By Lynn A. Gladieux, Item Correspondent

A hotel was approved ... but with numerous conditions, leading the developer to once again go to court.

The dispute over what will be built on the site of a former knitting mill appears far from over.

A recent zoning board ruling that allowed developer Orange Stones to build a hotel with certain conditions has led the Williamsport-based firm to appeal those conditions in court.

In a 5-0 ruling, the Hamburg Zoning Board on Aug. 20 gave the green light for Orange Stones Co. to build the 20-room hotel.  At the same time, however, the board placed numerous conditions on the developer before agreeing to approve the plans.

Orange Stone originally intended to build a halfway house on the site, which is located at 215 Pine St., the former Wright’s Knitting Mill building.  Plans were submitted for a 68-bed rehabilitation center and a 16-bed halfway house.

The zoning board repeatedly denied the company permission to build the facility, contending its use remained unclear and that the developer’s plans did not meet zoning requirements.  

The appeals board sided with the hearing board and in a May 21, 2009 decision rejected the developer’s plans.

Orange Stones purchased the property in March 2008 for a reported $1.5 million.   They have appealed the decisions rejecting construction of the halfway house.

Allen E. Ertel, principal of Orange Stones and a former U.S. Congressman from Williamsport, expressed dismay at both the decision to reject the rehabilitation center as well as the recent decision to place conditions on building the hotel.

“Originally we wanted a halfway house/rehabilitation center which, in my judgment, would have been an improvement to the neighborhood.  It would have provided jobs.  The zoning was proper for what we wanted, no question about it.”

But after the halfway house was rejected, Artel said the focus changed to building a hotel/motel that would meet zoning requirements.

“We are a non-profit organization that has $1.5 million invested in the building.  We want to build a hotel/motel; that’s what we’ve chosen to do,” he said.

Artel confirmed that the recent appeal relates only to the zoning board conditions, conditions he says will prevent his company from running a successful hotel/motel business.

Artel believes those conditions were placed in response to the original application and that the conditions were placed in order to prevent Orange Stones from turning the hotel/motel into a rehabilitation facility.

“They [the zoning board] ruled on issues that were not before them.  There was nothing before them to accept or reject.  All we had was a hearing on the hotel/motel and that’s what we want at this point.

“The conditions they’ve put upon us means we cannot operate a hotel/motel – that is stupid,” he said.

Artel said the longer the building stands unoccupied, the more it deteriorates.  The building has often been vandalized and is becoming an eyesore, and Artel says that is a benefit to no one, particularly the community as a whole.

“I cannot afford to have a security guard or somebody sitting there 24/7.  We’ve got a lot of money invested, and we want to make something out of it,” he said.

Along with the most recent appeal, the company is continuing in their appeal of the original zoning board’s decision to reject construction of the halfway house.

Orange Stones is associated with Firetree, Ltd., which own the Conewago-Pottsville Detoxification and Inpatient Center along with several other successful detoxification and rehabilitation centers throughout the country.

Orange Stones hasn’t just faced zoning issues in Hamburg.  

Most recently the company ran up against the City of Reading when the city’s zoning board denied them a permit to operate an addiction-treatment facility at 1711 Hampden Blvd., Reading, the site of the former Caum Home.  That decision was also appealed.

 In Hamburg, it appears the courts will have the final say in what will ultimately occupy the site.

Robert J. Gust, supports a hotel/motel, and said representatives from Orange Stones were upfront about their intent to build a hotel/motel when they met with them at the recent board meeting.  

But while Gust said he was comfortable with Orange Stones’ stated intent, some of the other board members remained skeptical, believing the company may be trying to get “a  foot in the door” to ultimately build a halfway house in the community.

Gust wants to see the developer abide by the board’s stipulations.   “I am okay with the hotel/motel under the conditions.  But they have to abide by the rules we laid,” he said.