This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.
The Jan. 13 Cornwall Borough Council meeting saw council discuss a newly submitted revision of the lake resort text amendment and a conceptual plan submitted by Byler Holdings.
At the Jan. 6 Zoning Hearing Board meeting, borough engineer Jeff Steckbeck presented a draft of the lake resort text amendment, which defines a lakefront community as containing:
Lakefront Community Requirements:
- At least 50 gross acres with one or multiple lots.
- 250 frontage along a major road, and 250 feet abutting along the parcel with a lake.
- Public water and sewer.
- Buffers of 25 feet along residential districts, with no buffer area required along the lake.
- At least 25 percent of area permanently reserved for open space, not including the lake itself.
- A maximum of 75 percent area to be used for a planned community, which:
- Can’t be more than 70 percent one type of housing.
- Must have 5 to 25 percent of land dedicated to commercial uses.
- Must have at least 5,000 square feet of building area for retail and restaurant uses.
- Must have shared parking lots.
- The following (non-expansive list of) allowed uses:
- Single- and two-family detached and semi-detached dwellings, apartments, and townhouses.
- Community clubs and groups.
- Community facilities such as police facilities, museums, and libraries.
- Churches.
- Municipal uses.
- Recreational spaces.
- Gyms, swimming facilities, or wellness centers.
- Recreational uses of lake.
- Ice-skating facilities.
- Theaters.
- Retail businesses.
- Restaurants.
- Business, personal, and professional services and offices.
- Day-care centers.
- Forestry activities.
- Parking lots.
- Similar uses.
- Accessory uses, like home businesses and bed and breakfasts.
Lakefront Resort Text Amendment PDF
The ordinance adds lakefront communities to the list of allowed uses in a limited industrial (LI) zone.
It also adds warehousing as an allowed use to the general industrial (GI) district with the following stipulations:
- Half of the lot must be dedicated as permanent open space.
- The building can only cover up to 30 percent of the land.
- Warehouses cannot exceed 200,000 square feet in floor area.
The ordinance also amends the GI standards to have a minimum 200-foot buffer of undisturbed forest between industrial and residential districts. (At present, the GI standards require a 100-foot buffer with double-wide dense screen planting).
In addition to the amendment, Byler Holdings has also submitted a conceptual plan for the property, including a 5-story 125-room hotel, two 5-story 130-unit apartment buildings, two 10,000 square-foot restaurants, 48 townhomes, 50 duplexes, 43 single-family homes, and a 2-story marina with commercial space and residential apartments.
Conceptual Plan PDF
Council member Bruce Conrad, who is also on P&Z, told council Jan. 13 that the board would likely need at least two months to review the amendment.
Once the amendment is reviewed, the P&Z will have the option to recommend its approval to Council, which would then hold a public hearing.
Any entity, corporation or individual, has the right to submit proposed zoning amendments to the P&Z (as both Cornwall Properties and the citizens group have done in the past). However, governing bodies are under no obligation to pass them.
Also during the meeting, residents representing community organization Cornwall United 4 Responsible Development voiced critiques with the borough’s processes for handling development and raised questions about remarks made during the Jan. 6 planning and zoning commission meeting, which was recorded and posted by an anonymous YouTube page. LebTown further investigation into the matter is underway.
Correction: Jeff Steckbeck was originally labeled as an employer of Byler Holdings. However, he submitted the plan in his role as borough engineer. Steckbeck Engineering is contracted by Byler Holdings, but alternate engineer Josh Weaber is responsible for borough review of plans submitted by the developer. LebTown apologizes for this miscommunication.
In case you missed it… Background on this story
In July 2022, Byler Holdings requested a zoning amendment from the borough allowing them to build an 800,000-square-foot warehouse in their general industrial tract.
The alternative, they said, was for them to use their limited industrial tract to construct warehouses with a combined square footage of around 700,000.
This plan drew significant concern from many Cornwall residents, with opposition to warehousing on the site largely due to the traffic and noise.
A community group Cornwall United 4 Responsible Development, headed by Jeremy Zimmerman, soon emerged in opposition to warehousing on the site.
Council formed an ad hoc committee made up of members of the community, council, and Planning and Zoning Commission to work with Byler Holdings on developing conditions for zoning changes (similar as was done for H&K, the previous owner of the property) or otherwise working with the developer to find a mutually agreeable solution.
Read More: Cornwall Borough Council forms ad hoc committee to work with Byler Holdings
Ad hoc discussions did not go far, as they did not have a clear direction and Byler had not submitted plans for the property. Meetings were paused until further directives were given, but the ad hoc has still not begun meeting.
Byler Holdings sent the borough a letter withdrawing its request for an amendment due to community outcry, Swank said. The developer reversed this request later, after members of the community appeared equally opposed to the plan for smaller warehouses in the LI tract.
In September 2023, Byler Holdings asked if council was willing to consider the amendment submitted the year before. In an informal roll call, the majority of council members indicated willingness to consider it.
Read More: Cornwall Borough Council to consider Byler text amendment
Council and Byler Holdings agreed to resume meetings of the ad hoc committee to work out conditions. However, Byler Holdings later requested that council hold off on scheduling meetings until an internal decision was made.
At around the same time, Cornwall United came forward with a zoning text amendment of their own which would remove “public warehousing” as an LI permitted use and add it as a general commercial permitted conditional use.
Read More: Cornwall Borough Council refers citizen’s text amendment to ad hoc committee
This amendment was referred to the ad hoc committee, and has since been referred to P&Z for evaluation and recommendations.
In November, Swank returned to council to submit a new zoning amendment, one that would morph into the ordinance eventually adopted in January 2024. The amendment allowed manufacturing uses in Cornwall GI zones, with Byler’s property containing the only GI plot in the borough, and removed them as an allowed use in LI.
Swank said at the time that if the amendment was passed, Byler Holdings would retract its previous zoning amendment request. However, council had to move quickly, as Byler hoped to rent to Cornwall-based submarine part-manufacturer PRL Industries, who was on a tight timeline.
Read More: Cornwall council unanimously adopts adopts Byler manufacturing amendment
Byler Holdings then submitted a plan for residential development in residential low-density and conservation recreation, a use guaranteed by right. The plan included 131 single-family detached homes, to be built over three phases.
Both this plan and the PRL plan were approved by council in July.
Read More: Cornwall Borough Council approves PRL and Rexmont Road subdivision plans
The organization would soon submit a sketch plan for a 98-unit Miners Village development, which prompted concern from P&Z chairman Ray Frattini on the level of traffic created on borough roads.
Read More: Cornwall Properties submits sketch plan for 98-unit Miners Village development
Last March, council directed the P&Z to merge the proposed citizens’ amendment (removing warehousing as an LI permitted use and adding it as a general commercial permitted conditional use) and the proposed Lake Resort Community amendment.
Read More: Cornwall Borough considers combining citizens’ and lakefront amendments
Since then, P&Z has discussed possibilities for the amendment, also discussing a mixed-use overlay as a framework, but discussion stalled.
Now, the developer has submitted a Lake Resort Community amendment that moves warehousing to GI, with a maximum warehouse size of 200,000 square-feet. This amendment is currently under review by P&Z.
In other news, council unanimously:
- Approved a 90-day time extension for Alden Place West.
- Approved several routine start-of-year resolutions concerning appointments for EIT and the ZHB and the disposition of records.
- Authorized hiring a part-time officer.
Cornwall Borough Council meets the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. These meetings are open to the public and do not require prior registration.
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