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When I was first appointed to West Easton’s Zoning Hearing Board I immediately felt bad for a resident that had to appear before us because he needed a variance for a new garage structure along the 5th Street alley that would result in exceeding the 25% coverage allowed on his property. There were also some setback concerns. That variance was unanimously granted.

Thursday night a resident appeared with two appeals. One was for a new home that would be set back 10′ from the property line. Because of the topography of the property, he would be unable to conform to the required 25′ setback without unnecessary hardship. That variance was unanimously granted.

Until that first meeting I had little knowledge of what all the zoning ordinances in West Easton were. Until recently, I still didn’t, as I didn’t even receive a zoning book until this month. I had been getting the ordinances piecemeal, with a copy of the applicable ordinance sent to me as appeals were scheduled to be heard.

Councilman Paul James, who was the former Chairman of the ZHB before being appointed to the Council, transferred his copy to me when I brought up my lack of possessing a copy of the ordinances at the last council meeting.

It’s a thick book of more than 150 pages that was last updated in 1992, according to its cover, though a log of any changes that may have been done is not included among its content.

It’s behind the times of our changing technology. Apparently, you can still install a microwave dish (Antenna) that is up to 16′ in height. For those of you that have a dish antenna mounted on the front slope of your roof, please apply for a variance.

By the way, since conducting any sales from your home is considered a business, those of you selling online through eBay and Craigslist, please go down to Borough Hall to pay $20 for a business permit.

As those two examples demonstrate, some ordinances need to be revised.

The current zoning book originated in 1951. West Easton used the Palmer Township zoning ordinances. It was “modified” and replaced the original zoning ordinance book developed by the founders of West Easton, according to Mayor Gross, who gave me some history of it at that last council meeting.

I got the distinct impression that Mayor Gross and members of the council also believe the zoning ordinances need to be reviewed and some changes made.

With the departure of Mr. James to the Council, the Chairperson’s seat on the ZHB was left vacant. The other members of the ZHB voted me into that vacant position. According to the ZHB solicitor, my lone “No” vote to my appointment of Chairperson couldn’t be allowed.

So here I am, your new Chairman of the ZHB (Take a moment to let the applause die down). I hope to have some changes made to some ordinances. It’s something I wrote about last year and members of the ZHB will be looking closely at the ordinances in the coming months.

We don’t intend to reinvent the wheel, but do hope to alleviate some obvious burdens that require us poor schmucks to put up $1000 to get a variance in front of the board, for something that is likely to be granted anyway.

While I personally believe that zoning ordinances are needed to prevent the Newt Rockne types from living in sheds and crapping in buckets, I also believe that they shouldn’t be so restrictive, as to not allow a resident a reasonable use of his property.

It was repeatedly said at the last council meeting that the $1000 “is put in escrow and they get that money back.” I wasn’t going to argue with Council President Kelly Gross at the meeting, but that escrow money is used to pay the ZHB solicitor for his time and the $25 paid to each ZHB member that attends, among other filing fees and newspaper advertisements that are charged to the applicant. What a homeowner gets back is significantly less than the $1000 they put up and should a second meeting be required it’s likely they’ll exceed that original $1000. I’d rather the homeowner use that money toward improving his property.

Changing zoning ordinances isn’t as simple as I had hoped, which is why nobody (including myself) really wants to tackle it, but it needs to be done.

Apparently, the ZHB has to consult with their solicitor on suggested changes. The ZHB solicitor then consults with the Borough Council’s solicitor. After all the consulting is done it is then presented to the Council for discussion. Council must then approve the changes by a vote. That costs taxpayers money.

If caution isn’t used, it can become an expensive and time consuming undertaking. Something we all want to avoid.

Hoping to make it as inexpensive as possible, I’m seeking to obtain a zoning ordinance book from a borough or town that more closely resembles West Easton in lot sizes and structures.

Whereas Palmer Township, with large properties that requires 25′ setbacks and no more than 25% coverage of their backyards (which we instituted for ourselves), perhaps a community that reflects our own, has a better solution. Put a large storage shed on some of our backyards and it’s possible we’ll exceed the coverage restrictions. Considering many homeowners in West Easton sit on 20′ and 40′ wide lots, it seems like a hardship to ask them to appeal something that they don’t have a chance of conforming to without a variance and an extra $1000 to ask for one.

Perhaps gleaming some information from how another small lot community deals with zoning ordinances might result in some relief for our residents.

I’m not a fan of big government, or dropping a hammer on a homeowner unnecessarily. I am personally aware of a resident that opens his garage every weekend and conducts a garage sale. West Easton allows only 4 per year, but it’s not my job to enforce such violations and I’m not one to begrudge somebody from trying to make some extra income when it doesn’t adversely affect the community.

The ZHB wants to implement some changes and the Council acknowledges changes need to be made.

It won’t happen overnight, but we’ll try to get it done.