Protect Narberth’s Character – Oppose Overdevelopment Zoning Changes
Guest post from The Sabine Coalition
Protect Narberth’s Character – Oppose Overdevelopment Zoning Changes
Narberth Planning Commission’s recommendations for zoning amendments to “support additional housing.” These changes risk permanently altering our small borough’s scale, charm, parking, and neighborhood feel.
Narberth Planning Commission’s February 19th Recommendations [HERE]
The Narberth Planning Commission proposes sweeping changes to the 5b (Montgomery Ave. Mixed-Use Corridor) and 4a (General Urban Limited District) zones. The stated goals are to encourage more affordable housing, lower building costs, and increase walkability to local businesses. However, the proposals go far beyond modest adjustments—they enable significantly taller, denser, and multi-unit development with reduced protections.
TOP CONCERNS:
5b District (Montgomery Ave. Corridor) – Turning Our Main Street into a 5-Story Apartment Zone
- Allow housing on the ground floor (with only the first 12 ft required as commercial).
- Permit four stories within the existing 45-ft limit (currently limited to “three stories” for mixed-use).
- Introduce a “density bonus” for a fifth story up to 55 ft if only 10% of units are affordable (at ≤80% AMI). Why oppose? This dramatically increases height and density along our historic commercial corridor. A 55-ft building with minimal affordable commitment will overshadow the streetscape, change the feel of downtown, and set a precedent for further escalation. Our current limits protect the walkable, small-town character—don’t dismantle them for marginal affordability gains.
Severe Parking Reductions in Both 5b and 4a Districts
- Reduce base parking requirement from 1 space/unit → 0.7 spaces/unit (with credits for SEPTA pass participation).
- Exempt affordable units and units ≤750 sq ft from any parking requirement.
- Eliminate visitor parking requirements.
- Allow off-site parking up to 900 ft away. Why oppose? Narberth already faces significant parking pressure. These changes will lead to massive spillover into residential streets, blocked driveways, unsafe conditions for pedestrians (especially children), and increased traffic. Exempting many units guarantees under-provisioned parking, burdening existing neighborhoods.
4a District – Rezoning Residential Transition Areas for Multi-Family & Reduced Setbacks
- Allow apartments, rowhouses, and cottages by right (no conditional use).
- Permit up to 5 units in multi-family houses; 3 units in three-story detached/twin houses.
- Reduce front setbacks (to 10–20 ft), increase building coverage to 50% and impervious cover to 70%.
- Slash minimum lot sizes (e.g., 1,400 sq ft for single-family types) and eliminate minimum lot widths in many cases. Why oppose? The 4a zone buffers downtown from our single-family neighborhoods. These changes open stable residential areas to intensive multi-family development on small lots with less open space and setbacks. This threatens neighborhood character, privacy, light, and property values while inviting over-development right next to existing homes.
Bottom Line
These recommendations are not balanced gentle density solutions. They represent aggressive up-zoning that prioritizes quantity of units over quality of life, with weak safeguards (e.g., only 10% affordable in density bonuses). Narberth is already a desirable, walkable community—further density and reduced parking will erode what makes it special without meaningfully solving regional housing issues.
Attend the May 7, 2026
Borough Council Work Session Meeting
7:00 PM
Details on narberthpa.gov
100 Conway Ave. Narberth, PA 19072
Development of Montgomery Ave. is to be discussed.
Narberth Borough Council
100 Conway Avenue, Narberth, PA 19072
Email: info@narberthpa.gov
Phone: (610) 664-2840
www.narberthpa.gov
Fred Bush, President: fbush@narberthpa.gov (Term expires: 12/31/2029) LinkedIn
Cyndi Rickards, V.P.: crickards@narberthpa.gov (Term expires: 12/31/2029) LinkedIn
Jean Burock, Council Member: jburock@narberthpa.gov (Term expires: 12/31/2027) LinkedIn
Michael Gaudini, Council Member: mgaudini@narberthpa.gov (Term expires: 12/31/2027)
Mike Salmanson, Council Member: msalmanson@narberthpa.gov (Term expires: 12/31/2029) LinkedIn
Jim Speer, Council Member: jspeer@narberthpa.gov (Term expires: 12/31/2027)
Joe Straton, Council Member: jstraton@narberthpa.gov (Term expires: 12/31/2029)
The Sabine Coalition Corporation
To learn more, please visit www.sabinecoalition.com
or email sabinecoalition@gmail.com.