The Schuylkill Township Planning Commission held their regular meeting on Wednesday, February 20, 2008, at the Township Hall. Members of the Planning Commission present were Mr. James Reading, Mr. William Brennan, Mr. Morris Quigg, Mr. Dan Keogh, and Ms. Jan Potts. Mr. Jack Claffey was not present. Township Manager Mary Bird and MaryLou Lowrie of Gilmore & Associates were also present.
During discussion to approve the January 16, 2008 meeting minutes, a member of the audience had concerns about some alleged discrepancies in the minutes from the February 2006 and September 2007 Planning Commission meetings regarding statements about the Brackman property. Mr. Reading advised that once approved, the minutes are the legal record of the meeting. Mr. Reading advised the audience member to put his concerns in writing in a letter to the Planning Commission.
On motion by Mr. Brennan, seconded by Mr. Reading and passed, the Planning Commission approved the minutes of the January 16, 2008 meeting.
Dr. Piskai Property - John Diemer appeared before the Planning Commission on behalf of Dr. Piskai requesting authorization from the Planning Commission to have Gilmore & Associates review their plan for 1096 Bridge Street. Dr. Piskai is a sole practitioner dentist with a 7 person staff, 2 FT, 2PT, dental hygienist assistant, 2 front desk staff. Dr. Piskai wants to demolish the existing dwelling, replacing the area with 17 space parking lot (14 is the required amount), and use the remaining building on the lot as his private dental office. Dr. Piskai has already consulted with the historical commission regarding the demolition of the dwelling and has already applied for the demolition permit with the Township. Mr. Diemer advised that all zoning setbacks are met, therefore they are not required to go before the zoning hearing board. Mr. Jim Morrisson, Supervisor and member of the audience, questioned the amount of parking area that will be added and stated that Charlies Barber Shop is directly behind this property and already suffers from flooding problems. Mr. Diemer advised that they are curving the parking lot, putting in underground pipes and underground detention tanks, and that if anything, this will help to alleviate his flooding problem. Mr. Lee Ledbetter, Supervisor and member of the audience, questioned Mr. Morrisson if he knows for a fact if Charlies Barber Shop still is afflicted with flooding. Mr. Ledbetter advised that the flooding was due to a basin problem behind the apartments and a collapsed pipe that was fixed by the Township approximately four years ago. Since then, the township has not received any complaints of flooding in that area. Mr. Morrisson will confer with Charlie's Barber Shop regarding this issue. Mr. Diemer is asking for a waiver to not provide curbing and sidewalks, as the location is in an area where there are no sidewalks. Mr. Keogh asked if patients of Dr. Piskai's office could easily access Foresta's Market and the other shops behind his property. He was concerned about traffic pulling out of Dr. Piskai's office and almost doing a U-turn to get back to Foresta's. Mr. Piskai advised that there are no barriers between his property and the shops behind. Laurie Williams, Supervisor and member of the audience, questioned the timeframe of this plan. Dr. Piskai advised that his current office's lease expires July 31, 2008. He is hoping to have his new office ready to move in by June 30, 2008 to allow time for a smooth transition.
Reeves Property - Todd Pohlig appeared before the Planning Commission to give an update on the preliminary plans. The latest plan revision 12903 was submitted last week to the Township. Mr. Pohlig advised that he attended the historical commission's meeting on February 18, 2008, and the EAC meeting on February 26, 2008. The zoning hearing board meeting that was scheduled for February 13, has been rescheduled to March 10, 2008. Mr. Pohlig advised that since they started the plans for Reeves in May of 2006 they have been modified many times. Mr. Pohlig is awaiting Gilmore & Associates review of the technical changes that have been made and is hoping that the Planning Commission will make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. Mr. Brennan asked if the differences in the surveys has been resolved. Mr. Pohlig said that they feel comfortable with the ATLA survey that has been submitted to Gilmore, the Township and Mr. Sugarman, the Township Solicitor.
Pending – The Planning Commission agreed to remove Pickering Golf Course from the "Pending: No Discussion" future agendas as there has been no discussion for several months. EDC properties went before the Zoning Hearing Board on 2/18/08. Magic Memories will be coming in with plans sometime in March.
There being no further business for discussion, the meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kimberly Yocom
Township Clerk
Next Meeting March 19, 2008