A meeting of the Sadsbury Township Planning Commission was held on Wednesday, August 13, 2020 via Zoom.
Present: Mr John Lymberis, Ms. Jane Heineman, Mr. Simon Jessey, Ms. Amanda Stewart, Mr.
John Ettore, Mr. Jeremy Alcorn and Township representative Ms. Tammy Russell. Absent: Supervisor Liaison Mr. John Moore.
Mr. Lymberis called the meeting to order at 7:09pm and made a motion, seconded by Ms. Heineman, to waive the moment of silence and Pledge of Allegiance. The motion passed unanimously.
The members welcomed Ms. Stewart, Mr. Ettore and Mr. Alcorn to the Commission, and all members and Ms. Russell briefly introduced themselves to the group.
Mr. Lymberis made a motion, seconded by Ms. Heineman, to approve and adopt the minutes of the meeting held on February 12. With no amendments or questions, the motion passed unanimously.
Proposed new building for Rock Holdings PA, LLC
Mr. Joseph Russella, Jr. and Mr. Christopher Daily of D.L. Howell & Associates, Inc. appeared before the Commission to give a presentation on behalf of Rock Holdings PA, LLC for the proposed development of a new building at John Rock, Inc., accompanied by Mr. Douglas Howe of D Howe and Sons Construction, Inc.
Mr. Howe and Mr. Russella explained that the John Rock facility was seeking to expand its capacity to answer a significant increase in demand. Mr. Daily suggested that most of the concerns expressed in reviews by the Township’s engineer, landscaping consultant, lighting consultant, and the Chester County Planning Commission could be addressed without much difficulty and that Rock Holdings would be coming back to the Commission once favorable reviews had been received to seek a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors for Preliminary/Final Land Development approval.
The Commission asked questions about building setbacks, grading, stormwater, landscaping, traffic flow, and the location, smell, and noise level of the kilns that would be located on the southern face of the proposed building. A question about lighting was also asked, and a member of the public expressed concern about the potential increase of light levels. Mr. Russella indicated that members of the Planning Commission would be welcome if they wished to tour the existing facility to get a sense of what the proposed building would be used for.
Sadsbury Park Approval Extension
Mr. Eric Carlson of Arcadia Land Company appeared before the Commission to seek a
recommendation for approval to the Board of Supervisors for a three-year extension to existing Preliminary/Final Land Development approvals for the undeveloped phases of the Sadsbury Park development.
Mr. Carlson explained the extension was being sought to make sure future construction in phases 2B and 4B would be able to conform to the same Subdivision and Land Development standards as the existing construction. The Commission asked questions concerning the number of homes sold and undeveloped, and Mr. Carlson indicated there might be some changes to housing products to tailor the construction to market demand.
Mr. Lymberis made a motion, seconded by Mr. Alcorn, to recommend to the Board of Supervisors that a three-year extension of the existing Preliminary/Final Land Development approvals and their associated waivers be granted. The motion passed unanimously with Ms. Heineman abstaining and Mr. Jessey recusing.
Announcements, Correspondence and Public Comment
The Commission thanked Ms. Russell for organizing the Zoom meeting. Ms. Heineman and Mr. Jessey sought clarification about the specifics of the appointments of Ms. Stewart, Mr. Ettore and Mr. Alcorn with respect to paragraph “b” of Section 203 “Appointment, Term and Vacancy” of the Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Code that states:
“The term of each of the members of the commission shall be for four years, or until his successor is appointed and qualified, except that the terms of the members first appointed pursuant to this act shall be so fixed that on commissions of eight members or less no more than two shall be reappointed or replaced during any future calendar year, and on commissions of nine members no more than three shall be so reappointed or replaced.”
There were three unexpired terms to fill (Ms. Klingman, Mr. Yen and Mr. Sarbaum). Mr. Jessey said that he would contact the Township’s solicitor to seek advice about this discrepancy.
With there being no further announcements or public comment, Mr. Lymberis made a motion, seconded by Ms. Heineman, to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 pm. With there being no further questions, the motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted by Simon Jessey
