After five months of hearings and three more of waiting, the Chadds Ford Zoning Hearing Board ruled in favor of the township in its bid to prevent the owners of Stonebridge Mansion from hosting catered events for profit at their 681 Webb Road home.
However, despite the ruling and all the time spent to date, the matter is still not settled.
“We’re very disappointed in the findings,” said Jim Byrne, the attorney representing owners Drew and Nicole Barnabei. “We appreciate the time we had to present our case, but we’re very disappointed in the findings. They’re wrong and we’re going to file an appeal.”
Byrne said the appeal would be filed in Delaware County court on Feb. 20, but he had no idea when it would be heard.
Chadds Ford Township solicitor Hugh Donaghue did not attend the Feb. 19 meeting when the decision was announced.
Hearing Board Chairman Robert Reardon said the Barnabeis knew the zoning restrictions on the residential property before they bought the 25-room home and that they failed to make the case that hosting catered events for profit was a previous nonconforming use.
He added that while the board has the power to grant variances for situations of extreme hardship, the Barnabeis also failed to demonstrate such hardship.
Board member Paul Koch and alternate Amanda Konyk concurred with Reardon. The vote was 3-0.
During testimony in the five hearing sessions, it was revealed that a previous owner had held large events at Stonebridge, some of which included fund-raisers for the township Republican Party and another was a month-long event in which more than 4,000 people came through the property without incident to the neighbors.
It was also revealed through testimony that other properties in residentially zoned areas hold events and conduct commercial business. Among those properties are the Brandywine River Museum of Art, the Chadds Ford Historical Society, the Brandywine Battlefield Park and the Plaza of Chadds Ford — the small strip mall at Heyburn Road.
Other business
The board also voted 3-0 to approve variances for an Audi dealership proposed for Route 202 near the Wawa at Dilworthtown Road.
Approval was granted after the applicant revised plans for signage. The original plan called for 256 square feet of signs, but the revision brought that down to just less than 191 square feet.
A cancer-causing chemical used in the dry cleaning industry was found in Chadds Ford Township groundwater along Route 202.
According to Chadds Ford Township engineer Joe Mastronardo, tetracloroethylene was found in the soil, ground and surface water behind the dry cleaners on Route 202 across from Hillman Drive. While the chemical is a known carcinogen, Mastronardo said there is no danger.
“Nobody drinks groundwater,” he said.
Businesses in that area used public water.
The property was purchased as part of the Chadds Ford side of the Wegmans’ development. The southeast leg of the loop road will be in that area, not the supermarket.
Carlino Construction, the developer, and a former property owner have already submitted a remediation plan to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Mastronardo said.
The site will be cleaned with the soil removed and DEP will continue to monitor the site to assure levels of the chemicals continue to decline. No occupancy certificates can be issued — and the township will not take dedication of the road — unless and until DEP says the site is clean.
Township supervisors are planning an informational meeting on the matter to keep residents informed, but no date has yet been set.
Supervisors’ Chairman Keith Klaver said the contaminant is contained and there’s been no migration. He also said representatives from Carlino will keep supervisors updated by providing them with DEP reports and updates.
First Person Singular: Integrity or ‘authoritah’ for Stonebridge
In about a month we should know how the Chadds Ford Zoning Hearing Board decided in the matter of Stonebridge Mansion, the 25-room home on 5 acres on the southwest corner of Webb Road and Route 1.
The owners — Drew and Nicole Barnabei — want to host catered events, weddings and such, for a fee. They would rent use of the first two floors of the house and of the grounds. But Chadds Ford Township says they can’t because the house is in a residential zoning district where commercial use is prohibited. Stonebridge Mansion is permitted to operate as a bed and breakfast, however, but nothing more.
The township has fought the Barnabeis through a county level injunction hearing in June, then through five township zoning hearings from July through November. The township has fought them to a cost to Chadds Ford taxpayers of at least $23,000.
During a public comment period in the supervisors’ December meeting, I asked how much the proceedings had cost the township. I will say that the room grew quiet, very quiet, and the faces at the head table were less than joyful. After the pregnant pause, I was told to file a Right To Know Request.
When I filed that request a week later, I was told that I wouldn’t be getting all the information. Any extra money paid to the township manager, secretary or code enforcement officer related to the hearings would not be included, nor would any extra compensation for the zoning board solicitor.
Based on the RTK material received a month later, between the township solicitor, the township engineer and money paid to the fire marshal and court reporter — along with transcript copying — the township spent $20,000. Other documents obtained show the zoning solicitor’s office being paid $3,000 between the end of July and the end of November.
That’s $23K and the figure could go higher if either side appeals the zoning board’s decision to the court in Media, and could go even higher if that decision is appealed to Commonwealth Court.
The Barnabeis are paying big bucks too, to stand up for what they think is their right, the right to use their property as they see fit.
It all seems pretty cut and dried against them, though. The house is in a residential district where no commercial use is allowed. No contest. No can do.
But things aren’t that simple.
The Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford Historical Society, Brandywine Battlefield Park, the Chadds Ford Plaza — the little strip mall at Heyburn Road with the dry cleaners, a head lice removal business and a caterer with onsite dining — and the adjacent Chadds Ford Tavern are all in a residential district and they all conduct commerce.
And, as was brought up in testimony at the hearings, Stonebridge Mansion was used as an event site under previous ownership. Events for the Chadds Ford Republican Party held were there, so let’s not pretend the supervisors didn’t know about them.
There was also a month-long event for the Oxford Art Alliance in 2011 during which more than 4,500 people traipsed in and out of the property. The supervisors even allowed extra signage. And there were no accidents caused by all that extra traffic.
The Barnabeis want to limit the number of guests at Stonebridge to no more than 150.
And people are permitted to have weddings at their homes. There was a wedding with a tent and outdoor music two properties north of the mansion in August. No permission needed and no hassle from the township.
Weddings are also OK at the Brandywine Battlefield Park. Its Web site — http://brandywinebattlefield.org/?page_id=17 — specifically says: “Weddings and wedding photography use must pay a fee of $50.”
As reported this summer, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission said the park’s friends group had been negotiating with a private company for a wedding tent, and Supervisor George Thorpe, in that same report, said there have been weddings at the park for years.
A former chairman of the Chadds Ford Zoning Hearing Board once said the purpose of that board is “to protect the integrity of the township’s [zoning] ordinances.”
That’s a great idea, but the ordinances need some integrity to begin with. Selective enforcement doesn’t lend itself to respect. If some properties in residential districts can be used for commerce — and the museum, park and historical society do have gift shops and the plaza is in a residential district — then the law is not being uniformly applied. That a previous owner could have events, but the current owner can’t, then there’s an inconsistency that erodes the presumed integrity.
The township brought out that the Chadds Ford Historical Society does have events where admission is charged, and that there is a gift shop, but that’s deemed OK, they say, because the historical society is a non-profit organization.
When did profit become evil? When did a Republican Party-run township board of supervisors decide to outlaw profit?
Part of the township’s case did focus on safety. It was argued that the driveway entrances on Webb Road and Route 1 are too narrow to accommodate fire trucks. However, the previous owner testified that the fire company was called out on two different occasions and had no problem getting onto the property. That testimony was not disputed.
Even the judge at the June injunction hearing said that if the property was too dangerous to have events because the driveways are too narrow for fire trucks when there are guests, those driveways are also too narrow when the Barnabeis are home alone.
People from outside Chadds Ford have said they don’t understand why the township is fighting the request — people within the Republican Party.
When one person asked why the township was fighting the request, I flashed on the Comedy Central TV show “South Park,” in which the character of Eric Cartman (see image) has at times donned a pair of mirrored sunglasses, hopped on a tricycle, pulled motorists over, smacked them in the shins with a nightstick and demand that they respect his “authoritah.”
This zoning battle makes the township look bad. Everything could have been worked out without rancor or costly contest to the Barnabeis and the taxpayers.
It’s a matter of property rights. Not just for the Barnabeis, but for their neighbors as well. Since parties and weddings on private residential property are allowed, then the Barnabeis should be allowed to do so — even for profit — as long as the activity does not interfere with the property rights of their neighbors.
As long as the events don’t cause any type of trespass onto neighboring properties, no physical trespass of guests, no noise or light pollution — since they are also forms of trespass — and as long as everyone is safe, then let them be.
Make it a matter of conditional use, if need be. Put some restrictions on such as limiting the time of day, day of the week, number of guests even the time of year if absolutely necessary, but there’s no need to be so obstructionist as to say they can’t do anything just because they want to earn some extra cash.
The township code zoning is out of date. Most everyone in the township knows that. Business owners sure know that and even members of the ZHB have said the code needs an update. What could be good is that the supervisors are looking for volunteers to help revise that code.
Update the ordinances. Yes, definitely. It’s better for the township to guide from a position of integrity, than to rule by demanding obedience to ‘authoritah.”
Chadds Ford Township’s brand new Supervisor Frank Murphy wound up advocating a plan objected to by a longstanding supervisor. And he has another proposal in the wings.
Judge Linda Cartisano conducted the swearing in ceremony during the Jan. 6 organization meeting. Murphy’s wife, Anna Marie, held the bible and his daughters were in the audience as Murphy swore to uphold and protect the US and state constitutions.( See photo.) Also sworn in was Valerie Hoxter as township tax collector.
During the hour-long organizational session — mandated by state law — supervisors made appointments to various committees and passed several resolutions so the board can conduct township business during 2014.
But the board also passed a motion to have supervisors’ meetings recorded. The vote was 2-1 in favor with Supervisor George Thorpe casting the no vote.
Thorpe said recording the sessions costs money and creates more work for township secretary Matt DiFillipo. People who want to listen to the recordings must file a Right to Know request, Thorpe said, adding that the recordings make no sense since they are not official. Only the minutes taken by the secretary are official.
Supervisor Keith Klaver, elected as chairman for this year, agreed that the recordings would not be official, but they would “facilitate matters.”
Murphy said the audio recordings would not be a burden, that they would actually protect the township and that the hardware is inexpensive.
After the motion passed, Murphy said he would propose — during a future meeting — to video the meetings and podcast them. Video recordings and podcasts were part of Murphy’s campaign for supervisor last year.
Among other organizational matters, the board voted on a meeting schedule for this year. That schedule will be posted on the township Web site. Supervisors also agreed to seek $10,000 in county aid for the road program and to pay more than $40,000 for the contract with Concordville Fire Co.
The board agreed to form a new Strategic Planning Committee and to reinstate a Financial Advisory Board. Members will be appointed at a later date.
Unlike previous years, the board did not conduct routine business during the first meeting of the year. Instead, the board will hold another meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m.
The board did hold a brief workshop during which it agreed on agenda items for that Jan. 14 meeting. The agenda is to include consideration for the Brandywine Mills project — known as the Wegman’s development — and to establish a date for public input on the possibility of a gun range on Smithbridge Road.
It’s early December 2013 and another year draws to a close here in Chadds Ford Township. I’m attending what is probably my sixth or seventh Board of Supervisors meeting this year and I’m prepared for business as usual. That’s the way it goes through most of the evening but this secession is, at last, a little different. It’s easy to think of our newly elected supervisor, Frank Murphy, and the tasks he and the other two supervisors face for the new year in 2014. With a little contemplation thoughts turn to Deborah F Love in her final meeting as supervisor. With a service of more than 12 years to Chadds Ford, you can only have the deepest respect and appreciation for an individual who is willing to give this amount of their time and energy in the public interest.
Deborah herself this evening articulates some benchmark events during her tenure, expediting the northwest quadrant of the loop road, beginnings of a recycling culture in the township, the development of the Girl Scout property — then known as Sunset Hill — by Toll Bros., to name a few. I’ve lived here through it all and understand that’s it’s not an easy job to make the tough decisions for things that must be, at times very unpopular with the citizens of our township. An individual willing and able to take on these responsibilities is unique and deserves our thanks.
Ms. Love took the office of supervisor in this township during a time of change and helped her fellow residents manage this change well. There where mistakes made but for the most part the residents of Chadds Ford Township are better off for her service. Now, a new administration takes over in an equally dynamic period in our township and we know that they are of equal dedication and energy. One has been there done that for many years, some are just getting warmed up and one steps into the fray as the new year begins. An example has been set and we can only hope that Ms. Love continues her interest in our township and her consul is heard at future municipal meetings.
The proposed Wegman’s supermarket has cleared another hurdle and now only has one more to go.
After getting zoning, land use and conditional use approval from Concord Township, and a Planning Commission recommendation in Chadds Ford, it now has zoning approval in Chadds Ford Township.
On Dec. 18, the Chadds Ford Zoning Hearing Board voted 3-0 to grant the needed variances for the project. Those variances include allowing a parcel of land adjacent to the Concord Township border to be used for parking only. That section of land is in the Light Industrial district where parking is only allowed as an accessory use, not primary.
The developer, Chadds Ford Investors, also reached an agreement with Applied Card to move a guard shack on Applied Card Way closer to Route 202 to prevent Wegman’s traffic from entering Applied Card property.
All that’s left now is approval from the Chadds Ford Board of Supervisors. The developer will ask for that when the board meets on Jan. 6. If approval is given, work is expected to begin in January and be finished in 18 to 20 months.
The zoning board also heard a request for several variances to allow an Audi auto dealership — Audi West Chester — to be built along Route 202, about 500 feet south of Dilworthtown Road, between the Wawa and Mr. Mulch.
According to the applicant’s attorney and three witnesses, nine variances are needed. Among them are variances for front and rear yard setbacks, impervious coverage, signage and outdoor storage — two parking spaces for inventory cars.
The need for the variances arises from the fact that the land is located in both Chadds Ford and Thornbury townships, with about two-thirds of the property in Chadds Ford. Each side has different zoning and there is a 16-foot grade difference between the two townships at the site.
To overcome some of the obstacles from Thornbury, the proposal would have inventory parking for more than 100 cars on the lower level in Thornbury, with the showroom, offices and service area in Chadds Ford. To minimize the footprint, the building is two-story, with the showroom on the upper level and the service department built into the steep slope on the ground level. Only the showroom would be visible from Route 202.
Access to the building is from Route 202 only and would be right in and right out with customer parking on the north and south sides of the building. Only employees would drive cars needing service between the upper and lower levels. Car deliveries would only be from northbound Route 202.
Signage could be an issue. Township code allows for 20 square feet of signage. The request is for more, much more.
A sign reading Audi West Chester on the front of the building is 30 square feet and an Audi logo — the four in-line interlocking rings — is more that 63 square feet. And there would be three of them, one on the front of the building and one each on the north and south facing sides. Also planned is a 27.5 square foot sign above a service receiving area on the upper level, and a 12-foot by-4 foot monument sign along Route 202.
After three witnesses, the hearing was continued to January.
Wegmans development awaits Chadds Ford approval, connecting Route 1 and Route 202 via a new loop road.
The ball is now in Chadds Ford’s court. Concord Township supervisors on Dec. 10 gave both conditional use and land development approval for a Wegman’s along Applied Card Way, but Chadds Ford Township supervisors need to give their approval for the Chadds Ford side of the development.
Two parcels of land in Chadds Ford are needed to complete the plan. One parcel, the one adjacent to Concord, will be used for parking and the other parcel will be for several retail stores. There will be no decision by Chadds Ford supervisors until sometime in 2014.
Most of the conditions placed on the development by Concord supervisors are routine in nature, such as getting all necessary permits and adhering to provisions in engineering review letters.
One condition, however, is functional. The developer is required to build the southeast segment of the loop road that would allow motorists to drive between routes 1 and 202 without going through the intersection.
That segment of the loop would begin on Route 1 at Applied Card Way and arc through the development in Concord and then into Chadds Ford, ending at Route 202 across from Hillman Drive. Concord’s condition requires the developer to complete that Chadds Ford Township section.
Developer Peter Miller said after the decision that work could begin sometime in February if he gets Chadds Ford Township approval in January.
The Chadds Ford Planning Commission voted Dec. 11 to recommend the supervisors approve the plan for a 19,000 square foot retail pad on one of the parcels.
In addition to approval for the retail portion of the development, Miller also needs zoning relief for parking and for moving a guard shack.
The parcel to be use for parking is zoned to allow parking as an accessory use, but there will be no building on that parcel. It will be parking only. In addition, a guard shack must be moved into the Chadds Ford section of the existing Applied Card Way to prevent unauthorized people from going onto Applied Card property.
The next zoning hearing is scheduled for Dec. 18.
Assuming all goes well, Miller said he expects to begin the site work in February and finish the project in 18 to 20 months.
The five-month long zoning hearing between Chadds Ford Township and the owners of Stonebridge Mansion is over, at least for now.
Both sides rested their cases at the conclusion of the Nov. 20 hearing session, but it could be until February before the Zoning Hearing Board announces its decision and it’s possible the loser will appeal that decision.
Drew and Nicole Barnabei, owners of the 25-room mansion at Webb Road and Route 1, want to host special events, such as weddings, through Drexelbrook Catering. The township says that use is not permitted because the property is in a residential zoning district. However, previous testimony revealed that other businesses are in residential zones along Route 1 and that special events have been held at Stonebridge before the Barnabeis bought the property.
The Nov. 20 session began with township solicitor Hugh Donaghue cross examining Domenick Savino, Drexelbrook’s CEO, who testified in October that events at Stonebridge would be limited to a maximum of 150 people and that no event would start before 10 a.m., that all events would end by 10 p.m., that security is provided and all bartenders are certified through the Responsible Alcohol Management Program.
Under questioning from Donaghue, Savino said two events had been held this year and a third had been planned. All three were held — or scheduled — for different days of the week.
Donaghue asked if that meant events could be scheduled for any day of the week. Savino said that was a theoretical possibility.
Savino added that there was a situation just prior to a September wedding at the mansion when a neighbor began mowing his lawn at 5:30 p.m. right at the property line nearest the party site.
On redirect examination from Barnabei Attorney Jim Byrne, Savino said use of the mansion grounds for outdoor events would be limited by the seasons. Outdoor events would typically be held between mid April and mid October. Savino added that they only forecast for weekend events.
At that point, both sides rested their respective cases while entering additional photographs and documents into evidence. Included in those documents was a copy of an online petition signed by residents who want the Barnabeis to be denied their request.
That petition, Byrne said, was filled with “a great deal of misinformation.” He said many of the people who signed the petition lived as far as five miles away.
At that point, the Zoning Board heard comments from residents.
First to speak was Don Weiss, who sold Stonebridge to the Barnabeis, and who held events at the mansion while he was the owner.
He said that while the property may be operated as a Bed & Breakfast, the conditions the township placed on it are too restrictive to make that economically viable.
Weiss said he held more than 20 events while the owner — events that township supervisors knew about, some that they attended — and there was never a problem with traffic or undue inconvenience to anyone. Those events included a month-long event in 2011 when more than 6,000 people came to Stonebridge.
“The township picks and chooses what it wants to enforce,” Weiss said.
He added that the township, Barnabeis and the Zoning Hearing Board could work this out without the need for either side to appeal a decision to a judge in Media.
Webb Road resident Nick Fuller spoke against the application because it would set a bad precedent. He said that if the Barnabeis could host weddings, then other people could engage in less desirable activities.
Resident Greg Marcotte also wants the Barnabeis denied because of potential noise problems, but Byrne challenged him.
Marcotte and his wife were the ones who posted the online petition, the one that Byrne had already said held misinformation. According to the exchange, the Marcottes included a letter with the petition saying the Barnabeis had held a party with noise that lasted into the night and woke the Marcottes at 1 a.m.
The allegation was wrong, Byrne said, because the Barnabeis were not hosting anything the night in question. The noise was coming from the Brandywine River Museum during an annual Halloween event. The museum is also in a residential district, according to previous testimony.
Donaghue took the opportunity to suggest that if the Marcottes could be disturbed by noise coming from twice as far away as Stonebridge Mansion, then noise from Stonebridge would be even more intrusive.
The last to speak was Lou D’Iorio who has lived next door to Stonebridge for 50 years. He agreed with Weiss that the situation can — and should — be worked out amicably.
D’Iorio also said that there has always been commercial activity in the area and that Stonebridge has never been kept as well as the Barnabeis have maintained it.
While the formal hearing has concluded, there are still other legal procedures that must be addressed. Once the respective attorneys get the hearing transcripts, they have 30 days to file facts and findings of law, and then the zoning board has up to 45 days to render its opinion. Donaghue anticipates a ruling in February.
Chadds Ford Township supervisors voted down a request from the Brandywine Valley YMCA to consider a text amendment that would have allowed a Y in the LI zoning district.
The Nov. 6 vote was 2-1, with Supervisors’ Chairman Deborah Love dissenting. She wanted the request to move to the township Planning Commission and Delaware County Planning Department for recommendations.
Love said those agencies could work through the process of clarifying an amendment that would bring a recreational facility to the township. Chadds Ford currently has no such facility and people have to drive out of the township for their recreational needs.
The YMCA wanted to build in the Chadds Ford Business Campus at Dickinson and Hillman drives. That site is zoned for light industrial use and the proposed text amendment would permit — with conditional use approval — a nonprofit community center in all LI districts in the township. Such a facility is currently not allowed in that type of zoning district.
Resident Bruce Prabel spoke against the proposal saying that while having a YMCA in the township is a good idea, the location is poor and that some of the Y’s operations are retail in nature. He also said the seven-day per week operation — which can go fro 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. during weekdays — is excessive for the proposed site which many people consider too close to the Estates of Chadds Ford and Painters Crossing Condominiums.
He added that the other YMCAs in the Brandywine Valley group have as many as 80,000 members and they all would have access to the proposed Y in Chadds Ford.
Prabel also said the text amendment would apply to each of the LI districts in the township and that the Y could expand at will.
“If this is allowed we lose control…It destroys the LI district,” which he said acts as a transitional district between residential and business.
He then suggested other locations along Route 202 that are larger and would better serve the YMCA and the community.
Supervisor Keith Klaver agreed, saying that the location doesn’t make sense because of potential congestion, that the site would be prone to accidents.
“It’s a safety issue for the community and for people using the Y,” Klaver said.
Fellow Supervisor George Thorpe — who attended via phone because he was home recuperating from knee surgery — agreed with Klaver.
The rare 2-1 vote ended the current request.
Other business
The board approved several other resolutions, including two that also carried controversy and concern.
The board approved a lot line change for the two parcels of the Dickinson and Epp property along Route 1. That property has a roadway leading to the back of Painters Crossing Condominiums. Some condo residents, and others from the Estates of Chadds Ford, are concerned that the road would eventually become part of the southwest segment of the loop road system. Supervisor-elect Frank Murphy also urged the board to vote against the request because of that possibility.
Solicitor Hugh Donaghue read a section of the resolution that said any development of the property must still go through standard land use approval process and that such development requires the roadway to be improved to meet township standards and then be offered to the Chadds Ford Township for dedication.
The resolution approving the change passed 3-0.
• Also passing — but with debate and concern — was the approval of renovations for David Dodge on Route 202. While the supervisors agreed that the project was a good one, there was disagreement over a suggestion made by Love.
Under the township’s updated Fee in Lieu ordinance — which allows developers to give money instead of property for open space use — the applicant would have been required to pay more than $8,600 in open space fees. Love suggested that the fee be reduced to $1,500 because Dave Kelleher, owner of David Dodge, has donated a lot of money to the community in the past. He most recently was a $5,000 sponsor of the Battlefield Run.
Thorpe agreed with Love, but Klaver opposed the idea.
Klaver didn’t like lowering the fee because of the precedent it would set and said he would only vote for the resolution if the original figure were part of it.
Deborah Reardon, chairman of the Open Space Committee, took exception to the changing the fee in lieu requirements without her committee being included.
She also said that while it was good that Kelleher donates to the battlefield park, the park is state-owned and could be sold without Chadds Ford having anything to show for efforts top preserve the park.
Kelleher was present and said he didn’t want to be part of any dissention in the township.
Donaghue suggested that the board pass the resolution as written, but with the understanding that Kelleher would appeal the $8,600 fee.
Love later suggested that perhaps the fee ordinance is too excessive with regard to renovations.
The measure then passed 3-0.
• Supervisors also adopted a preliminary budget that will be voted upon during the Dec. 4 meeting. The budget is balanced with revenues and expenses anticipated to be slightly more than $1.21 million. There is no tax increase.
Round four in the ongoing zoning dispute between Chadds Ford Township and the owners of Stonebridge Mansion took a trip through memory lane with testimony from one historian and two previously called witnesses.
Township solicitor Hugh Donaghue called George Franz, of the Chadds Ford Historical Society, to the stand and then Jim Byrne, attorney for Drew and Nicole Barnabei, recalled two township witnesses — Barbara Kearney and Mike Daily — who testified in September. Byrnes even questioned Daily, the township fire marshal, about comments he made in an article published in Chadds Ford Live earlier this month.
At issue is whether the Barnabeis may host events — weddings and such — for profit on the 5-acre site with a 25-room mansion at Route 1 and Webb Road. They contend they should be able to, but the township says that’s a violation of the zoning code because commercial activities are not permitted in a residential zoning district.
Previous testimony showed that commercial activities do take place on properties in other residential districts. One such property is the Historical Society on Creek Road. Other properties where commercial activities occur in residential districts include the Brandywine Battlefield at Ring Road and the Chadds Ford Plaza, a small strip mall on Route 1 near Heyburn Road.
Under direct examination from Donaghue, Franz — who holds a doctorate in American history — reviewed the historical significance of the Chadds Ford area and the history of Chadds Ford Days and the Great Pumpkin Carve, the Historical Society’s two primary fund-raising events.
Donaghue also brought into evidence the society’s mission statement that calls for the organization to be nonprofit and dedicated to historical education and preservation.
Under cross-examination from Byrne, Franz said the society does not need any permits from the township to run those events and that the society also operates a museum store where various items are sold in the organization’s Barn Visitors’ Center.
Franz testified that the 2013 Chadds Ford Days drew 3,000 visitors to the site over two days and that the Pumpkin Carve might draw 15,000 people during its three nights. He added that at no time does the traffic or activity impair the health, safety or welfare of the residents of Chadds Ford.
Byrne then called township building code and zoning officer Barbara Kearney who previously testified for the township.
His major questioning centered around a letter Kearney wrote to Donaghue in June, a letter that was written in connection with an injunction hearing. In the letter, Kearney said that “major events” at Stonebridge would have a negative impact on safety, health and welfare.
Kearney said that if she were to write the letter today, “I’d reword it to say ‘commercial events.’”
Kearney said that any use outside the code would not be safe, but as the questioning and testimony wore on, there were elements of confusion as to whether they were talking about building codes or zoning codes. Donaghue objected several times, saying that Byrne was asking about building codes, but that the matter at hand was a zoning issue.
Byrne also asked Kearney about conditions at the Brandywine Battlefield Park and at the Chadds Ford Plaza, but the zoning officer said she’s never been to the park or inspected the plaza. She also said that she didn’t know whether parking at the plaza was up to code. Kearney has only been working for the township since this spring.
It also came out that Kearney has not inspected Stonebridge, but Donaghue said there is the possibility of a threat because the mansion was not evaluated.
Then Byrne called Daily, who also testified in September. Questions centered around a similar letter that Daily wrote as part of the June injunction. Daily said he had concerns about fire safety at the mansion, specifically about limited driveway access that would prevent fire fighting vehicles from getting onto the property if cars were trying to get out.
Daily, who is also a police officer in Chester Township, said he is also concerned about the lack of traffic control and turning lanes along Route 1 and Webb Road that would make ingress and egress at Stonebridge safer.
There was some chuckling from the audience when Byrne, questioning Daily about fire safety, asked him about an interview he gave this reporter for an article previously published in Chadds Ford Live. Donaghue objected, saying using any type of newspaper article as evidence is the same as hearsay.
In that article, Daily said Chadds Ford Township has only two ordinances of its own that deal with fire. They are the open burning ordinance and the ordinance that created the position of fire marshal.
Daily said that is factual, but that the township does use a universal code that addresses some elements of fire safety.
The last person to testify was Domenick Savino, CEO of Drexelbrook Catering. Drexelbrook contracts with the Barnabeis as their agent in booking events and as the exclusive caterer. He testified to event safety.
Savino said events at Stonebridge are limited to a maximum of 150 people and that nothing would start before 10 a.m. and all events would end by 10 p.m. A crowd of 150 people usually means there would be about 70 cars. A valet company would handle the parking.
Any cooking done would be in portable, fire retardant tents that come with fire extinguishers and that a certified chef is always at hand. There are also security personnel and bartenders who are certified through the Responsible Alcohol Management Program and that there is also an on-site manager to handle all concerns, even those from neighbors.
There will be a fifth hearing — and what Zoning Hearing Board Chairman Bob Reardon said would be the last — on Nov. 20. That, too, is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the township building. It’s believed that there will be one last witness followed by public comment.
