Approval of an affordable apartment complex in a light industrial zone in Upper Gwynedd has some residents concerned about the future of the township, writes Kevin Riordan for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

A group of Upper Gwynedd residents, including Glenn Hatfield and a group called Friends of Upper Gwynedd Township, have filed a legal notice calling the residential development illegal due to spot zoning.

The proposed 60-unit development Cornerstone at Pennbrook Station is slated to be built on Pennbrook Parkway in an expanded transit-oriented district meant to be a compact, walkable, mixed-use community near public transportation.

“We believe what the commissioners [approved] was spot zoning, which is illegal,” Hatfield said.

“If they can spot zone there, they can spot zone anywhere. It’s setting a precedent that’s going to change the quality of life in Upper Gwynedd.”

Spot zoning is the process of allowing a small parcel of land to be classified differently from the surrounding area for “the benefit of the owner of such property and to the detriment of other owners.”

Other concerned parties have posted anonymous lawn signs warning the affordable apartment complex will “turn Upper Gwynedd into Philly.”

Township Commission President Denise Hull called the opposition “disheartening” considering there is a national and regional shortage of housing.

Read more about the contested affordable housing complex in Upper Gwynedd in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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