In October 2007 about 60 Garrett Hill residents stormed into Radnor Township’s offices demanding they be part of a proposed plan to change the zoning and subdivision regulations for their small enclave. In October 2008 a scheduled vote on proposed changes that a steering committee of residents crafted was delayed due to concerns by members of the business community that their properties would be negatively affected.
One year later, on Monday night, Radnor’s Board of Commissioners voted to approve the establishment of a Garrett Hill district with its own zoning and subdivision regulations. When community members caught wind of the possibility of changes to their tight-knit community two years ago they did step into the process and established their own steering committee, which, along with consultants and township staff, crafted the documents approved Monday. Their primary expressed goal was to change zoning and subdivision rules so that Garrett Hill would essentially stay as it exists now. In 1955 the zoning there was changed to commercial zoning and almost all properties are “non-conforming,” meaning that there is not much landowners can do without permission from the township’s zoning board.