construction of more than one building on a single lot, in the Urban Village district west of Atherton Street and south of Penn State's West Campus.

Carl Hess, director of the State College Planning Commission, said council should not vote on the prohibition of infill until at least the first council meeting in December. The planning commission wants to further their discussions, which began at an Oct. 9 meeting, with area property owners before making a recommendation to council, Hess said.

Three residents gave suggestions and voiced complaints during the hearing.

Donna Conway, property owner in the neighborhood, said it is important to allow infill in some capacity. She added that the small houses, which go up as a result, provide students with more of a home than an apartment complex can offer.

"Ultimately, if were going to have students living in downtown State College, and I think we should, it's been clear that high rises haven't been working well," Conway said.

The perception that infill creates "slum" housing is not accurate, and property owners would provide nicer housing if the proper incentives to do so were in place, she said.

Property owner John Simbeck said infill is not the problem and council should be careful about eliminating it entirely.

Instead, he cited restrictive zoning regulations and building codes as the real impediment to creating a nicer neighborhood.

He said he was unable to replace old windows in one of his properties because of building codes. The only thing he was allowed to do was brick them up because of their proximity to an infill structure, Simbeck said.

He added that because of restrictions and the micromanaging of properties on a block to block basis, "we're seeing the world of unintended consequences."

Pat Vernon, owner of two rental properties in the area, said the borough has missed many opportunities to attract businesses to the Urban Village. He urged that council not miss any more by eliminating infill completely.

He also said council should work with the university on using any extra parking spaces on West Campus to help with the parking shortage that has resulted in the Urban Village because of infill.