11/11/2004 Residents urge better control of developments By Richard Schwartzman
Chadds Ford residents packed the township building Monday night, most concerned with the extent of subdivision on Atwater Road.
Atwater Road resident Lana Sheer opened the public comment period of the Board of Supervisors' meeting with a presentation that included before-and-after photographs of properties being subdivided.
The photos showed a change of the street's view. Instead of wooded lots, large houses are now or will be visible, ruining "otherwise beautiful properties. "Those large 5,000-square-foot, two-story homes that are being built are "out of character for our township," said Sheer.
She said there are four properties being subdivided that will result in 11 new homes on the street, with the number of residents increasing by 50 to 75 percent. She said the traffic volume could increase 100 percent.
Sheer added that the increased number of properties using wells will have an adverse effect on the aquifer. "If you put too many people on an aquifer you contaminate the wells," she said. Sheer had expressed similar concerns during a supervisors' meeting in January.
She noted that the township's comprehensive plan was last updated in 1973 and wants it and the township "brought into the 21st century."
Sheer compared the potential appearance of Atwater Road with the appearance of McMullin Farm Drive in Pennsbury Township. She did not verbally characterize that street in anyway, but displayed a photograph of the street that showed a paved road with large homes but no trees or wooded lots.
Later she said that the homes were stucco, cookie cutter homes: "They're just ugly."
Sheer suggested that the township adopt the concept of transect zoning. According to New Urban News, transect is a "categorization system that organizes all elements of the urban environment on a scale from rural to urban."
In an e-mail following the meeting, Sheer said her concerns for Atwater Road include the use of the aquifer at the top of the hill, pedestrian and vehicular safety on a narrow road, longer frontage set-backs, tree preservation to avoid erosion and preserving the neighborhood's integrity.
"Why aren't there more stringent environmental impact prerequisites on these subdivisions?"
There were others in the audience agreeing with Sheer's concern over what might happen with Atwater Road. Some wanted to know whether developers could be made to establish a fund that would help homeowners dig deeper wells, while others wanted to know if builders are responsible for repairing damage to the road caused by construction vehicles and equipment.
Township solicitor Hugh Donahue said the township does not get into a position to have a fund to keep wells from going dry, but that it can hold developers financially responsible if they damage roads.
Some people also talked about poor communication between the township and residents.
Jeff Jarvis, who lives across the street from the former Warner property, one of the parcels on Atwater Road being subdivided, said many residents have not been notified of meetings that will consider those development plans.
Other residents agreed that the notification process is not working properly, with some saying that notices are being sent to their old addresses, the ones they had before the township renumbered streets a year ago.
Richard Jensen, the township code enforcement officer, said the developers are required to notify adjacent property owners by certified mail when plans are going before the Planning Commission. He said the developers are also required to show proof of notification.
Supervisors' Chairman George Thorpe said this was the first time he's heard that the notification process was not working properly.
Other business
Supervisor Garry Paul gave a brief overview of the township's 2005 budget. He said supervisors have not yet arrived at final numbers but that the preliminary budget is balanced calling for little or no tax increase. Property taxes in the township are currently .357 mills. A mill is a tax of $1 for every $1,000 of assessed value.
Paul anticipated a revenue figure of $792,510. If the budget is balanced, expenses would have to be the same.
Paul said the township is considering taking out two loans for the Turner's Mill project. One loan would be $900,000 for construction, payable over a 20-year period at an interest rate of 3.64 percent.
Another possible loan, of up to $600,000, would be for secondary costs such as moving and other related expenses. That would be a short-term note with an interest rate of 1.7 percent. However, the township can arbitrage the money by putting it in an interest bearing account carrying a return rate higher than the interest on the loan.
A copy of the preliminary budget will be available for public inspection at the township building. A final budget will be adopted at the Dec. 1 Board of Supervisor's meeting.
Prior to that Dec. 1 meeting will be a public hearing on proposed zoning ordinance amendments that would establish a Baltimore Pike Overlay District. The hearing will begin at 7 p.m.
There will soon be a change to the intersection of Ridge and Heyburn roads. Thorpe announced that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has agreed to make the intersection a four-way stop.
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