Land Use Expert On St. Joseph's University Zoning Appeal

Saint Joseph's University has appealed before the Philadelphia Zoning Hearing Board over the "similar use" to which the university is entitled in renovating and improving Maguire Campus.   Testimony was heard from both sides concerning the extent to which the university can modify Maguire's existing athletic facilities to meet NCAA standards.  Saint Joseph's presented Dennis Glackin, of Glackin, Thomas Panzak, Inc. as a land use expert and the Merion Community Coalition brought Charles Guttenplan as an expert witness to argue that Saint Joseph's had overstepped its similar use agreement.

Saint Joseph's appeal is based on the assertion that does not need to make a special request to the Zoning Board to move forward with plans for certain projects beyond the permission it has already been granted. These include the upgrade of the public address system at baseball and softball fields, the construction of press boxes and dugouts, and the four-foot excavation of the baseball field among other things.