A proposed Irish pub-style business may be on its way to Palmerton after all.

The borough's zoning hearing board on Thursday heard an appeal from TT Dowling's Irish Pub over property at 315 Lehigh Ave.After a 35-minute executive session, it was stated that the board's intention is that, according to a section of the borough zoning ordinance, the request is a continuation of a nonconforming use.Therefore, the applicant will receive a written opinion from the board within 45 days. At that point, anyone who wishes to appeal that decision will have 30 days to do so.Before the decision, the board heard testimony from David Pereira, who owns the property at 315 Lehigh Ave.Pereira said he purchased the property in 1999. At one point, Pereira said he operated a bar/restaurant at the property.Several other businesses operated from out of the building since that time, said Pereira, who added it had served as a bar/restaurant under various owners for many decades before he purchased the property.The board also heard testimony from Kyla Buluc of Kunkletown, who said she and her family want to open an authentic Irish pub and restaurant at the location."We want it to be Irish, because there's no Irish restaurant here," Buluc said. "We wanted something different."Buluc added that her goal is to make it a "family-oriented" business.Zoner Michael Bloomfield asked how many seats were at the bar, to which Pereira said there were about 12 to 15.Bloomfield then asked how much seating was available at the tables, to which Buluc said it would likely be able to comfortably seat up to 50 people. They would also look to serve food at the bar as well, she said.Board Chairman Gary Curran asked whether there would be enough off-street parking to accommodate that many people.Pereira said he doesn't believe any restaurants or bars in the borough, with the exception of the Palmerton Hotel, have that amount of off-street parking.Bloomfield then asked Pereira why he never filed for a special exception.Borough zoning officer Duane Dellecker previously denied an appeal for a nonconforming use, and the applicant had requested an interpretation of another section of the ordinance for the definition of a restaurant.In September, borough council rejected a liquor license transfer from Jim Thorpe to 315 Lehigh Ave. That rejection came after council held a public hearing, which included testimony from Thomas M. Dowling and Buluc, his daughter.Dowling previously owned the 57 Hotel in Kunkletown, until it burned to the ground in 2012.In his rejection letter dated Feb. 26, Dellecker said the property is located in a Residential/Light Commercial (R-3) zoning district.Pereira had submitted an application to change the use of property at 315 Lehigh Ave. from a restaurant to a tavern/restaurant.However, Dellecker said in his letter that a section of the borough's zoning ordinance prohibits both restaurants and taverns in the R-3 zoning district.Dellecker also stated in his letter that if the majority of trade is food, the use becomes a restaurant, whereas if a substantial portion of trade is alcoholic beverages, the use becomes a tavern.He also noted in his letter that according to borough records, in 2011, a business occupancy permit was issued to Jeremy's Place as a restaurant.As the use of the property was strictly as a food restaurant without any liquor sales, a bar/tavern use did not exist, or was abandoned, from a previous use, the letter states.Dellecker wrote in his letter that borough records indicate a maximum of 42 seats for the former business activity. Any increase in the number of seats will require special exception action of the zoning hearing board.Pereira said on Thursday that he disputed the number of seats that borough records indicate are in the establishment.If the seating is increased as a result of the change in use or expansion of activity, additional off-street parking will be required, or a variance will be necessary from the zoning hearing board, Dellecker stated in his letter.Had the property been located in a commercial zoning district, off-street parking would not have been a consideration, Dellecker stated in his letter. But, since the property is located in an R-3 zoning district, any additional seating proposals will need to address off-street parking, he said.Dellecker also wrote in his letter that restaurant uses require one off-street parking space for every four seats; tavern uses require one space per 30 square feet of total floor area.The zoning ordinance allows for the grandfathering of off-street parking deficits, he said.As no internal or external layouts or proposed seating areas were supplied as part of the application, the office could not make a determination whether or not additional off-street parking is necessary, Dellecker said.