On January 7th, 2019 at the Regular Council Meeting, Council and the public received a briefing on the proposed development to be constructed at the corner of Lenni Rd & Llewelyn Road in Chester Heights, PA. The builder, Rouse Chamberlin, proposed to build 33 town homes, and on this 11 acre corner lot as well as 2 single homes on Lenni Road. The building plan prepared by Catania Engineering is said to mimic the original plan presented and approved by the council back in 2015 with a few adjustments. On the original plan, the homes were 2-3 stories and varied in width from 24ft to 28ft. The new design shows all the homes the same height at 2 stories with widths of 28ft for interior lots and 30ft corner lots. The home styles presented were the Avignon & Chandler for the corner lots and the Essex for the interior homes. The homes will vary in square footage from 2100-2500 and are expected to sell in the range of $400K-$500K.
The timeline for the build is dependent on permits and borough approval, which the builder hopes will be finalized no later the January of 2020. From the time of final approval, the build cycle will largely depend on the pace of home sales. With the goal of completing the project within 16-18 months from groundbreaking to the final home being sold. The builder plans on giving the borough the option of the open space at the corner of the lot. Additionally, the builder plans to preserve “sledding hill” which was a concern to one homeowner because of the large pond that develops at the bottom of the hill after substantial rainfall.
Other concerns raised during the meeting include:
Will the pump station at Rosehill have enough capacity and have the right permission from Southwest Delaware County Municipal Authority to allow residents along Lenni and Llewelyn to tie into the Sewer should they need to on an emergency basis?
How does the new road (Rosehill Way) intersect with the driveways that are in proximity?
What is the tree plan? How will vegetation be preserved and replanted?
What is the setback of the Emergency Access?
Can the Emergency Access be moved to a location with less grade?
How will the development impact adjacent neighbors?
Next Steps:
At the end of the meeting, it appeared that the council would be moving forward and will provide more opportunities for the public to be involved in the discussion. A set of plans will need to be submitted for review by the Planning Commission and sent to the council for approval. It was unclear at the end of the meeting if these plans were going to be considered a final approved plan with minor adjustments or a whole new plan that would require the council to revisit the zoning overlay completed in 2014 that permitted the 33 townhomes in an R-1 Zoned district in the first place.
The borough should be posting the audio recording of this meeting shortly on their website if you’d like to hear it directly. The presentations started about 30 minutes into the meeting.
If you attended the meeting please leave comments or email us at chna@chneighborsalliance.com so that we can include your comments for others to view.
Note:
As of this meeting The Borough of Chester Heights has a vacancy on the Planning Commission due to the resignation of Mr. Drew Baum. If interested you should submit your letter of interest and resume to Theresa Agostinelli, the chair of the Vacancy Committee.