A Small Town Makes its First Zoning Update Since 1997

Mixed-use development and a floodplain overlay are the big-ticket items when the small community of Akron Borough in Pennsylvania recently updated its zoning code.

1 minute read

July 5, 2023, 11:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


The view down Main Street in Akron, Ohio

Main Street in Akron, Pennsylvania. | Andrew Bossi / Wikimedia Commons

The Borough Council in Akron Borough, Pennsylvania, a small community of just over 4,000 residents, recently approved the city’s first update to its zoning ordinance since 1997, with two big cutting related to the separate issues of commercial zoning to flood management.

According to an article by Larry Alexander, the majority of the changes approved by the city council updated definitions, including changes to mixed-use provisions in the city’s C1 commercial districts. “Primarily this ordinance addresses potential uses involving the Ten Thousand Villages building. The ordinance now will allow for some retail ‘providing they meet certain criteria,’” writes Alexander, quoting Assistant Borough Manager Sean Molchany.

Another change to the city’s zoning includes the creation of a floodplain overlay for all R1 residential properties located in a floodplain.

The source article, linked below, includes descriptions of some of the additional changes approved by the city.

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