Zoning board rules against Stonebridge owners

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…

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Carcinogen found in Chadds Ford groundwater

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…

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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…

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New supervisor floats controversial proposals

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…

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Letter to the Editor: Reflections of Chadds Ford past

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…

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Chadds Ford zoning board OKs Wegman’s; hears Audi start up

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…

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Wegman’s gets Concord approval, needs same from Chadds Ford

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…

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Sides rest in Stonebridge Mansion hearing

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…

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Chadds Ford supervisors refuse YMCA text amendment

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…

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History and rehash at Stonebridge hearing

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…

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Board approves HARB applications for new restaurants

It appears that Chadds Ford Township will be getting two new Italian restaurants. When they will open is uncertain. Supervisors on Sept. 4 approved Historical and Architectural Review Board certificates of approval for Felini Café and Antica Restaurant. The restaurants will be across the street from each other along Route 1 near Creek Road. Antica will move into the former Bistro on the Brandywine across…

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