Sustainability pervaded a three-hour Kennett Township Board of Supervisors’ meeting.

On Wednesday, Sept. 21, the board heard feedback from members of the Kennett Township Planning Commission on a proposed large development ordinance, presentations from members of the township’s Sustainable Development Office, and suggestions for business zoning changes. The latter segment also responded to an unspoken question about the sustainability of the audience with the distribution of healthful snacks.

Township Manager Lisa M. Moore said that since the township started its Sustainable Development Office earlier this year, it has been busy. Moore said she invited members of the office, which was conceived to look at development proactively and assist in the coordination of grants, to give the board an update.

Michael Guttman, the township’s environmental sustainability director, and M. Patricia Muller, who heads the economic development office, both elaborated on the need for Kennett Township to continue to capitalize on expanding its trail network to connect bicyclists and pedestrians to its scenic landscapes and encouraging holistic economic development.

Both suggested that indoor agricultural uses, such as greens, herbs and fruits, would represent a logical extension of the mushroom industry since the infrastructure already exists.

“We have the largest indoor agricultural base in the country,” Guttman said.

He added that township representatives will be attending a conference in New York this fall where they will tout Kennett’s offerings.

The presentations can be viewed on the township’s website at http://www.kennett.pa.us/272/Environmental-Sustainability.

The supervisors also heard a presentation from Thomas J. Comitta Associates, Inc., the township’s landscape architect consultant, about the possibility of creating a Business Innovation Land Development District (BILD) in the township.

Thomas Comitta, the purveyor of pretzels and popcorn, suggested that such a district would be designed to support the recommendations of the recently released study done by 4ward Planning Inc. for the Kennett area.

Noting that business parks no longer work, he said the township should continue working with the borough to improve the commercial environment. Some of his recommendations included streamlining the approval process for development in the BILD district to 90 days, adaptively reusing vacant buildings, and creating incentives to encourage sustainable practices.

Moore noted that the presentation aimed to give the supervisors an overview so that they could eventually determine whether to pursue that approach. The cost was not discussed.

In other business, Supervisors’ Chairman Scudder G. Stevens expressed thanks to the members of the Planning Commission for their input on several issues, including the development ordinance, the possibility of adding alternates to the commission, and a demolition permit request.

The permit request, made by Glenn Bauer in behalf of Chatham Financial, involved a small building known as the Cox tenant house. “It’s in disrepair; we have no use for it,” Bauer explained.

But James A. Guthrie, chairman of the Planning Commission, said that a recent site visit revealed that the 15-foot-square stone building might date back to the late 18^th-century and could have existed during the Revolutionary War.

“We need more information,” he said. “It’s worth spending a little time to get it right.”

Guthrie also noted that Chatham Financial has been a good environmental steward, reusing one historic building and turning some ruins into a picnic park.

Bauer said his company was agreeable to a delay so that more research could be done.

Finally, Moore announced that a grand opening is scheduled on Sunday, Oct. 23, for Barkingfield Park. But because not all sections will be finished by then, she described the event as a “soft opening,” beginning at 3 p.m. Among the incomplete sections will be the dog parks, but man’s best friend is still welcome at the festivities, Moore said.