STONE HARBOR – The sale of Donna’s Place, a combination fish market, restaurant and bakery at 107th Street, had resident Geoff Woolery at the podium at the Tuesday, June 4, meeting of the Borough Council. Woolery, who lives in the south end of town, was urging the council to take action to preserve what he termed satellite commercial areas in the borough.

According to Woolery, the land on which Donna’s Place stands will now be turned to residential use, eliminating one more business location that residents could walk or bike to and so avoid a drive into the main business district, with its busy traffic and limited paid parking.

Woolery called the conversion to residential use “a huge loss for Stone Harbor.” He said he was there to speak to the fact that the council was voting to introduce an ordinance amending the zoning code to clarify language that favors residential development when a property is located in two zones, residential and commercial.

The ordinance is preface to another amendment that is still working its way through the Planning and Zoning boards and that will make it easier to preserve satellite commercial areas. It is not yet available for public review.

By using the term “satellite” Woolery was referencing commercial areas outside of the main business district. He said these commercial islands that can be easily accessed by the residential communities around them are a part of what makes Stone Harbor “what it is.”

The challenge is that the high prices that residential real estate command in the borough make the choice to remain commercial difficult.

The ordinance introduced on June 4 is expected to come up for a public hearing and vote on adoption at the July 2 meeting of the council.

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.