Chadds Ford Township supervisors will continue the conditional use hearing for the Brandywine Summit Hotel until 7 p.m. April 1.
Wednesday’s hearing lasted two hours and featured testimony from the applicant’s civil engineer, as well as comments and concerns from residents along Longview Road and Summit Avenue. The proposed four-story hotel will have 85 rooms and be located at 1792-1798 Wilmington-West Chester Pike.
“I feel like I and my family are under attack,” said Longview Road resident Linda Steward, who said she was concerned that hotel guests would be able to see into her house.
The supervisors asked residents with specific questions about things like traffic, landscaping, and HVAC to submit them to township Manager Maryann Furlong before the next hearing to ensure that everyone gets their questions answered.
“As the board of supervisors is considering this application, we’d like to hear from the residents,” said Supervisors’ Chairman Frank Murphy.
Eric Janetka, with Kelly and Close Engineers, outlined the details of the plan, which calls for building a hotel and adding parking to a property that also contains three office buildings.
The plan also calls for erecting a traffic light at Brandywine Summit and having shared vehicular and pedestrian access with neighboring Keystone Plaza.
The applicant, LAPA 1/Brandywine Summit Hotel, is seeking a waiver allowing for the plan to be given preliminary and final land development approval at the same time.
Janetka said there will be wetland mitigation areas next to the existing wetlands, and that the plan will add more wetlands than currently exist on the property. There is also a dumpster planned for the hotel, and an existing dumpster that moves around to different locations on the property will be given a permanent location, he added.
Several residents expressed concern that even with a landscape buffer and the hotel being set 10 feet into the ground, hotel guests would be able to see into and light from the building would be seen in residents’ homes.
“The second floor [of the hotel] will clearly be able to see into my house,” Steward said.
“Right now, the lights from the office building are shining into my back porch,” said Longview Road resident Joe Parrett. “There’s a reason why I didn’t buy a home behind a motel. I want to maintain my quality of life and enjoy my property. I just have concerns.”
Another resident questioned what would happen to the residents’ well water as a result of the development.
“You’re going to disrupt the whole area,” Longview Road resident Dan Fech said. “How are you going to protect us?”
Janetka said that from his experience as a civil engineer, the development “should not have an impact on the wells.”
About Monica Fragale
Monica Thompson Fragale is a freelance reporter who spent her life dreaming of being in the newspaper business. That dream came true after college when she started working at The Kennett Paper and, years later The Reporter newspaper in Lansdale and other dailies. She turned to non-profit work after her first daughter was born and spent the next 13 years in that field. But while you can take the girl out of journalism, you can’t take journalism out of the girl. Offers to freelance sparked the writing bug again started her fingers happily tapping away on the keyboard. Monica lives with her husband and two children in Kennett Square.
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