EAST
BRANDYWINE
TOWNSHIP
PLANNING COMMISSION
REGULAR SESSION
Wednesday,
September 1, 2004
-
7:30
PM
Those
in Attendance:
Mr.
Bruce Rawlings
, Chairman
Mr.
Stephen Cushman, Vice-Chairman
Mr.
Charles Giordano
, Member
Mrs.
Deborah Marshman
, Member
Mr.
Mervin Thomas, Member
Mr.
Scott T. Piersol
, Township Manager
Mr.
Albert Giannantonio, Township Engineer
Mrs.
Mary Beth Smedley, Township Secretary/Treasurer
Absent:
Mr.
Michael Corbin
, Member
Mrs.
Sandra Moser, Member
Mrs.
Beth Valocchi, Ex Officio Member
Planning Commission
Meeting Minutes –
August 4, 2004
Mr.
Rawlings asked if there were additions or corrections to the above minutes.
There were none. Mrs.
Marshman then made a motion to approve the above Minutes as submitted.
Mr. Thomas seconded the motion, with all voting Aye.
Decovny Subdivision
The
plans depict a proposed 26 lot subdivision of an existing 89.211 acre parcel
(tax map parcel 30-6-20) located on the north side of Dowlin Forge Road.
The parcel contains an existing farmhouse and farmstead buildings, wooded
steep slopes, ponds, wetlands, and a tributary stream to the East Branch of the
Brandywine Creek. The parcel is
situated within the R-1 Zoning District and each lot is to be served by on-site
water supply and sewage disposal. Mr.
Adam Brower, engineer for the project, discussed the road layout.
As
requested by the Planning Commission, Mr. Brower provided a plan that shows Road
A shifted farther south on the property, and Road B as a 1,000 foot long
cul-de-sac on the eastern portion of the
property. This new layout
eliminates the 640 foot long segment that contained a centerline grade of 9.5%,
and has reduced the maximum centerline grade to 7% on Road A.
Road B shows a 9.5% slope for approximately 300 feet and an
8.75% slope for a short stretch
in the cul-de-sac. The three
intersections show 40 foot leveling areas at 4% and then go to 9.5% for
approximately 300 feet each. Mr.
Brower stated that if the leveling areas were changed to 20 feet the slope could
be reduced to approximately 8 ¾%, and would also reduce needed grading. Mr.
Rawlings asked if there were trees in the vicinity of Road B that would shade
the intersection, and might pose problems in the winter.
Mr. Brower stated that trees near this intersection were far enough away
so they shouldn’t be a problem. After
review of the two layouts, Mr. Giannantonio and the Planning Commission
recommended that Mr. Brower proceed with designing the plan showing the 40 foot
leveling areas rather than the alternative plan showing 20 feet.
Decovny
- Extension
Mrs.
Smedley reported that the applicant is providing an extension for the Planning
Commission to review their application until
October 21, 2004
.
Mr. Cushman made a recommendation that the Board of Supervisors accept
this extension. Mr. Rawlings
seconded the motion, with all voting Aye.
AWI
Croppers – Extension
Mrs.
Smedley reported that the applicant is providing an extension for the Planning
Commission to review their application until
December 30, 2004
.
Mr. Giordano made a motion to
recommend that the Board of Supervisors accept this extension.
Mrs. Marshman seconded the
motion, with all voting Aye.
Hide-A-Way
Farms Cluster Option II
The
subdivision consists of approximately 294 acres.
The site is located in the northwest end of the Township and abuts
West Brandywine
and
Wallace
Townships
. The site fronts on Little
Washington Road. Site access is
proposed via one entrance on Little Washington Road and two road connections in
West
Brandywine
Township
. The Marshall Creek Farm
subdivision adjoins the site to the north and east.
The
site is zoned R-2 and is proposed to be developed with 151 residential lots with
30,000 SF minimum lot area. An
internal road system of approximately 17,500 L.F. is proposed to access the
lots. Open space areas are proposed
in five locations. Mr. William Rountree from Wilkinson Builders and Mr. Tim
Casey from Nave Newell discussed the final plan.
Subdivision Ordinance
8.
Section 350-24.B.2.I 0 – This
section requires the location and dimensions of all easements.
Mr. Casey will provide a revised amended Right-of-Way agreement with the
Sunoco Pipeline.
11.
Section 350-24.C.5 – The West
Brandywine Township Planning Commission has recommended final plan approval for
their portion of the Hide-A-Way Farms Subdivision.
The applicant will be attending the next West Brandywine Township Board
of Supervisors meeting to obtain this approval.
16.
Section 350-47.A – The sewage
treatment for the site will be completed utilizing both the existing Little
Washington Treatment Plant for primary treatment and on-site sewage disposal
beds for final treatment. Sewage
flows will be conveyed to and from the treatment plant via a force main
installed in Little Washington/Lyndell Road.
The East Brandywine Township Municipal Authority has reviewed and
recommended approval of the plans for this system.
The applicant’s engineer will forward planning module approval and the
Part II permit for the pump station from PADEP when those approvals are
received.
Landscape
and Lighting
58.
Section 350-53.C.1.b – Mr.
Casey stated that only 43 specimen trees would be removed from the property.
The Planning Commission asked that the applicant to mark the trees to be
removed and provide protection fencing to ensure that no additional trees are
inadvertently removed or damaged. A
note to this affect will be added to the plan.
Stormwater Management
28.
Section 350-52.I – Copies of
the NPDES permit and the Joint Permit from PADEP will be forwarded to the
Township. It is anticipated that
PADEP will issue the NPDES permit at the same time as the Joint Permit.
General Comments
54.
The applicant will provide a copy
of the PADOT Highway Occupancy Permit once it is received.
The
applicant has agreed to provide a contribution of up to $105,000 to install a
traffic signal and perform improvements to the Rt. 322/North Guthriesville Road
intersection. A note will be added
to the plan. This contribution will be payable at the time the plans are signed
and given to the applicant for recording.
Trail System
Mr.
Rountree provided a copy of a bid from Technivate that includes the cost of
constructing the 6’ wide pedestrian/bike trail in the open space.
The length of the trail is 10,555 feet.
He provided construction costs for the trail and for the two proposed
pedestrian bridges. He stated that
the cost for construction would exceed the fee-in-lieu of open space
requirements. The Planning
Commission reviewed the materials provided by Mr. Rountree.
Their preliminary assessment was that the costs were very high and that
there may be more trails than are needed in the development.
Mr. Giannantonio will review the figures and provided his assessment to
the Planning Commission. The
applicant was also asked to provide additional plans for the Planning Commission
to review prior to making a recommendation to the Supervisors for final plan
approval.
Ordinance Task
Force
Mr. Piersol stated that the Ordinance Task Force met on August 25th
to review the comment letters from the County Planning Commission.
A few minor revisions were made to the following ordinance drafts based
on those comments.
Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance
Section 350-50 C(2)(e)(1) – Trails - Where a trail corridor traverses
an individual lot, the Township shall be responsible for ownership
and maintenance of the macadam
trail cartpath surface of the trail.
The lot owner shall be responsible for maintenance of the
lawn vegetated
area around the trail
Section
350-30 A Street
system – The County suggested the ordinance reference the
“functional classification” of streets to our Comprehensive Plan.
Mr. Giannantonio will review
this and report back to the Planning Commission.
Section
350-30 C Street
system – Added the phrase “where appropriate” to curvilinear streets
section.
Section
350-31 B Cul-de-sacs – “A traffic calming device shall may
be placed concentrically….”
Zoning
Section
399-93 Home Occupations – The County had several comments and concerns
regarding the ordinance revisions being more permissive than the MPC
requirements for “no-impact” home
occupations on signage, retail sales, # of non-resident employees permitted (2),
and parking. The Task Force members
felt the current daft language was satisfactory.
Mr. Sweet has provided the County’s comments and a draft of this
ordinance section to Township Solicitor, John Halsted, for his review.
Section
399-102.1 Tree Harvesting – Sandra Insalaco from DCNR has some concerns about
the proposed ordinance to regulate timber harvest operations.
Mr. Piersol and Mr. Sweet will
meet with Ms. Insalaco later this month to discuss their concerns.
Mr.
Rawlings made a motion to recommend the Board of Supervisors submit the above
revisions to the Chester County Planning Commission for their Act 247
review,. The
Timber Harvest Ordinance is contingent upon any of the pending
discussions with DCNR, and comments from the Township Solicitor.
Mr. Giordano seconded the motion, with
all voting Aye.
Official
Map
Mr.
Piersol provided copies of the proposed updated map.
This map revision includes the Township parkland and trails throughout
the Township. There will be one last minor revision to the trail location across
the Tischler and DeCovny properties. Mr.
Piersol also suggested adding signature blocks for the Board of Supervisors and
Planning Commission on the map.
Mrs.
Marshman made a motion to recommend the Board of Supervisors advertise and adopt
the Official Map, with the minor revisions discussed at the Planning Commission
meeting. Mr. Cushman seconded the
motion, with all voting Aye.
Other Business
The
Planning Commission asked Mrs. Smedley to contact Mr. William Rountree of
Wilkinson Builders requesting he provide a letter withdrawing the Hide-A-Way
Farms traditional plan when a recommendation for final plan approval is given
for the Cluster II option plan.
Adjournment
There being no further business, Mr. Thomas made a motion to adjourn the
meeting. Mr. Rawlings seconded the
motion, with all voting Aye. The
meeting was adjourned at
9:30 P.M.
Respectfully
submitted,
Mary
Beth Smedley
Secretary/Treasurer
East
Brandywine
Township