Two subdivisions – one planned and one established – dominated a nearly three-hour meeting of the Kennett Township Board of Supervisors on Wednesday, June 15, a session that also welcomed a new part-time police officer and a passel of honors.

Following hours of testimony at previous meetings and numerous comments at Wednesday night’s meeting, the supervisors voted unanimously to grant final conditional-use approval to Sweetbriar Investment Properties – with more than 15 conditions.

The group plans to construct 38 townhome units on property located at 912 S. Union St., adjacent to an already-problematic, five-way intersection. The conditions included a number of provisions recommended by the Kennett Township Planning Commission as well as mandates that the existing home on the property not be part of the homeowners’ association, that no units be marketed as rentals, and that the units be described as “age-targeted” rather than “starter homes.”

Concerns about the arsenic-tainted soil were raised by representatives of The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County. Ross Unruh, counsel for the developer, assured the conservancy that full disclosure about the arsenic would appear in individual deeds.

Unruh said a recommendation from John Wilkens, a consultant for the conservancy, could be addressed during the land development phase of the project. Wilkens advocated an EPA practice of mixing the contaminated soil with cement when it is relocated so that someone doesn’t inadvertently disturb it years later.

A suggestion from Supervisor Richard L. Leff that the township consider creating an emergency entrance for the Southridge subdivision met with spirited opposition from residents. Leff explained that the township realized that Southridge was the only development that has a township bridge as its only access, making it vulnerable to a catastrophic event, such as flooding.

Leff said Public Works Director Roger E. Lysle was asked to study the issue to determine whether another point of ingress and egress could be established, and Lysle presented two options.

Both of the possibilities were emphatically rejected by nearly a dozen residents, several of whom said the likelihood of becoming trapped was slim and that they would prefer to deal with that risk if and when it occurred.

Several of the residents believed that the township had made up its mind to pursue one of the options and might use eminent domain to seize property. “There is no taking; there is no plan,” stated Supervisors’ Chairman Scudder G. Stevens, echoing Leff’s remark that the supervisors just wanted to hear residents’ viewpoints.

In other business, Police Chief Lydell Nolt said he was pleased to announce that Brandi P. McCoy would be joining the department as a part-timer. In addition to five years’ experience in Montgomery Township, McCoy has worked for the state Attorney General’s Office, Nolt said. She was sworn in by Senior Magisterial District Judge Gwenn S. Knapp.

On a related topic, Supervisor Whitney S. Hoffman said she was delighted to learn that Kennett Township had been listed as the safest city in Pennsylvania by SafeWise, a home security education website that ranks municipalities based on crime data. She presented a plaque to Nolt.

According to the SafeWise website, it reviewed the most recent FBI Crime Report statistics from 2014, along with population data, eliminating municipalities with fewer than 5,000 residents as well as those that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI. Kennett Township came out on top with no violent or property crime. The only other suburban Philadelphia municipality in the top 20 was Upper Providence Township in Delaware County.

Continuing a theme of recognition, Township Manager Lisa M. Moore said the township wanted to express public thanks to the individuals involved in setting up the pollinator garden in front of the township, which has already begun attracting butterflies. Receiving certificates of appreciation were Nancy Gaspari, Cloey Devlin, Fred Wissemann, David Jones, Carlene Baer, Cassandra Hogue, John Gaspari, Karen Owens, and Mary Letzkus.