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Blair County Planning Commission members Thursday gave a positive review to two development projects.
The commission approved Mouseion LLC's plans to turn the former Altoona YMCA into an art museum.
In February, an Australia native who lives in London announced he had purchased the 900 Lexington Ave. building so he can turn it into the Eidolon Museum of Fantasy and Imaginative Art, using his own 15,000-piece collection to form the core of the museum's holdings.
In addition to the conversion renovation of the building, the applicant is proposing to construct an approximately 1,700-square-foot building addition and an outdoor seating area. Proposed site improvements include new outdoor patio space, new utility connections, a piped stormwater detention system under the parking lot, landscaping and sidewalk, curbing, retaining wall and parking area repairs or replacements, according to Tom Gissen of Stuart Group Consulting.
The property is zoned Multi-Use Neighborhood, which permits museums as principal uses. In April, the proposed development received numerous variance approvals such as parking, setbacks, landscaping and impervious coverage from the Altoona City Zoning Hearing Board, Gissen said.
Plans to construct a new Chipotle Restaurant in the Park Hills Plaza also received a favorable review.
CPS Surveys Inc., on behalf of Aspen Real Estate, plans to subdivide 0.55 acres from within the plaza's parking lot for the purpose of developing a 2,385-square-foot restaurant. Site improvements include a drive through lane, an outdoor seating area, 22 parking spaces, reconfigured parking aisles, landscaping, internal walkways, new connections to existing on-site utilities and new stormwater inlets and piping. However, Gissen said the project would also eliminate 70 existing parking spaces in the plaza.
Gissen said both plans are consistent with the Alleghenies Ahead Comprehensive Plan.
Commission members also gave their blessing to Hollidaysburg Borough's Zoning Ordinance Petition to rezone 812 Amelia Street from R-2 residential to C-3 commercial despite concerns expressed by Regis Nale of the Hollidaysburg Watchdog Group.
Nale suggested the change would consist of "spot zoning," but he later said he would like to see the borough undertake a comprehensive study of its zoning ordinance.
"I agree that a zoning study should be conducted but this does not consist of spot zoning, it is almost the opposite," said MacKenzie Caron, regional planner.
Members also gave their blessing to Logan Township's zoning ordinance amendment to rezone 9.5 acres between Sprankle Avenue and Logan Boulevard from R-2 residential to business.
Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.