Zoning board allows restaurant at Stratford Shopping Center to count shared parking under recorded easement

The Radnor Township Zoning Hearing Board approved a parking variance that allows a proposed restaurant at 385 West Lancaster Avenue to satisfy off‑street parking requirements by counting spaces on an adjoining Farmers Market parcel under a recorded mutual parking easement.

Attorney Vince Donohue, representing The Goat 5 LLC, said the tenant is converting a long‑vacant Bruno Brothers space to a new restaurant and asked the board to allow shared parking under the easement because the shopping‑center parcel itself cannot physically add more striped stalls. He said the applicant needs 79 spaces under current calculations.

Owner Michael McCrory testified the project would be roughly a $2.5 million build‑out and highlighted local hiring: the group has four existing Radnor‑area restaurants and said it employs township residents. SGRA Architect Hannah Rosenberg presented the updated seating and parking worksheet: 180 indoor seats and 42 outdoor seats (code ratios produce 60 and 9 required spaces respectively), plus peak staff demands that yield a 79‑space requirement. Combined parking across the two parcels totals 307 spaces (175 on the Stratford lot, 132 on the Farmers Market lot), the applicant said.

Engineer Rob Lambert described site constraints that limit adding striping on the shopping‑center parcel. The applicant also presented a parking‑count study taken on farmers‑market days showing available spaces during peak market hours.

During discussion board members referenced Radnor’s comprehensive‑plan goals encouraging shared parking and reduced impervious coverage. A motion to grant relief from the provision that requires off‑street parking to be on the same lot (section 281.03(b) as cited in the hearing) passed. The board’s approval allows the applicant to count spaces on the adjoining parcel consistent with the recorded easement; the applicant noted the easement is perpetual and recorded in the Chester County Recorder of Deeds.

The board’s order does not waive building permits, health or licensing requirements; the applicant said it will incorporate any building‑code floodplain or other engineering conditions into the submitted plans.