Zoning Hearing Board to Deliberate and Decide on HMI (Quarry Development) Appeal on August 9 at the Township Building

The following message has been posted on the Township's website:

The final zoning board hearing has been continued to 7:00 pm on Monday, August 9, 2010 at the Whitemarsh Township Administration Building located at 616 Germantown Pike, Lafayette Hill.

Visit the Township's website for more information and to read a copy of the zoning appeal or watch the Township's government access channels, Comcast 965 or Verizon 46, for further information.

Other useful background information:

• 3/3/10 Letter from Township Zoning Officer to HMI Denying Amended Preliminary Plan on Failure to Comply with 2001 Zoning Code
  
• At-a-Glance Background on Creekside Commons
  
• Q & A on Public Hearing Process
  
• Township website page on Quarry Hearing

Recent Background:

On June 7 the Zoning Hearing Board met to hear the case. After extensive arguments and counter-arguments by both sides about what was and was not permitted under the PA Land Development Codes, the ZHB decided to continue the hearing until a later date.

The PC met on February 2 (Groundhog Day as the HMI attorney Jim Garrity aptly noted) to review the amended preliminary plan submitted by HMI for Quarry Hole #1. After an extended question and answer session by attorney Mark Kaplin of the township engineer and the HMI engineer on aspects of the plan that Kaplin claimed were not within the 2001 zoning code and Garrity claimed were, and after other public comments questioning why there had not been a definitive answer on the these outstanding issues heretofore, the PC voted not to approve the plan and to have these issues reviewed by the Township's zoning officer. On March 3, HMI was sent a letter from the Township's zoning officer saying that indeed, certain aspects of the plan failed to meet 2001 zoning code requirements and they will have to be either changed or a variance approved by the Township.

In accordance with a Court Order, the Whitemarsh Township Board of Supervisors met on Thursday, January 14, to consider approval of Creekside Commons, an Amended Preliminary Major Land Development plan for Quarry Hole #1 submitted by Highway Materials, Inc. Instead of making a decision that night, however, the Supervisors decided to send the plan to the Planning Commission for review on January 26, and to postpone their decision until January 28.

Numerous citizens turned out for the January 14 meeting, filling the public meeting room at the Township. More than 20 residents stood to protest the plan. Marc Kaplin, a land use development lawyer representing Quarry neighbors who were parties to the original lawsuit, raised the issue of whether the plan's retention basin met the appropriate zoning standards. He also suggested that, since the township's solicitor and all of its supervisors were defendants in a suit recently brought by Highway Materials, that they should recuse themselves from the decision on the Quarry. A representative for the Board of the WTRA expressed concern about deficiencies in the new plan's design and advocated for a thorough review of the plan, not just the limited review that was conducted by the Township's engineer to determine if the amended plan satisfactorily addressed the Township's original concerns from 2001. Many residents raised concerns about traffic congestion, impact on quality of life, and risks to public and environmental health, but only Zoning Codes and Subdivision and Land Development Ordinances can be considered when determining this plan's approvability. Those who spoke urged the Supervisors to carefully review the plan with an eye to finding something that does not meet approval criteria. The Supervisors promised that they would take everyone's comments and suggestions under advisement.

The Proposed Plan:

The applicant proposes to construct six (6) office buildings totaling 500,000 square feet and 2,500 parking spaces on a 54.36-acre parcel located on the north side of Stenton Avenue between Joshua Road and Cricket Road, also known as Hole # 1. The complete application may be reviewed at the Township Building, Monday through Friday between 9:00AM and 5:00PM.

The Overall Record Plan may be viewed and/or printed from the link below:
http://www.whitemarshtwp.org/pdf/Overall-Plan.pdf

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