BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. – The Bethlehem Township Zoning Hearing Board on Wednesday night denied a zoning relief appeal concerning a long-vacant property where an auto service station and convenience store are proposed. The vote was 1-4.
The application, offered for 4063 Nazareth Pike (Route 191), argued that owner Rajwinder Nagra is not proposing any changes to the existing site, which was an Exxon gas station that closed between 20 and 25 years ago. Given that the building, canopy, parking space and traffic aisles are pre-existing, Nagra argued he would be exempt from usual zoning requirements.
“It is a small and irregular lot,” Nagra said in the formal application. “Code exempts existing lots where no changes are being made to the layout.”…