The neighbood's large flower bed located at the intersections of Hillcrest Avenue, Martin Terrace, and Taylor Street
Board Member At Large, Cathy Dauler, wants to remind everyone that Borough Council will be meeting on Thursday evening January 15 and January 22 with the sole purpose of discussing zoning. As Cathy discussed at our annual meeting, Borough Council welcomes and encourages your participation and feedback as the decisions that are made now will have a lasting impact. Meetings are held at the Municipal Building and start at 7:00 pm.
The Board approved an expenditure of $2000 from our surplus funds to make a contribution to the State College Food Bank. The check was presented to Executive Director, Allayn Beck, pictured at left. Local business man, Ted Oyler of Diversified Asset Planners, had an initiative with Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity to match what they collected for the Food Bank. Ted and Jeff Leo are both fraternity alumni so our gift was pooled in their challenge which helped reach their target resulting in extra funds being contributed to the Food Bank. Just a perfect example of friends, students and neighbors working together to make a positive difference in our Happy Valley community. Many families in the State College area are facing hardships and our neighborhood gift provides a helping hand toward the Food Bank's goal to provide food security so no one goes hungry in our community.
Pictured at left: Association president Jeff Leo, Board Member Cathy Dauler and volunteer community members who maintain the large flower bed. Each year, the association recognizes the efforts of community members to improve and beautify College Heights This year's College Heights Appearance award was given to this group in appreciation of their efforts. The garden is a source of pride in the neighborhood for everyone's enjoyment. The group is always looking for additional help to weed or add plants. If you want to help, contact Julianna Klara Chaszar at jxc50@psu.edu.
Our voting precinct is always looking to fill shifts for our elections. If you have a desire to get involved in the civic process, it is never too early to get started. Clerks and inspectors are needed for half or full day shifts during primary and regular elections. Training is provided. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Dan Hendey at dhenday11@gmail.com.
Annual Meeting Minutes 2025
COLLEGE HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
MEETING RECAP
NOVEMBER 6, 2025
1. Mayor Ezra Nanes gave a quick recap of what’s going on with the borough including the zoning rewrite, budget preparation and ongoing downtown improvements. The mayor is a resident of College Heights and we are proud of his positive outlook and enthusiastic leadership that benefits the entire State College community.
2. The Appearance Award was granted to the volunteers who maintain the Hillcrest Avenue Flower Garden. The garden was spectacular this year. All those that contributed by adding plants and bulbs or by weeding, your efforts are appreciated. Your selfless contribution defines community spirit!
3. A proposal to add a sculpture to the Hillcrest Flower Garden was made by the board. While the idea received a lot of support, the discussion highlighted a number of questions to be further researched. There will be no immediate action but it is still on the table and the board is open to funding projects that would be viewed as neighborhood enhancements.
4. The meeting concluded with a discussion of the new Zoning proposals. Board member and former borough council member, Cathy Dauler, started the discussion with how the current zoning regulations are sixty years old and needed to be updated. She highlighted how the proposed changes are highlighted on the borough website. There has been a lot of input at borough council meetings and the council is very receptive to everyone’s input. Cathy highlighted how easy it is to register your input online.
Association president, Jeff Leo, concluded with his opinions based on changes downtown and changes within the neighborhood. Downtown will see further high-rise development for student housing. The student population will increase so it is inevitable that housing will increase. As the student housing grows, downtown will need more infrastructure. The downtown student housing increases foot traffic as opposed to added cars. The student housing buildings are the largest tax payers in the borough so I feel that these factors are an incentive to keep growth downtown. While the skyline has changed in the last ten years, I still feel there are plenty of places for the non-student population to enjoy.
In the neighborhood, the current zoning is one and two family houses at moderate density. The key change to the neighborhood zoning is the allowance of three and four family houses, that would be deed restricted to not allow student housing or short term rentals. Much of our neighborhood falls under the rules of the Historic Area Review Board(HARB), so I don’t see a significant immediate impact but I would hope over time it creates opportunities for more young families to move into the neighborhood. I do not anticipate the changes to be detrimental to the character of the neighborhood. Whether you are empty nesters, incoming retirees, renters or a football house, I believe the new zoning makes room for all who want to enjoy the beautiful College Heights community.