February 5, 2015

A 17-acre property in Concord Township will not be developed as proposed. Supervisors, in a 3-2 vote on Tuesday, Feb. 3, removed a requested text amendment application from the table.

The land in question is the Hall property at Bethel Road and Featherbed Lane near Route 322. Developers wanted to build 44 homes on the site, but would need a zoning change for that number. Only 12 may be built under current one-acre zoning.

Three-dozen residents spoke out against the proposed change during a hearing last May. They argued the changes would affect all other R-2 and R-2D zoning districts.

Supervisors in June continued the hearing, but during the old business portion of the Feb. 3 meeting, Supervisor Kevin O’Donoghue moved to remove the application from consideration. He cited the high density as the reason.

In a follow up email he said, “The Hall property proposed development would have required a zoning change, and I have publicly stated that I would not vote for any zoning changes unless the public opinion supported that change…I am very active in my community and feel I have my finger on the pulse of what the majority of Concord Township citizens desire, especially no more unnecessary zoning changes and a slowdown of high-density development.”

Voting with O’Donoghue were Supervisors Libby Salvucci and John Gillespie. Supervisors Dominic Pileggi and Dominic Cappelli dissented.

Pileggi, the chairman of the board, noted the loss of potential infrastructure improvements by not allowing the increased density. Those improvements include bringing public sewer to 150 homes in the area and extending Perkins Lane from the Cambridge Downs development through the Hall property to Bethel Road.

That road extension would give Cambridge residents a secondary route in and out of the development without being locked into using Route 322, the Conchester Highway.

Pileggi said losing those infrastructure changes “will come back and bite this township in the future. To kill this ordinance at this time because the groans of a few outweigh the needs of the many is a great mistake.”

Cappelli said a number of people who live in Cambridge Downs told him they think their position was misrepresented by others who don’t want the change. He said the ones he spoke with are eager for another ingress and egress point other than Route 322, and several want public sewer so they don’t have to spend $60,000 to upgrade their septic systems before selling their homes.

Project engineer Matt Houtmann testified in May that it wouldn’t be economically feasible to upgrade the infrastructure as planned if the development were limited to 12 homes.

Ken Hemphill, one of the residents opposing the rezoning, was grateful for the vote.

“I think what we saw on Tuesday night was an example of why this country is so great. Residents opposed something that threatened to degrade their quality of life by adding excessive housing density to a sleepy little corner of the township, and they spoke up. Under what must have been intense pressure from those who wanted to cash in on the Hall property, Kevin O’Donoghue, Libby Salvucci, and John Gillespie courageously stood their ground and said ‘no.’”

A dispute over a power cord that left a West Goshen Township man dead has been ruled a justifiable act of self-defense, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said on Thursday, Feb. 5.

West Goshen police responded to the 1200 block of Estate Drive on Tuesday, Feb. 3, about 2:30 p.m., where they found Nicholas Bonini, 23, fatally stabbed in the torso, and his brother, Earle B. Bonini, 32, suffering from wounds to his head and hand. Both lived at the residence.

Hogan said investigators interviewed multiple witnesses, including the surviving brother, the brothers’ parents, and neighbors, all of whom were fully cooperative. After analysis by forensic investigators, a search of the residence, and an autopsy of the decedent, investigators gave the following account:

The brothers had a history of arguing with each other.  On Feb. 3, Nicholas Bonini arrived home with friends and had a dispute about a power cord for an electronic device with his brother.  Nicholas Bonini grabbed a metal chain and began to attack his brother, inflicting gashes to his head.

Earle Bonini attempted to call 9-1-1 during the altercation, but his brother used the chain to knock the phone from his hand, which was cut open. During the assault with the chain, Earle Bonini pulled out a knife, stabbed Nicholas, immediately called 9-1-1, and attempted to perform CPR on his brother.

Police arrived within moments of the emergency call.  Earle Bonini was taken to Paoli Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries.  Nicholas Bonini was pronounced dead at the scene. During the course of an interview with police, Earle Bonini expressed remorse about the death of his brother.

“This is a terrible family tragedy,” said Hogan.  “These two brothers lived under the same roof.  This argument quickly escalated into a violent attack.  Although it was a justifiable act of self-defense under Pennsylvania law, it does not diminish the loss for this family.”

West Goshen Police Chief Joseph Gleason agreed. “Our hearts go out to the Bonini family as they cope with this tragedy,” Gleason said.

Hogan credited investigators for their quick response. “Making a final decision in a self-defense case often is difficult,” he said. He said the efforts of the West Goshen Police Department, the Chester County Detectives, and the witnesses in the case, facilitated his ability to issue his conclusion confidently.