The Catasauqua Borough Zoning Hearing Board listened to a request April 16 from Renet Bruehl to turn her single-family home at 120 Second St. into a three-unit apartment. The board considered five variances before rendering its decision.

The property was a two-unit apartment when Bruehl purchased the home in 2001. Her husband sent a letter to the borough in 2003 asking to convert the property into a single-family residence. That request was granted.

In 2018, there was a kitchen fire that severely damaged the property. There is a good amount of work that needs to be done to the property to make it livable again. The fire department wants to see new wiring, and the structurally damaged roof needs repair, along with other repairs.

Samantha Falcone, of SCF Architecture, presented drawings that reconfigured the home to a three-unit apartment. She outlined the proposed improvements and the steps needed to make the units code-ready. Jeff Dalessandro is a real estate agent and Bruehl’s nephew. He provided background information on the history of the house.

Borough council was interested in this property and the outcome of the final design. Second Street is part of the proposed plan to alleviate traffic congestion on Race Street. Traffic control signals will be used to redirect traffic. Second Street has limited parking.

The board confirmed that the first variance request on minimum tract area and lot width applied to new construction.

Secondly, Bruehl requested an approximately 3,000-square-foot variance from the minimum requirements for a three-unit apartment. That request was denied.

The existing house has a heated basement that would be incorporated into the design. Bruehl asked that the basement be included as livable space. That request was also denied.

Incorporating the last two requests, the board granted a variance to allow the units to be a total of 305 square feet less than the required minimums.

The board would not allow three units in the building but did allow the owner to convert the single-family unit back to a two-apartment unit.