The last remaining single family residence on the east side of Linden Street, between East Boulevard and Oakland Road, is gone. Advent Speech and Feeding Therapy, a pediatric agency devoted to treating infants and children with developmental challenges, is moving into what was once a spacious home at 3376 Linden St. "My parents would be very pleased," said Sylvia Hunsinger, whose parents lived there until they passed away.

This move is possible because Bethlehem's Zoning Hearing Board, at its Aug. 27 meeting, agreed to grant what is called a use variance, which will permit the residential property to be used commercially.

Hunsinger, who also used to live at the property, saw the rest of the block gobbled up by commercial uses. Over the course of a year, she was unable to find one person willing to buy the property until Advent's Carey Anne Tanis came along.

Tanis said she thinks the location is perfect for her purposes. She sees infants just released from a NICU or toddlers who've spent years in long-term hospital care and she wanted her new center to be a friendly, domestic place with "no doctory look."

Bethlehem attorney Richard Huntington Pepper, who represented Tanis, argued that the property could no longer be marketed for its original purpose.

Though no one spoke in opposition to the variance, there were grumblers. "That whole area is deteriorating;" said resident Al Bernotas. "It started with Elias Market."

Bernotas is part of a group that unsuccessfully challenged the expansion of Elias Market, also located on Linden Street, in recent years.

He asked Tanis to recite the hardship provisions of the zoning ordinance. Bernotas said, "You're cute, and they all smile at you, but do you know what is required for a variance?"

She may not, but Attorney Pepper does, and the application for a variance was unanimously granted.

Zoning attorney Jim Preston had a good night before the board too. He persuaded all five zoners to grant dimensional variances for a new parking lot at Campus Hill Apartments, located on 521 E. Fifth St. After acquiring the property, owners repaved the parking lot, keeping the same dimensions that previously existed. But property manager Shawna Green, on the very day she went to work at this location, was greeted by a Notice of Violation from Bethlehem because the paver never informed anyone that variances were needed.

"Some cities send you roses, you got a violation notice," quipped Board member Bill Fitzpatrick.

Preston also convinced zoners to allow Kala Shanmugam to open a mini-mart at 405 E. Fifth St. It will be operated by her husband. Though the location lacks off-street parking, the customer base is expected to be mostly Lehigh University students.

Preston told zoners a mini mart is no "traffic destination", but "lends itself to pedestrians best."

Shanmugam also owns a South Indian restaurant, Brindhaavan, two doors away. It is currently only open on weekends.

Zoners also gave Marcos B Cantillo a dimensional variance to enclose a screened second floor deck at 2136 Allwood Drive. They also permitted John Yerk Jr., son of the former police commissioner, to construct a roof over his rear patio at 1746 Center St.