Tavern wants more parking
It’s only in the sketch plan phase, but the Chadds Ford Tavern could get more parking if the plan moves forward to fruition. The idea presented to the township Planning Commission Wednesday night is for the restaurant to buy the 22-acre parcel just east of the tavern, and use that for more parking, stormwater management, and a new home for restaurateur Phil Ferro and his family.
The restaurant is on Route 1, on the east side of the Chadds Ford Plaza at Heyburn Road. Owners want to buy the adjacent property on the east side of the tavern and have an agreement of sale.
Engineer Chuck Dobson of Inland Design said the tavern ownership is “investigating the possibility of expanding their [current] parking lot” into the other property.
He said the restaurant currently has 45 parking spaces, which isn’t enough to handle the number of patrons who want to dine at the tavern. He presented two possible ideas: one would add 28 spaces, and the other would add 37.
Planning Commission Chairman Craig Huffman commented that the tavern was built before any of the current zoning ordinances went into effect and questioned how many spaces would be required by today’s code. Township engineer Mike Schneider said it would need 100.
Dobson and Ferro commented later that they could look to add 50 or more spaces.
The need for more parking was explained by Kate Ferro, general manager. She said there have been issues during the last several years, ever since a new property management firm took over management of the plaza.
She said that the rear of the plaza is now used for parking commercial vehicles and “they have it blocked off so there’s no parking [for patrons] back there. We were OK to park in front of that building for a long time until one of their new tenants went in and she is now calling and having vehicles towed anytime somebody parks in the front of that lot, even off hours.”
The inability of patrons to park on-site has raised safety concerns.
She added that the tavern needs to use valet parking so patrons’ cars can be parked on other properties. Still, other patrons will park on Route 1 and walk to the tavern. She’s afraid someone would be hit by a car.
“We’re doing everything we can because whether we have table space or not, people are parking on Route 1 and coming in and standing around the bar,” adding that people are reluctant to change to earlier or later reservations when more parking might be available.
Because it’s only in the sketch plan phase right now, more work must be done. Part of the overall conversation dealt with the need to resolve an ongoing stormwater runoff problem for other properties in the area and that if the plan in engineered properly, it would be a win-win for all concerned.
As Huffman said, “Talk is cheap, but engineering is expensive.”
Dobson said he wasn’t sure when he would present an update to the commission.
Other business
• Planning Commission members voted unanimously during the March 13 meeting to recommend approval of a zoning text amendment creating a new Zoning District, CC, or Cultural Campus. The Board of Supervisors would need to hold a hearing on the matter before it could be adopted.
The new district would have all the Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art’s properties in Chadds Ford under one zoning district. Huffman said the CC District could also eventually include the former Camp property that was once N.C. Wyeth’s home, and maybe the Chadds Ford Historical. Society’s properties.
• Township Manager Lacey Faber reminded people that there will be a flood study meeting specifically for Chadds Ford on Monday, March 18 at 6 p.m. in the municipal building.
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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