BELLEFONTE — After years of planning, Bellefonte Borough Council has conditionally approved the final land development plan for the Stage at Talleyrand, an open-air community performing arts center proposed for the west side of Talleyrand Park.

The approval is contingent on resolving outstanding county review comments, including a cross-easement agreement and PennDOT highway occupancy permit. Council also required that a restroom solution be in place before a certificate of occupancy can be issued.

The stage, designed by Hoffman Leakey Architects, is projected to cost $1.5 million to $2 million and has been largely financed through donations.

The Stage at Talleyrand Committee, which is behind the project, hopes the new venue will improve the quality and acoustics of musical and theatrical performances in the park and attract additional tourism to the community.

“The intention is for this space to become the premier outdoor public stage in the Centre Region,” the committee said.

After presenting the concept plan to council in December, the Stage at Talleyrand Committee submitted its final land development plan to the borough in early February. Later that month, the committee received review comments from the borough engineer and county planning commission and is now working to address those, along with additional feedback raised by council Monday evening.

“I would say they are fairly procedural and routine,” a committee representative said.

Among the county’s recommendations is that the borough establish cross-easements among several municipal properties involved in the project. Cross-easements are mutual legal agreements that allow two or more property owners to grant each other specific rights to use portions of their respective properties. County planners raised the issue because the stage project encroaches on three borough-owned parcels. The arrangement would help ensure access and use rights remain in place if one or more properties were sold.

The county also recommended that the borough secure a PennDOT highway occupancy permit for the existing driveway approaches to the south parking lot. The entrances, which date back to at least the 1960s, have no permit on file. While the original stage concept affected the driveway, the present revised plan does not, so formal permitting from PennDOT is not required. Obtaining a permit would take several months if the borough chose to pursue it.

A key unresolved issue for the stage is meeting the code requirement which mandates a permanent public restroom must be within 500 feet of the venue. Earlier versions of the stage design included restroom facilities, but those were later removed from the plan.

“I know we are approving the land development plan, but I still have concerns about sharing a restroom with the Pelican Snowcone building,” said Council President Doug Johnson. Under the current proposal, the building’s restroom would be made accessible during stage events. The Borough of Bellefonte owns the property, but leases it out to the snowcone shop.

The existing park restrooms near the train station are about 1,000 feet from the proposed stage, which are too far to meet the requirement.

Johnson worried relying on the building’s restrooms could affect the willingness of future tenants to lease the property from the borough.

“I think that it, in years to come, may limit who may lease that building in the future,” Johnson said.

A representative from the Stage at Talleyrand Committee said organizers explored other options with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Centre Region Code Administration. While state regulators would allow temporary facilities such as portable toilets, those do not satisfy local building code requirements for a permanent restroom.

As an interim solution, organizers proposed only using the Pelican building’s restrooms while continuing to explore the possibility of permanent facilities at that end of the park. Under the plan, the Friends of Talleyrand organization would be responsible for cleaning the restrooms after events.

Some council members questioned whether the facilities would be sufficient for larger crowds and whether the arrangement could create issues for the tenant.

“I’m not real happy about it,” said councilman Randy Brachbill. “I don’t think those restrooms there at the Pelican Building are that large.”

Brachbill also said he was concerned about placing the burden on the business owner.

“I think they would get screwed, honestly,” he said. “We don’t know when you guys are going to get that stuff in.”

Interim Borough Manager David Pribulka said the building’s owner did not raise major objections to the proposal, aside from concerns about cleaning responsibilities after events. He added the borough could ensure restroom servicing is included when stage events are permitted and continue evaluating other options if council proceeds with conditional approval.

“It scares me a bit, how that is going to be resolved,” council president Johnson said, “But I think it can be managed somehow.”

Council ultimately approved the development plan, 8-1, with Brachbill voting in opposition.