Months of dispute and uncertainty surrounding lot 22 on Hillcrest Lane in Hessel are over. The Clark Township Planning Commission approved a special land use permit to the Hessel Harbor Association Tuesday, July 14, to use lot 22 in downtown Hessel for commercial parking.

The Harbor Association had been using the lot for parking since it formed in 2000, however, that improper use was overlooked because of the lot's preexisting use for parking since the early 1990s.

The lot was rezoned from residential to commercial by the Clark Township Board of Trustees in April as a step to allow legal parking on the site. Association president Brad Koster petitioned the board to rezone lots 22 and 23 to accommodate dock owners in the association, who are deeded one parking space with their boat dock. The two lots were rezoned with the conditions that they are used for parking and storage of vehicles and boats only, allow access to the property to the north, that a landscape buffer be installed and maintained, and that no structure, other than one related to single family residential use, be placed on either parcel. Mr. Koster said lot 23 will not be developed for use.

The planning commission ap - proved the association's special use permit for lot 22 based on the township zoning ordinance, which lists a parking lot as an acceptable use for a commercially zoned lot. A parking lot is not a permissible use for a residential lot, which is why the lot was rezoned.

Neighboring property owners opposed the use of the lot for parking because they say it causes a disturbance.

Resident Greg Malcho, who lives across the street from lot 22, spoke out in opposition of the commission's approval of the special use permit. He argued that the terms of the lot rezoning were not met prior to Tuesday's meeting and that the lot was still zoned residential. He was correct in stating that the landscape buffer has not been installed around the parking lot, however, the lot rezoning was not contingent upon the buffer being installed.

Commissioner Gary Wellnitz explained that the buffer is to be installed after the rezoned lot was approved to be used for commercial parking.

"Those are conditions [Mr. Koster] agreed to in order for us to switch that to commercial. It does not state that is had to be done prior to the board switching that lot to commercial," he said.

Mr. Koster said the landscape buffer will be installed.