May 28, 2007 By Steve Ferris 2 min read

The Uniontown Zoning Hearing Board has approved a variance that the Uniontown Area School District requested for a new parking lot the district wants to build on Grant Street. The zoning hearing board held a hearing on the variance on April 19 and continued it to May 17, when board members voted to grant the request.

The city’s zoning ordinance requires the school district to provide one parking space for each of its 115 employees and one for every four students older than 16.

There were 562 students older than 16 as of October 2006, so 141 spaces are needed for them and a total of 256 spaces are needed for students and employees, according to testimony from school district officials.

Two existing parking lots on Wilson Avenue and the former Bryson’s used car sales lot at the corner of Fayette and Grant streets and the new Grant Street lot would provide 256 spaces.

However, the variance was needed because a portion of new the Grant Street lot will be used for loading and unloading school buses making 69 spaces unavailable for parking during school hours.

That leaves 187 spaces available during school hours, but district officials said 140 parking spaces are actually needed on a regular basis because no more than 25 students, in addition to the 115 employees, usually drive to school.

The zoning hearing board’s approval came with two conditions. First, the new parking lot must comply with the city’s storm water runoff program regulations.

Second, a school district representative must meet with city officials in an effort to address existing parking issues on and around high school property.