When: Lancaster City Council meeting, March 10.
What happened: Downtown business owners appeared in force to tell council during public comments that disruptive clients of a drop-in drug recovery center at 317 N. Queen St. are driving away customers and visitors to the city.
Background: Porschia Garcia, owner of Allure Beauty Lounge located in the same complex as Blueprints for Addiction Recovery Inc.’s drop-in center, and Gary Ziffler, owner of Ziffler Tax Preparation at 320 N. Christian St., first commented at the Feb. 24 council meeting on disruptions by the center’s clients.
Businesses: Garcia and Ziffler’s wife, Karin Meacham, owner of Art & Glassworks at 319 N. Queen St., were among five business owners who commented at the March 10 meeting.
Quotable: “It is not our intention to dismantle this organization,” Meacham said. “But the zoning and approval process that allowed this organization to operate in a principal retail block of the city whether it be on our block, or even at Central Market, must be examined.”
Third floor: Council approved, 7-0, after-the-fact demolition of a third-floor dormer at 444 W. Lemon St. that was replaced without proper Historical Commission review. Council’s approval included an amendment by member Ahmed Ahmed that requires property owner Nathan Charles to modify the new third floor with darker paint or stain and a gutter to better blend in with neighboring homes.
Property, rental licenses: Council voted 7-0 on one bill amending the property maintenance ordinance and another amending the rental property ordinance. The home rule charter provided impetus for the amendments, community planning committee Chair Amos Stoltzfus said. The amendments clarify that all maintenance standards apply to all properties, including owner-occupied, rental and commercial properties, and places both short- and long-term rental licenses on the same two-year renewal cycle.
Cost of water: The city will receive a $49.29 million clean water loan from Pennsylvania Investment Infrastructure Investment Authority to complete construction of a second water transmission line from the Susquehanna River intake, if council authorizes its acceptance upon second reading. The interest rate will be 1.743% for the first five years and then 2.179% for the remainder of the 20-year loan, said Tina Campbell, administrative services director. First phase of the project was completed a few years ago and the remaining two phases are to be completed by spring 2027, she told council.
Next meeting: Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. March 24.
