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WILKES-BARRE — This time the city’s Zoning Hearing Board is to blame for the delay on deciding whether to allow the former Hotel Sterling property to continue operating a temporary parking lot.
The board’s move Wednesday to give both sides in the ongoing dispute additional time to argue their cases dragged it out for another month until the Nov. 28 meeting.
The delay means more money for property owner H&N Investments LLC to run what the Wilkes-Barre Parking Authority has argued is an illegal lot in violation of the zoning ordinance.
H&N’s representatives testified the site was used for parking when the city owned it after the hotel was demolished in 2014. The new owner promised to grade the pothole-riddled dirt lot and cover it with gravel so it can serve parkers for another 18 months before construction begins on the $35 million mixed-used development planned for the downtown location.
George Albert, consulting engineer for H&N, estimated it would cost $285,000 to comply with all the zoning requirements to improve the lot.
“At this time, we do not want to pave it because it’s all going to be torn up,” Albert said.
The owners face a hardship with the time frame that they have to develop the property and not with any physical aspect of it, he acknowledged under questioning from attorney Jack Zelinka, who is representing the authority in the pending litigation to close down the lot.
“In the 18 months that we are going through planning and developing this property this is the most de minimis use that we propose,” Albert said.
Steve Barrouk, a real estate broker who is working with Hysni “Sam” Syla, one of the owners of the property, told the board he had no objections if the Authority’s fight was to force improvements to the lot.
“If it’s a monetary consideration, then shame on the individuals,” Barrouk added.
But attorney Murray Ufberg, solicitor for the Authority, turned the money argument back on H&N.
“So this is an attempt to use a property in a way that is not in conformity to the zoning ordinance, simply to create some revenue stream,” Ufberg said. “They’re not good Samaritans here for the benefit of the people.”