Parking Lot

Doylestown Township police were searching for two men in connection with the reported rape of a 21-year-old Trevose woman Saturday in the parking lot of the Inn on Blueberry Hill, Route 611 and Almshouse Road. The woman was driving south on Route 611 about 4 p.m. when the windshield wipers on her station wagon failed during a severe thunderstorm, police said. She pulled into the restaurant's parking lot and was attempting to repair the wipers when she was approached by two men, one of whom was carrying a six-pack of beer.

The Willistown Township Planning Commission debated Wednesday whether the developer of a proposed office complex on West Chester Pike should be required to make the parking lot more level. Commission members discussed the township engineer's recommendation that Okehocking Associates, developer of the proposed ERM Corp. building to be located behind Penn's Preserve, should be required to reduce the slope of the 246-space outdoor parking lot planned for the site. Township ordinances state that the parking grade should be no greater than 5 percent, or 6 inches high per 10 feet of length.

A proposal to build a new parking lot at the Inn of the Yellow Springs prompted township officials and local residents to voice concerns about the popularity of the historic community. Following a presentation by Historic Yellow Springs president Raymond Carr on the requested 103-space parking lot, West Pikeland Supervisor Andrew McCreight worried about possible impact on nearby residents. "We have to get a handle on the impact the facility will have on the people who live there," he said.

Without taking a formal vote, the Jenkintown Planning Commission has recommended to the borough Zoning Hearing Board that it approve a parking lot expansion for Bell of Pennsylvania. The expansion at the corner of Greenwood and West Avenues, requires a variance from the Zoning Hearing Board because the parking area is in a residential district. The four members present at Wednesday's meeting debated the issue for 10 minutes before Chairman Gary Lee Hutnick asked if approval should be recommended.

The Jenkintown Borough Council has agreed to hold a hearing to consider a request to rezone part of the former Strawbridge & Clothier property so that a developer can build a parking lot. The developer, MSK Associates of Philadelphia, wants to pave a grassy plot along the southeast corner of the former store and turn it into a parking lot. On Monday night, the council voted, 5-5, on the request to hold the rezoning hearing. Mayor Ted Jensen Jr., who votes only in case of a tie, then voted in favor of holding the hearing.

For the second time in less than a week, an elderly woman has been robbed in a shopping center parking lot, and authorities say they believe both robberies were the work of the same man. An 83-year-old Moorestown woman was robbed of $20 about 11:50 a.m. yesterday outside the Acme Market at the King Plaza shopping center, Kings Highway and Lenola Road in Maple Shade, police said. Police Chief Edmund Vernier said the robber pressed an unknown object against the woman's back and took her purse.

The Fairmount Park Commission is making plans to lease a small, unused parcel of Tacony Creek Park to Cardone Industries for expansion of a company parking lot. In return, Cardone, which reconditions auto parts, would create a special trust fund to help spruce up the tattered 255-acre park in the Northeast. Tacony Creek Park stands to gain at least $60,000 an acre for the two-acre parcel off Rising Sun Avenue near Adams over the life of the lease, expected to be at least 40 years.

The Valley Forge Hilton Hotel has requested a variance from the Upper Merion Zoning Hearing Board to build a 160-space parking deck over a section of its existing parking lot on West DeKalb Pike. Kenneth A. Brown, a representative of the hotel, said at a hearing Thursday night that the deck was needed to relieve overcrowding at the busy King of Prussia hotel. A variance is needed because the deck would be located 45 feet from the hotel. The township requires a distance of 75 feet.

The Media Planning Commission voted, 5-0, with two members absent, to reject a proposal for a parking lot that has already been built. The owner of the lot, James Gorbey of 217 N. Monroe St., was not present at the meeting Tuesday night. Gorbey built the lot behind his home for his own use, borough officials said. Gorbey has received a notice of violation and has 30 days to apply for a permit. According to zoning code officer G. Gordon Grimditch, who issued the violation, Gorbey has applied for the permit but Grimditch has not yet approved it. Planning Commission members rejected the proposal because plans for the lot were not submitted along with the request.