It’s only the first of several steps, but K. Hovnanian Homes is one small step closer to building 107 townhouses in Chadds Ford Township.
The Planning Commission on Dec. 10 agreed to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve text and map change requests for the project to move forward. A hearing on that is tentatively scheduled for February.
Even if supervisors approve those requests, Hovnanian would still have to through a conditional use hearing and get subdivision and land use approval to build the 107-unit development on Brandywine Drive.
The property in question is a 20-plus acre parcel behind Painters Crossing shopping center and Brandywine Coachworks, across from Hanumn’s Harley Davidson.
That parcel is zoned PBC, planned business center, which does not allow for residential units. Hovnanian’s requests, combined, would create a PBC-1 district that permits such use.
The recommendation came with the advice to submit updated traffic and economic impact reports before the applicant goes to the supervisors for the map change and text amendment.
Planning Commission Chairman Craig Huffman said he had mixed feelings about the idea, but was inclined to vote for recommendation because there were more positives than negatives.
Huffman said the property was not currently providing the township with any economic benefit since it’s not being used. He added that the concept was environmentally friendlier than keeping the zoning PBC since PBC-1 zoning would have more pervious coverage.
He also said the conditional use hearing gives the township more control over the final plan and that the zoning changes are “better than a strip mall or box store.”
The drawback with a townhouse scenario, he said, was that it could lead to more school-aged children attending schools in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District and that could lead to an increase in already high school taxes.
Hovnanian provided a report that indicated the 107 units would have nine or 10 school-aged kids, but Huffman said he saw another report that indicated there would be 43 more kids. He said the truth was probably somewhere in between those two figures.
“I’m not crazy about it, but I’ll support it,” Huffman said.
Former township tax collector Bruce Prabel said changing the zoning to PBC-1 and permitting townhouses would generate three times as much revenue than another shopping center, big box store or office campus, even if there were more school kids in the district.
“The taxes are positive when compared to a shopping center,” Prabel said.
Current tax collector Valerie Hoxter was not as eager to see the commission recommend approval. She questioned the value of giving that recommendation now as opposed to waiting until there was an actual plan. She said she feared that, should the supervisors approve the idea, there would be no control over what type of plan would actually be submitted.
Hoxter likened the current procedure to putting the cart before the horse and that other townships do it differently, that they wait to see an actual plan.
However, John Snook, a senior land planner for the Brandywine Conservancy and a supervisor in East Bradford Township, said other townships go about the process the same way as Chadds Ford.
Commission Vice Chairman Mike Ashmore added that Hovnanian would still be the need to go through the conditional use hearing and land development process.
Ashmore also said that having the higher density housing on the eastern side of the township is compliant with the comprehensive plan.
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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