Residents balk at proposed developments

Posted by Rich Schwartzman on October 2, 2013

A standing room only crowd at the Chadds Ford Township municipal building spoke almost unanimously with one voice and one word: No.

No to the YMCA, no to a K. Hovnanian Homes development and no to the southwest leg of the loop road around the intersection of Routes 1 and 202.

A special informational meeting of the Chadds Ford Planning Commission drew a larger attendance than almost a year’s worth of supervisors’ meetings. The crowd was made up mostly of residents from Painters Crossing Condominiums and from the Estates at Chadds Ford, the communities most directly affected if the proposals go through.

Hovnanian and the Y want to build in the township, but current zoning prevents that. Both have requested changes in the zoning code. Hovnanian is asking that the Brandywine Drive site be rezoned from Planned Business Center to Residential-Multifamily, while the YMCA wants a text change to allow for non-commercial recreational use in the LI, Light Industrial District.

While all speakers spoke against at least two or three planned developments, commission member Mike Ashmore reminded people later in the session that the township can’t prevent development. He said the Comprehensive Plan, last updated in 2008, is what guides current planning, including the focus on building up the Route 202 corridor with both commercial and residential development. He suggested that maybe the comp plan should be re-examined before there are any zoning changes.

Commission Chairman Craig Huffman opened the session with a quick rundown of 13 proposals under consideration in Chadds Ford and Concord Townships, but the primary concerns for the residents centered on three.

Margaret Faia, from the Estates at Chadds Ford and the Chadds Ford Preservation Society, said she and her group oppose the YMCA being built in the Light Industrial District at Hillman and Dickinson drives across from the entrance to the estates. She said the area is already too congested.

The loop road would also run along Hillman Drive and that will add to the problem, she said. According to her research, 90,000 vehicles go through the intersection of Routes 1 and 202 everyday.

“How many will use the loop road,” she asked.

Faia added that she opposes another possible business development along Dickinson Drive — one not yet before the commission. That, too, she said, would add to traffic congestion.

She added that doing business is a privilege, but safe residential areas are a right.

Richard Kaser, also from the Estates at Chadds Ford, said that since Evergreen Drive is the only access point — in and out — for the development, traffic from the YMCA would pose a serious problem.

“It’s a serious safety concern for us…Our children will be put in danger,” he said.

Another estates’ resident said the K. Hovnanian-proposed 120-townhouse development along Brandywine Drive would create an undue burden on the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District.

Harvey Lane resident Eric Goodman cautioned against the Hovnanian project because it would just increase traffic along Brandywine Drive and possibly bring unwanted people onto neighboring properties.

Only one person, another estates’ resident, spoke out in favor of the loop road, saying it was needed.

Three property owners from the Painters Crossing Condominiums — including township tax collector Valerie Hoxter — expressed concerns over the loop road proposal. As currently planned, the road would run within 100 feet of the 1500 building, Hoxter said.

That proximity of traffic noise and headlights shining into windows would adversely affect the owners and ultimately reduce property values for every owner of every unit in the entire complex, she said.

Hoxter added that the township did a good job in listening to homeowners on Summit Drive and Heyburn Road when it prevented those streets from being used for ingress and egress to and from Chadds Ford Estates. She wants the same consideration for condo residents.

Also taking aim at the loop road was Republican Party candidate for supervisor, Frank Murphy, who said truckers would wind up using the loop even if it’s marked for residential traffic only and they’ll drive at 55 mph even if marked for 35 mph.

“The loop road is a real problem and must be thought through,” he said.

Murphy added that he grew up in Upper Darby and lived in Aston, but “I don’t want Chadds Ford to be Upper Darby or Aston.”

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.