MEADVILLE —
The former Talon Inc. site on upper Arch Street may be used as a civic/cultural building, including a new location for Crawford County Court of Common Pleas.
At a hearing Thursday, Meadville’s Zoning Hearing Board voted 4-0 to grant a variance to Crawford County, the property’s owner.
The property, located at 628 Arch St., is in an area zoned as a flexible business district, and a civic/cultural building including courts is not normally permitted by the city’s zoning ordinance.
Crawford County is considering using the former Talon Inc. site as a courts building as a way to alleviate overcrowding at the Crawford County Courthouse on Diamond Park in downtown Meadville. The county would split current courthouse functions between the courthouse and the former Talon Inc. site at a projected cost of $25.3 million.
The Crawford County Board of Commissioners has made no final decision whether to go forward with the project. The board is expected to take action by the end of the year.
The recommendation to split the courthouse functions among two sites came in late January from an all-volunteer Community Advisory Committee appointed by the previous board of commissioners.
The split recommendation and several other options — including expanding the present courthouse and building an entirely new facility — came after a months-long study by the advisory committee that began in late summer 2011. The committee’s recommendation and other options were presented at a series of meetings across the county in February.
The zoning hearing board approved the request 4-0, with board member Randy Kreider absent from Thursday’s hearing.
No objections were raised by any of the half dozen members of the public in attendance at the hearing.
In approving the variance, Zoning Hearing Board Chairman R. Charles Thomas noted that portions of the former Talon Inc. site had been used as civic offices in the past — including housing the county’s Children and Youth Services, and Human Services departments. It also had housed the offices of the Meadville Redevelopment Authority and other miscellaneous offices.
While the variance was approved unanimously, board members Matthew Jorden and Robert Humphreys suggested it may be more appropriate to have the area rezoned.
The variance will stand approved unless an appeal is taken to Crawford County Court of Common Pleas within 30 days, Thomas said.
Keith Gushard can be reached at 724-6370 or by email at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.
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