Only six months after the Bethlehem City Council voted 4-2 that a nine-story building was "historically appropriate" in the South Side Historic District of two- and three-story buildings, there is now an attempt on the North Side Historic District.

A zoning amendment was presented to the Bethlehem Planning Commission that would allow "limited" office use on a property in an RT District (one of the residential districts) if the property abuts the central business district, if the residence has at least 3,000 square feet, and if a part of the property is "maintained" (not necessarily used) as a residence. Defined in this way, the amendment would only affect West Market Street between Main and New streets. The Planning Commission voted 2-2 on this amendment, and the chairman, who was absent, had voted "no" on a previous version. However, the amendment is not necessarily dead.

What has been the impetus for this amendment? There is plenty of office space available, including the nearby bank building at Broad and New streets. Office space in residences is available on East and West Broad streets. Homes of this size are still sold to homeowners when they come on the market. In fact, there is one residence of 5,000 square feet in the historic district that is being expanded.

Is there anyone interested in bringing office use into this block? The answer here is yes. A wealth manager has purchased 2 West Market St. and has been denied unanimously (twice) by the Zoning Hearing Board in his appeal for a use variance.

One month after the second denial, he and his three employees were featured in a Wall Street Journal article about wealth management teams that split from larger firms. (This manager and his team left the Merrill Lynch office in the bank building and took offices elsewhere in the building.) The article featured photos of the group sitting on the steps of 2 West Market, described as their "future headquarters."

I'll leave it to the lawyers to decide whether this amendment is, in effect, spot zoning, which is illegal. From a strictly planning point of view, is the city so desperate to cater to a high-end business like this, that it would allow the firm to move one block into a residential district? This is not what I would call smart development.

Bill Scheirer

Bethlehem