MINUTES

PLANNING COMMISSION:                                                                               LOWER ALLEN TOWNSHIP

REGULAR MEETING:                                                                                                                     NOVEMBER 17, 2015

The following were in ATTENDANCE:

PLANNING COMMISSION                                              TOWNSHIP PERSONNEL
Brett McCreary, Chairman                                              Dan Flint, Community Development
Geir Magnusson, Vice-Chairman                                   Thomas G. Vernau, Township Manager
Brian Wickenheiser                                                       Julie Echterling, Recording Secretary
Michael Washburn
ABSENT
Samuel T. Bashore
Patricia Hall
Dr. Jean Dyszel, Secretary

Mr. McCreary called the November 17, 2015 Regular Meeting of the Planning Commission to order at 7:00 pm.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Approval of Minutes
Mr. MAGNUSSON made a motion to approve the minutes from the October 20, 2015 meeting. Mr. WASHBURN seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0.

OLD BUSINESS
SLD Docket No. 2015-07: Revised Preliminary Subdivision and Land Development Plan for Highpoint, Phase 1.5: This plan proposes to change the configuration of this Phase, which contains 51 single family attached units (townhouses), and proposes lot with recreational facilities.
Applicant Presentation
Mr. Anthony Faranda-Diedrich, Charter Homes, showed the Board the location of Phase 1.5 on the map. He stated it would consist of 51 townhouses, two acre park and open space. He discussed the construction of Strong Road which will connect to Rossmoyne Road.

Township Staff Comments
Mr. Flint stated there were significant changes from the last plan including the street layout and elimination of dead ends. He stated there are minor comments that need to be addressed. He reminded the Board that this is the preliminary plan and a final will need to be submitted.

County Planning Commission Comments
Mr. Flint stated the County doesn’t review revised plans.

Commission Member Question and Answer
Mr. Wickenheiser asked about waiver number three. Mr. Faranda-Diedrich explained the request with the impending trails being built. Discussion ensued.

Public Comments:
There were no public comments
Action: Recommendations on the proposed plan
Mr. WICKENHEISER made a motion to approve a waiver of the requirement in Section 184-11.I, to allow Detention Basin A to completely drain in more than 72 hours following the design storm. Mr. WASHBURN seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0.

Mr. WASHBURN made a motion to approve waiver of the requirement contained in Section 192-57.C(9) that requires sidewalks along all street frontage, to eliminate sidewalk along the east side of Strong Road. Mr. WICKENHEISER seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0.

Mr. WICKENHEISER made a motion to approve a modification of the requirement contained in Section 192-57.C(9) that requires sidewalks along all street frontage, to permit construction of a bituminous path along the west side of Strong Road. Mr. WASHBURN seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0.

Mr. WICKENHEISER made a motion to approve SLD Docket No. 2015-07: Revised Preliminary Subdivision and Land Development Plan for Highpoint, Phase 1.5 subject to Township and County comments. Mr. WASHBURN seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0.

SLD Docket No. 2015-09: Preliminary Subdivision and Land Development Plan for Arcona, Phase 2A: Second phase of the Arcona Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) on a total of 247.6 acres in the vicinity of Lisburn, Rossmoyne and Arcona Roads. Phase 2A proposes: 282 apartments in eleven buildings, a clubhouse and pool, on 10.71 acres.
Applicant Presentation
Mr. Faranda-Diedrich showed the Board the site plan for phase two on the map. He stated the plan will be broken up into two phases with Phase 2B being the Crossroad village section that will be submitted at later time. He stated they will be asking for a recommendation on the Phase 2A tonight. He stated he received the Township’s comments and feels they are narrative in nature. He stated they would have no issues with incorporating the comments into the final plan. He showed the Board the plan site, apartment and pool location, storm basin and the location of Strong Road on the map.

Township Staff Comments
Mr. Flint discussed zoning comment number one dealing with the proposed density of 7.3 dwelling units per acre. He stated the computed density based on acreage and number of units exceeds 15 units per acre which exceeds the permitted density. He also spoke about Zoning comment number two dealing with a minimum of 40% of residential units are required to be single family detached units.

Mr. Charlie Courtney, McNees Wallace, discussed the ordinance dealing with density within the TND. He stated that the TND looks at density on the whole project versus each plan. He discussed the proposal of 7.29 acres and discussed the formula Charter Homes is using for the development.

Mr. Courtney stated currently, the single family homes ratio is not in compliance with the ordinance. He has spoken with the Township’s Solicitor and Staff about this and they are proposing implanting a deed restriction. This would be a guarantee to restrict land to comply with the overall TND requirements.

Mr. Courtney spoke about comment five referring to Strong Road and the needed approval from PennDOT to access Rossmoyne Road. He discussed the history of meeting with PennDOT and believes there are no issues with Strong Road and Rossmoyne Road intersecting. He stated there will be a stop sign on Strong Road at Rossmoyne Road. There will be a right hand turn lane added to Rossmoyne Road for turning onto Strong Road. He stated there is an agreement in the Memo of Understanding (MOU) that at 90% of the buildout of Phase 2A, they will start doing annual evaluations of the intersection. He stated when the level of service of the intersection falls below the Township’s levels, the roundabout will be built.

Mr. Flint discussed comments 11 and 12 under the SLD comments. These comments state the proposed method of providing recreation must be approved by the Board of Commissioners and an overall Recreation budget for Phase 2A needs to be provided. Mr. Courtney stated that for the recreation requirements, they have been paying the fee in lieu of recreation land for the Highpoint plans. They have been paying $1,250 per unit. He stated there is now a comprehensive recreation plan for Arcona that he feels exceeds the requirements. He stated for Phase 2A they are willing to increase the fee paid for this phase to $1,500. Mr. Flint stated their calculation showing compliance needs to be on the plan

County Planning Commission Comments
Mr. Flint stated the County doesn’t review revised plans.

Commission Member Question and Answer
Mr. Wickenheiser asked if PennDOT had any issues with their plans. Eric Mountz, Traffic Planning & Design, stated PennDOT has seen the overall plan with the three roundabouts and Strong Road.

Mr. McCreary asked if the apartments would be rentals and asked about parking. Mr. Faranda-Diedrich stated they would be rentals and would blend in with their design. He showed him an example of what the rental buildings will look like on the outside. He stated there would be off-street parking for the apartments.

Mr. McCreary asked if the Township was okay with the density. Mr. Flint stated they would be okay with the proposed density as long as they can work it out to comply with the ordinance. He stated this is the preliminary plan and there will be a final plan submitted.

Public Comments:
There were no public comments

Action: Recommendations on the proposed plan
Mr. WASHBURN made a motion to approve a waiver of the requirement in Section 184-11.I, to allow Detention Basin A to completely drain in more than 72 hours following the design storm. Mr. WICKENHEISER seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0.

Mr. WASHBURN made a motion to approve a modification of the requirement in Section 192-57.C(9) regarding sidewalks, to allow construction of a paved trail along Lisburn Road, Arcona Road and one side of Strong Road in lieu of sidewalk. Mr. WICKENHEISER seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0.

Mr. WASHBURN made a motion to approve a modification of the requirement in Section 192-C(1) that requires a minimum centerline radius of 260 feet for a collector roadway, to allow construction of Strong Road with a centerline radius of 165 feet. Mr. WICKENHEISER seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0.

Mr. WASHBURN made a motion to approve the SLD Docket No. 2015-09: Preliminary Subdivision and Land Development Plan for Arcona, Phase 2A subject to the Township and County comments. Mr. WICKENHEISER seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0.

OTHER BUSINESS
None was discussed.

NEXT MEETING
The next meeting is scheduled for December 15, 2015 at 7:00pm.

ADJOURN
Meeting adjourned at 7:54 pm.