The Schuylkill Township Planning Commission held their regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at the Township hall. Members of the Planning Commission present were Mr. Reading, Mr. Quigg, Mr. Davis and Mr. Keogh. Mr. Reading chaired the meeting. Also in attendance were Mr. John Sartor, Township engineer and his associate Ms. Mary Lou Lowrie from Gilmore & Associates as well as Mr. Morrisson from the Board of Supervisors.
On motion by Mr. Quigg and seconded by Mr. Davis, and passed, the Planning Commission approved the minutes of April 21, 2010.
Nolen Property – Mr. John Diemer, of Wilkinson Associates, engineer for the Nolen Company for the proposed apartment complex located on Pawling Road within the APO-II District requested waiver recommendations from the Planning commission. Mr. and Mrs. Dwayne Parker, residents of the Meadows at Valley Forge were in attendance.
Sections 401.C.1.d & 401.D.15 – Locate individual trees, tree clusters, noteworthy trees and other vegetation on the plan and individually indentify. Mr. Diemer stated that trees over 30’ – 36” DBH within the proposed limit of disturbance will be located. Mr. Diemer stated that he did walk the site with Jerry O’Dell of the EAC. There did not appear to be any trees of notable size. On motion by Mr. Keogh, seconded by Mr. Quigg, and passed, the Planning Commission recommended to the Board of Supervisors the waiving of the requirement for Sections 401.C.1.d and 401.D.15.
Sections 502.B.4.d & 502.E.7 – Grade within fifty (50) feet of any intersection shall not exceed 3%. Mr. Diemer stated that the plan currently shows a 5% grade. He advised that the grade helps to align the road at the intersection with Pawling Road. Mr. Sartor stated that he had no objection. On motion by Mr. Quigg, seconded by Mr. Keogh, and passed, the Planning Commission recommended to the Board of Supervisors the waiving of the requirement for Sections 502.B.4.d and 502.E.7.
Section 504.A – Sidewalks along Pawling road. Mr. Diemer stated that the trees on the property come up to the edge of roadway and create a buffer to the development. Mr. Sartor stated that there is not much edge of roadway since there is a downward slope immediately into the property after the cartway. On motion by Mr. Quigg, seconded by Mr. Davis, and passed, the Planning Commission recommended to the Board of Supervisors the waiving of the requirement for Section 504.A.
Section 518.D.3 – Grading within 5’ of the property line. Mr. Diemer stated that a buffer will be planted within the graded area with trees such as white pine. He advised that the main entrance and emergency access will be the areas with the most disturbance. On motion by Mr. Quigg, seconded by Mr. Davis, and passed, the Planning Commission recommended to the Board of Supervisors the waiving of the requirement for Section 518.D.3.
Section 514.D.4 – Street trees along Pawling Road. Mr. Diemer stated that the developer would like to maintain as much of the wooded area along Pawling Road as possible. He advised that in doing so there is no space to plant street trees. Mr. Diemer stated that the parking landscape already fills out the site. The request for a waiver of the requirement was tabled. Mr. Reading questioned if the applicant would consider a fee-in-lieu-of for the trees that cannot be planted.
502.E.4 – Primary Thoroughfare. “Wherever practicable, intersection with through highways shall be kept to a minimum and shall be located at least twelve hundred (1200) feet apart.” The frontage of the property along Pawing Road is 1,600’ – 1,700’. Mr. Diemer stated that half of the frontage is within the proposed conservation easement area. He stated that Nolan Company is only developing nine of the thirty acre tract.
508.B.1 – Building setback line from easement area. Discussion was tabled regarding setback from the conservation easement area for the proposed rear yard setback on the plan.
Codification Project – Two draft ordinances were presented to the Planning Commission regarding amendments to both the SALDO and the zoning Ordinance. These changes reflect clean-up of ordinance questions or ordinance conflicts that have been noted during the codification review. On motion by Mr. Reading, seconded by Mr. Quigg, and passed, the Planning Commission recommended to the Board of Supervisors adoption of Ordinance 2010-03 amending the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. On motion by Mr. Reading, seconded by Mr. Davis, and passed, the Planning Commission recommended to the Board of Supervisors adoption of Ordinance 2010-04 amending the Zoning Ordinance. Both ordinances will be forwarded to the Chester County Planning Commission for their review prior to Board adoption on July 7.
SALDO, Section 502.A – C, Streets. Mr. Morrisson brought to the Planning Commission attention the need for language in the SALDO for single access streets. Discussion was tabled until the June Planning Commission meeting pending review of the proposed language by the Township Engineer and Solicitor.
Mr. Morrisson stated that he would like the Planning Commission’s input with the updating of the ordinances. He stated that there needs to be a rewrite of the open space section. Currently the ordinance section only applies to lots over 100 acres. The agricultural preservation ordinance needs to be updated. Mr. Morrisson advised that a multi-use overlay to encourage business also needs to be developed with the recommendations of the Regional Planning Commission. The EAC is still working on the Natural Resource Conservation Overlay ordinance. The zoning map may need to be looked at from the context of business growth. Mr. Morrisson advised that SALDO sections such as street cartway and ROWs need to be updated so that language in the SALDO does not conflict with the comprehensive plan, regional plan and other standards such as those developed by Penn State. Mr. Morrisson asked if Planning Commission members would volunteer to be part of a subcommittee to review proposed ordnance updates. Discussion will continue at next month’s meeting.
There being no further business to discuss, the Planning commission adjourned the meeting at 9:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary R. Bird
Township Manager
Next Meeting: June 16, 2010