4 I WEDNESDAY, March 16, 2005
Diocese appeals zoning board decision on student center
By Drew Curley
and Leslie Holster
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITERS
dsclBo@psu.edu, lah277@psu.edu
The Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown
recently filed an appeal against the
State College Zoning Hearing Board's
decision to block the construction of a
Catholic student center on the 100 block
of East Park Avenue.
The appeal is in response to a 2-1 rul
ing on Feb. 7 in which the board decided
the 21,000-square-foot center more
closely resembles a student center
rather than a church. If the building had
been classified as a church, the con-
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struction would have been protected by
a zoning ordinance. According to the
diocese's appeal, the zoning hearing
board "committed an error in finding
that the religious purposes and uses of
the building were not the primary func
tion of [the diocese] building."
Larry Sutton, finance director for the
diocese, said the appeal was filed to
allow the court to review the question of
whether the center should be classified
as a church or a student center. "The
reason this is important is the existing
zoning allows for a structure for reli
gious purposes," he said.
However, the board said it would
maintain its Feb. 7 decision.
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"The primary use of the building was
a student center, not a church," Michael
Roeckel, Zoning Hearing Board chair,
said. "The bottom line is that it seemed
the chapel was more an accessory to
the student center and not vice-versa"
Sutton said the center is primarily
intended for religious activities.
"We're quite convinced the zoning
appeal board, not intentionally, made
mistakes," Sutton said. "The misunder
standing that has occurred is the erro
neous focus on the word 'student"
Some local residents in College
Heights Association said they did not
think the diocese would win its appeal.
The group filed its own appeal in
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October against a decision by zoning
officer Herman Slaybaugh to approve
the center. "I think that the decision was
fair and I think it was a well-thought-out
decision. ... I'm hoping that the court
sides with their decision," said Carolyn
Kunz, president of the College Heights
Association.
Kunz added that she did not know
what steps the association would take if
the diocese wins its appeal. "We take
that step by step and the board will have
to vote on that decision [to appeal the
court's decision]," she said.
Former Association President Mary
Barnes said the court's ruling would
dictate the association's next move.
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"You have to consider whether you
will win, of course, because it costs a lot
of money [to go through an appeal],"
she said.
Slaybaugh said the outcome of the
appeal could affect how the ordinances
are applied if the court overturns the
board's decision.
State College Borough Council Presi
dent Tom Daubert said the borough is
not directly involved in the appeal
process, but the zoning regulations may
be changed to be clearer for future zon
ing decisions.
Slaybaugh said it could be several
months before a court date is set for the
appeal.