A conditional use hearing for Retail Sites in Concord Township is scheduled on July 28 at 7 p.m. According to Concord Township solicitor Hugh Donaghue, all the applicant’s conditional use issues will be heard that night. Those issues include a car wash and several fast-food restaurants that want drive-through windows.
Retail Sites wants to construct a shopping center in the open field at Route 202 and Ridge Road. The issue is controversial because the site is in Concord Township, but it borders Chadds Ford Township. Residents from both townships stand in opposition to the proposed shopping center. The concerns center around stormwater runoff and traffic.
In a related matter, the July 15 Zoning Hearing Board session, where Retail Sites was scheduled to continue its appeal of several zoning rulings, will likely be nothing more than the applicant asking for another continuance to November. That, too, according to Donaghue and township Manager Amanda Serock.
The conditional use hearing is not the only hearing scheduled in Concord for July 28. At 6 p.m., there is a hearing scheduled on a proposed Data Center ordinance in the township.
Other business
During public comment, Garnet Valley School District Superintendent of Schools Marc Bertrando asked the Council for a speedy resolution involving a declaratory judgment the district had filed regarding a zoning decision over the sound system at the renovated athletic complex at Garnet Valley High. School.
Donaghue said that the matter is before Judge Whalen in the Court of Common Pleas, and that the judge is allowing some of the nearby residents to intervene in the matter. Of concern to those residents is the possibility of excessively loud sound coming from the amplification at the fields. He had previously said that the zoning decision was based on the township code that said there shall be no electrical or other amplification of music, except patriotic player introductions or play-by-play.
Bertrando said he hopes that matter is resolved soon because the fall athletic season starts on Aug. 17.
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.
