January 15, 2014

Shopping for the 2015 Thanksgiving dinner supplies just got a little more interesting. People could be buying their tasty goodies at the new Wegman’s going in near routes 202 and 1. Chadds Ford Township supervisors gave their approval for the project during the Jan. 14 board meeting.

The supermarket will actually be in Concord Township, but the development includes parking and retail shops on Chadds Ford parcels adjacent to Concord. The Chadds Ford side will also be the new home to the Chadds Ford Vietnam Veterans’ memorial, possibly the oldest such memorial in the country.

Peter Miller, president of Carlino Construction, the developer, previously said they could start site work in February and, if all goes well, be finished in 18 to 20 months.

“Wegman’s wants to be open by Thanksgiving 2015,” he said after getting the approval from Chadds Ford supervisors. Concord Township supervisors approved the project last month.

He called the process of getting approvals from both townships “long but productive,” and said he’s looking forward to being part of the Concord and Chadds Ford community.

The project will also lead to the construction of the southeast segment of the loop road around the routes 1 and 202 intersection. That road will bisect the property from the current Applied Card Way on Route 1 in Concord to Route 202 across from Hillman Drive in Chadds Ford.

Other business

• That southeast segment of the loop road was not the only segment that came up in conversation during the meeting. Chadds Ford Township Manager Judy Lizza reported on a December meeting she attended with representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation pertaining to the southwest segment, the part that would run from Route 202 at Hillman Drive to Route 1 at Brandywine Drive.

That location has been controversial since it runs beside Painters Crossing Condominiums and in front of Evergreen Drive, the only access point in and out of the Estates at Chadds Ford. Residents of both areas have expressed opposition to the proposed roadway.

According to Lizza, PennDOT will go through an 18-month period of engineering and preliminary design, and the agency will consider resident concerns of safety, noise, lights and truck traffic.

A public meeting in Chadds Ford with PennDOT is planned for later this year, sometime around November, Lizza said, but Supervisor Frank Murphy said he wants a preliminary meeting much earlier than that, preferably within the next two months. Lizza said she would pass that on.

• Supervisors set a date of Feb. 5 for public input on the possibility of a gun range proposed for Smithbridge Road. No information on the specifics of the proposal were discussed, but Lizza said she would be sending letters out to neighbors who live within 1,000 yards of the site. That session is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., before the regular supervisors’ meeting.

• Lizza also reported that PECO and Delaware County are in the process of identifying communities where many residents use well water. PECO wants to give those communities a higher priority when trying to restore power because electricity is needed to work the well pumps. She said the county wants to know what those communities are so it can bring in water if there’s an extended power outage.

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.

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While members of the Chadds Ford Zoning Hearing Board might have been inclined to give an applicant most of what it wanted, it’s back to the drawing board for Audi.

As previously reported, Romill Associates wants to open an Audi auto dealership — West Chester Audi — along Route 202 between Mr. Mulch and the Wawa at Dilworthtown Road. The property is mostly in Chadds Ford Township, but about one third is in Thornbury Township, Delaware County.

The applicant presented its initial case in December, but came back on Jan. 15 hoping to wrap things ups and get the requested variances. However, Zoning Hearing Board Chairman Bob Reardon told Larry Strohm, the applicant’s attorney, to come back in February with a new plan that addresses the issue most bothersome to the township, that being the amount of signage Audi wants to have.

Chadds Ford code allows no more than 20 square feet of signage without a variance. Audi was seeking 256 square feet of signage, including three logo signs — Audi’s four-ring logo —that are each 64 square feet. Reardon told Strohm to return with a new plan showing no more than 190 square feet worth of signage.

The application also requested variances for front and rear yard setbacks, rear yard buffers and landscaping, off street loading and parking requirements. It also calls for a variance an extra 2.9 percent of impervious coverage than the township allows.

The rear yard and parking variances are sought because the backside of the property, the east side, is in Thornbury Township where there will be other variances needed.

Other business

Reardon said he anticipates a decision in the Stonebridge Mansion case in February. A representative for the homeowners presented their facts and findings of law to the board during the Jan. 15 session and the township solicitor is expected to present his on Jan. 17. The board will then have up to 45 days to announce its decision.

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.

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