Car dealership delayed
Chadds Ford Township supervisors Wednesday granted conditional use approval for a residential swimming pool but postponed a decision for an auto dealership. The board also authorized the interim manager to advertise the proposed 2024 budget once it’s prepared.
Board Chairman Samantha Reiner said the budget isn’t ready yet but said it would be available for public viewing when it’s ready. It should be ready later this month.
The swimming pool was approved for former township solicitor Hugh Donaghue, but still waiting for a decision is Piazza Auto Group who wants to open a dealership on Route 202 for Hyundai and Hyundai’s luxury line, Genesis.
The dual dealerships would be located at 1540 and 1550 Wilmington Pike. Supervisors helped clear the way for the proposal by making a zoning map change that turned the 1540 address from being in the B-Business District to B-1. Car sales are permitted in the B-1, but not B. The 1550 building is already in B-1 and the two parcels are being combined into one.
However, the delay is the result of Daniel Piazza — the group’s general partner — needing to further discuss with other partners about building a trail from Five Points to the Brinton 1704 House on Oakland Road. The applicant would also need to pay for a traffic study — previously estimated to cost about $84,000 — before building the trail. Piazza Auto Group would also redo the parking area at the 1704 House.
Reiner said she was ready to make a motion to approve until Piazza said he needed to talk to the other partners before committing to the trail, even though the Planning Commission already recommended approval with the condition of building the trail. One of the other conditions recommended by the Planning Commission, that of widening the entrances, was met.
Project engineer Adam Brower said the ingress and egress driveway would be 38 feet wide which would allow one car carrier to enter and another to leave at the same time. There is also enough room to allow for positive traffic flow so that car carriers won’t have to back up once on the property. There are three structures on the property, one for each brand of vehicle, plus a service building. There would also be 244 parking spaces.
Traffic engineer Andy Heinrich added that the number of additional vehicles driving along Route 202 would be insignificant. He said there are already about 3,000 vehicles per hour during the weekday on that stretch but that the dealership would add only about 100 extra vehicles per hour.
“Traffic generated by this site is negligible,” he said.
A decision is now scheduled for the Dec. 6 Board of Supervisors’ meeting.
Other business
Supervisors reaffirmed the approval for Hank’s Place to be rebuilt. The action was necessary because there had been no activity on the property for a year. Owners Anthony and Katie Young now have another year in which to start rebuilding before they need another affirmation. No work has been done because one of the conditions for approval, getting the owners of three properties to sign an agreement for shared parking, has just recently been met.
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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