The erection of a garage and addition of a carport are scheduled to come before the Palmerton Borough Zoning Hearing Board.

In the first case, George Hoagland, of Easton, will go before the zoners at 7 p.m. Oct. 13 in search of a variance to erect a garage for residential purposes on a piece of vacant land along Gorman Avenue.Hoagland wants to erect a 24-by-24-foot garage on a piece of vacant land located along an unimproved section of Gorman Avenue near Edgemont Avenue in the west end of town. The property is located in a Planned Development zoning district.In his rejection letter dated Sept. 16, borough zoning officer Duane Dellecker noted that a section of the borough's zoning ordinance permits residential activity in the PD zoning district provided the use is within a planned development.Another section of the borough's zoning ordinance allows a garage as a residential accessory use, Dellecker said. However, a section of the borough's zoning ordinance limits the size of residential accessory structures, such as a garage, to 60-percent of the principal building's floor area, he said.Dellecker also said a section of the borough zoning ordinance defines an accessory structure as "a structure serving a purpose incidental to the use of the principal building and located on the same lot as the principal building."As a result, a variance is required to allow construction of the garage on a lot without an existing principal building, Dellecker said.In the second case, Scott Smith, of 631 Franklin Avenue, will seek permission to add a carport to an existing garage, zero feet from the side property line and three feet from the alley.A section of the borough zoning ordinance requires a minimum setback of three feet from the side property line and five feet from the public alley.Smith is in search of variances to the side and rear setback requirements.In his rejection letter, dated Sept. 20, Dellecker said Smith has proposed to attach a 10-by-20-foot carport to an existing 10-by-20-foot one-car garage located in an R-2, Low Density Residential, zoning district.The existing garage is located along and up to the common property line of the attached dwelling unit, and the proposed carport would be zero feet from the side property line and three-feet from the alley, Dellecker noted.However, he said a section of the borough's zoning ordinance requires a minimum setback of three-feet from the side property line and a minimum of five-feet from the public alley.