Author | Lightnews

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · 15d

As an elected member of the State College Borough Council I have sworn to support the Constitution of the United States. Today I was happy to join my fellow citizens at our local No Kings protest to call on our Federal government to honor their oaths as well and uphold our Constitution. #NoKings

The American flag is in the left foreground. A huge crowd of protestors with signs assembled behind it. The PA and US flags fly high on poles in a clear blue sky above them.

1 6 19

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · 18d

If you'd like to see Council's full comments on this road diet you can watch the recording on C-NET. I hope we can agree on pushing for safety on Atherton because right now this sectoon is dangerous for everyone, even for those inside of cars.

#StateCollege #LocalGovernment #RoadDiet #SafeStreets

10/13/25 State College Borough Council Work Session

videoplayer.telvue.com

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · 18d

Doing this would likely require adding a signal to Pugh. That'd be expensive, but if it created a safe way for kids to cross Atherton it could save the cost of running a school bus to Tusseyview for decades. Syncing this signal up with Allen's using new technology could minimize traffic delays too.

1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · 18d

If the 3 lane diet extended back to Pugh it'd be even better because East of Pugh is a long, flat stretch of road with good visibility so people would better see the merge coming. This stretch is flanked by businesses so if a crash did happen at this merge point it wouldn't skid into a yard or home.

1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · 18d

In the morning the left turn lane here backs up with traffic from left turns towards the highschool. Dropping this section down to 3 lanes would have the same result, but maybe a few more people would turn left on Waupelani instead, more evenly using our road capacity and reducing traffic?

1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · 18d

Here's the intersection with Westerly right now. Atherton is already going from 4 lanes down to 1 as it crosses. I frequently see people speeding in the left lane surprised that it becomes left turn only the dangerously merging back right at a high rate of speed. Just 3 lanes would be far safer.

1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · 18d

@geoffrushton.bsky.social does a good job summarizing the discussion of a potential road diet on Atherton East of the intersection with Westerly. Obviously neither council nor PennDOT is fully decided on this. I hope everyone will take some time to learn more about road diets and see the potential.

PennDOT Completes Road Diet Study for Next Phase of Atherton Street Work. Here's What It Recommends

PennDOT is considering reducing the number of travel lanes as a safety and traffic calming measure on one section of South Atherton Street as it plans for

www.statecollege.com

1 1 3

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · 19d

Also, while you're waiting for that please fill out the Borough's survey on climate action, resiliency and environmental sustainability. We're updating our plan to handle climate change this year and we need your input.

#climate #sustainability #LocalGovernment #StateCollegePA

Climate Action, Resiliency, and Enviromental Sustainability Plan Community Survey

The Borough of State College is developing a Climate Action, Resiliency, and Environmental Sustainability Plan in efforts to reduce the community’s greenhouse gas footprint, enhance environmental cons...

engage.zencity.io

1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · 19d

Last week Council met 3 times to discuss our new #zoning. With our 9/15 and 9/24 meetings that adds to over 14 hours discussing this. New zoning has many changes that can improve our town and I'm working on a summary of them, but if you'd like to chat about it in person my office hours are tomorrow.

Colorful boxes saying:
10/15/2025 12-1 pm
243 S Allen St Room 112

Council Member Herndon
Office Hours

1 1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Sep 26

Very helpful! I've been watching your other videos this morning and was proud to see State College featured in "How Cars Took Over American Streets" One of my zoning update goals is to make The Corner Room's covered sidewalk (shown here) legal again in State College to make walking even nicer here.

Screenshot showing The Corner Room in State College. Closed caption text at the bottom says "with a bit more density maybe you call it downtown or Main Street or the historic district here's"

1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Sep 25

Beyond these tax and value reasons, allowing more housing here would mean more people could bike and walk to work, school, etc. I explained the environmental benefit of this in detail 1:50:00 into our 9/8 meeting, but walking/biking also increase physical and mental health. We should allow it!

9/8/25 State College Borough Council

videoplayer.telvue.com

1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Sep 25

In fact, it's likely the opposite. When property is sold the Borough collects a transfer tax. Newly built properties get assessed as if it was still the 90s and that get added to our taxbase too. This additional tax revenue lowers the pressure to raise tax rates as inflation increases our costs.

1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Sep 25

I cannot match the production values of her video, but I can add some PA specific details. Here we don't re-assess properties for decades due to state law (Centre County was last assessed in the 90s). That means that increased property values won't immediately lead to higher property tax bills here.

1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Sep 25

State College Borough Council discussed residential zoning again last night. I've been pushing to allow more homes in our residential districts. A Council Member from Falls Church (@justineunderhill.bsky.social) has made a wonderful video explaining how this can both increase value and lower costs.

The High Cost of "Low-Density" Zoning

YouTube video by Justine Underhill

youtu.be

2 4

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Sep 15

We'll hear about all this and more during tonight's council session, though I think the main time for discussion of it will be in our next meeting. I'll also be having my first office hours this week Wednesday at noon in room 112 in the borough building. Come by and talk about any local gov topic.

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Sep 15

The Planning Commission also suggested merging the R-1 zone with R-2. R-1 currently doesn't even allow duplex and requires 12,500 sqft of land for 1 home. It's also where a number of the few vacant parcels in the borough actually are, so it makes a lot of sense to allow more housing there.

1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Sep 15

Another option to add housing supply that this new zoning draft gives residents is the option to add a detached ADU in your yard. It proposes deed restricting ADUs from student and short term rentals as well but they could still be a flat for your granny, or a home for your adult kid/friend/whoever.

1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Sep 15

This gives another option to significantly increase housing in the borough. Home price is fundamentally about supply and demand, so allowing supply to increase like this is a fundamental way to address housing prices. We have other tools too, but supply is the bedrock of affordability.

1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Sep 15

The draft also permits triplex and quadplex homes in R-2. It proposes deed restricting these from being student or short term rentals. It also suggests requiring 10,000 sqft of land for them. I'd like to see this sqft requirement be waved for energy efficient buildings to increase sustainability.

1 1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Sep 15

That's a huge improvement, but if we drop it to 36 ft it opens up far more possibilities. Why? Because we have thousands of lots in the borough over 72 ft wide. Going to 36 makes it possible for people to subdivide their lot into 2, doubling the housing on it. They can even build 2 duplexes for 4x!

1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Sep 15

First off what does the draft change? Well the big thing is allowing more housing in R-2 (our biggest zone). Currently you need 10,000 sqft to build a home there, 20,000 to build a duplex. This draft replaces those lot requirements with lot width requirements. Planning commission recommended 40 ft.

1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Sep 15

We'll be discussing more zoning during tonight's borough council meeting. The focus tonight will be on our residential zones, which are crucial. This new draft does a lot to increase housing opportunity in our residential zones and with a few small tweaks it can really help with affordability here.

1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Sep 9

Last night Council got a great start on finishing our zoning update. After the draft had been transmitted to us I gave a short speech at 1:48:07 addressing community concerns that have been raised around zoning and further explaining why this update is so urgently needed. Please give it a listen.

9/8/25 State College Borough Council

videoplayer.telvue.com

2

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Sep 8

If you want a more affordable, sustainable and inclusive State College please come to one of Council's meetings over the next few weeks to comment and have your voice heard. We are in the home stretch of this nearly 8 year process and continued public support is crucial to getting it done right.

A screenshot of a portion of the zoning timeline with September 8th Council receives PC recommendations circled. The next step is to finalize Council's direction by Oct 20, hopefully leading to passage on March 24 2026.

1

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Sep 8

When JD Vance pushed deportation as a solution to housing issues 6 months ago at the NLC conference I predicted this perverse outcome. As a local elected I don't have legal power to change harmful Republican actions at the federal level, but I can vote to correct our own local mistakes with zoning.

Councilman Matt Herndon @mattherndon.org · Mar 10

Housing can and should be abundant. You don't make it abundant by disappearing 20 million people, many of whom are literally helping to build new housing. State College is made better by our immigrant population. We should work to make housing here for everyone who wants it and not scapegoat people.

1