The State College Borough Council will discuss a new zoning amendment and hear a report from the Human Relations Commission during its meeting at 7:30 tonight, council member Peter Morris said.
The zoning amendment will turn older retail districts like Westerly Parkway and Hamilton Avenue into a mixed residential and retail area, Morris said.
“We hope to improve that area in town by rezoning it,” council member James Rosenberger said.
There will be no final or major votes at this meeting, Rosenberger said. However, the council will hear two reports — one from the Schlow Centre Region Library and the other from the Human Relations Commission — Rosenberger said.
The Human Relations Commission has existed for a few years without much to do, Morris said. It is charged with hearings about fairness in employment and housing and has unanimously requested that the council approve expanded procedures to allow them to investigate complaints, Mayor Elizabeth Goreham said.
The council will also discuss changes to the property maintenance code, Goreham said.
“That’s sort of confusing but a very big deal here,” she said.
The staff of the borough has recommended no longer using the Centre Region Council of Governments to enforce building codes and to take on the task within the borough, Goreham said.
The final decision on this won’t be made for another month or two, Rosenberger said.
