The planned Concord Township Zoning Board hearing for Retail Sites, aka Concord Acquisitions, scheduled for Feb. 18, has been continued. Concord Township announced that the hearing will resume on March 18.
The township published a letter from the applicant’s attorney — Leonard B. Altieri, III — requesting the change. He said in the letter that Concord’s solicitor, Hugh Donaghue, as well as other attorneys J. Adam Matlawski and Jonathan Long, have said they don’t oppose the continuance.
Retail Sites is looking to build a shopping center in the empty lot at Ridge Road and Route 202. The applicant is appealing the township zoning officer’s decision that a gas station is not permitted as an accessory use for a supermarket — a Giant — at the site. It is also appealing a decision that three pads, separated only by firewalls, constitute one building, something the applicant thinks is wrong, that they should be considered separate buildings.
If the pads are considered one building, the applicant would need to get conditional use approval because that one building is more than 62,000 square feet.
In the interim, Retail Sites is going to have a conditional use hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. to get approval for an intermunicipal transfer of a liquor license so the proposed Giant supermarket can sell alcoholic beverages.
Neither the shopping center nor the Giant has received any township approval as yet.
It was a relatively quick meeting in Concord Township on Tuesday, but not without a reference to the proposed Shops at Ridge Road. The proposed Giant Supermarket in the proposed shopping center wants a liquor license. A conditional use hearing date has been set for that.
Township solicitor Hugh Donaghue made the announcement during his report at the Feb. 3 Council meeting.
“The application that’s currently in front of the Zoning Hearing Board, Concord Acquisitions [aka Retail Sites], and specifically as part of that proposed development, is a Giant Supermarket. The Giant Supermarket is applying for a liquor license transfer.”
Donaghue explained that Giant was a successful bidder for a license that was auctioned off by the state Liquor Control Board.
“Their rule and regulations indicate that within six months, they have to obtain a clearance from a township if it’s an intermunicipal transfer. So, there will be a hearing on that liquor license matter here in the township building on Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.,” Donaghue said.
He added that the continued zoning hearing for the development is scheduled for Feb. 18, which will also be in the township’s main meeting room.
Following a question from Council Co-Vice President John Gillespie, Donaghue said the council will likely make a decision on the liquor license during the council’s March 3 meeting. He also said the public may take part in that Feb. 24 hearing by asking questions and providing testimony.
He said the council will then “have the ability to approve it, deny it, or give a conditional decision because, quite frankly, this Giant hasn’t even been approved yet.”
The store must still get land development approval for the shopping center before there is a Giant.
Gillespie commented that, “This board has not yet seen anything on this development, so we can’t do anything legislatively until the Zoning Hearing Board finishes their case. This is something unusual that just came up, so we will have the hearing on the liquor license. That will either be approved or denied. And the Zoning Hearing Board will make a decision on what’s in front of them. After that, we will then have a conditional use hearing for the remainder of the site. If that’s approved, then it will go to land development.”
Other business
• The township is moving ahead with the Smithbridge Road Roundabout Project. Township Manager Amanda Serock said PennDOT is requiring the township to apply for a grant to use one of PennDOT’s third-party approved inspectors for the physical construction of the roundabout.
“So, they had us fill out this form and resolution notifying that we will do so as part of the grant process,” Serock said.
Before the meeting, township engineer Nate Kline explained that a roundabout will be going into Smithbridge Road at its intersection with Kirk and Temple roads.
That roundabout will be connected to a trail that goes all the way down to the [Garnet Valley] middle school, park, and the high school complex. A left-turn lane will also be added to the school district driveway at the high school. That was a requirement made years ago, he said.
Kline said the school district, PennDOT, and the township will each have a portion to pay for the total project, but he wasn’t sure of the payment breakdown yet, but a large portion will be paid by PennDOT. Construction on the project could begin sometime this year or early next year.
• In honor of Black History Month, the Concord Township Historical Society will host a Harriet Tubman reenactment this coming Saturday, Feb. 7, in the community center.
• Tom Ferro was appointed to be an alternate on the Zoning Hearing Board. His term will expire Jan. 2, 2027.
The meeting room in Concord Township's municipal building is packed with people listening to testimony in a zoning hearing for Retail Sites.
Concord Township’s Zoning Hearing Board continued its inquiry into what constitutes a building during its Jan. 21 hearing for Retail Sites. The applicant, also known as Concord Acquisitions, wants to construct a retail development in the vacant lot at Route 202 and Ridge Road.
There was no resolution or conclusion stemming from the January meeting, and the hearing was continued to Feb. 18.
There are two issues for Concord’s ZHB to determine: Do pads four, five, and six constitute one building or three, and does the township zoning code allow for a gas station as an accessory use for a supermarket?
In a November letter to the hearing board, Zoning Officer Manos Kavadias said the three pads should be considered as one building, and that the gas station is not a proper accessory use for the proposed Giant Supermarket, and that
The board’s attention was focused on the first issue during the December and January hearing sessions, and it has not yet heard the issue regarding the gas station.
According to the plans, the three pads include 9,600 square feet for pad six, 32,913 square feet for pad five, and 52,878 square feet for pad four. Pad four is where the Giant is to be located. If the pads are judged individually, there is nothing further required except for routine land development review and approval, but if they are determined to be one building, as Kavadias determined, then the applicant would need conditional approval for the building because it’s more than 65,000 square feet.
Different architectural firms worked on the three pads, and Leonard Altieri III, the attorney representing the applicant, called several architects to testify during the January meeting.
Architect Robert Gehrman, of BCT Design, testified on the issue of pad 6, the pad his firm is designing. He said that pad, along with the other two, is an independent building with its own structural system and is not dependent on the other two pads. He specifically said “no” when asked by Altieri if pad six relied on structural elements from pads four or five.
He added that, in his opinion, the other two pads were also independently structured buildings, and that none of the three relied on structural elements from the other two. They each have their own foundation and elevation and are stand-alone structures.
What he did say was that there are expansion joints between the three buildings. But those joints allow for expansion of a building without it interfering with another building, even if the distance between the buildings is small. Those joints may be covered so the gaps between buildings won’t be seen.
At Altieri’s request, he read from the zoning code, which describes a building: “A building is a structure having walls and a roof which is built for the support, shelter, or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels, or property of any kind.”
He went on to say that each of the three pads fits that definition and added that he found no support in the zoning code for the zoning officer’s determination that the proposed building would be three distinct occupancies within one building, structure, separated by firewalls.
During cross-examination by Concord Township solicitor Hugh Donaghue, Gehrman said the walls between the three pads do not touch.
“So, between the blocks, the spacers, and the rest of it, there’s no contact at all between the buildings. That’s your sworn testimony?” Donaghue said.
Gehrman responded, saying there are the expansion joints, “which is a space.”
During a cross examination from John Long, representing the Save-Ridge. Org group, Gehrman repeated that there was minimal space, just inches, between the buildings, and that is for the expansion joints that separate the buildings. All a person would see is a cover.
Long suggested that it would appear to the average person that it was one building and likened that to something some would view as a strip mall.
Gehrman said he wouldn’t characterize it that way.
“It’s three buildings,” he said.
Altieri then called Kevin Link of 2POV, the architectural firm the applicant hired to design the Giant that would stand on pad four.
Link repeated what had been testified to earlier, that pad for was a distinct structure with its own structural elements, including foundation and elevation, and that it is a stand-alone building despite its proximity to pad five.
Altieri asked again if pad 4 relied on structural elements from pads five or six.
“No, it does not,” was Link’s response. “All three buildings are independent structures.”
Chadds Ford Township residents try to make more people aware of the planned commercial development at Route 202 and Ridge Road in Concord Township. While the property is in Concord, it borders Chadds Ford. A zoning hearing in Concord is scheduled fro Dec. 17.
Chadds Ford Township residents are gearing up for a zoning hearing in Concord Township next week. Close to a dozen residents stood across from St. Cornelius Church on Sunday with signs trying to generate interest in the hearing regarding the proposed commercial development planned for Ridge Road and Route 202.
The group Save-Ridge.Org opposes the widening of Ridge Road to six lanes and the inclusion of a gas station in the proposed development.
As Carolyn Daniels said, “We’re not opposed to development, but we want responsible development.”
The group argues that the current plan would bring in more traffic congestion to the area because of the road widening and the fact that the main entrance would be on Ridge Road. They also argue that a gas station at the property could possibly contaminate wells, and that the plan would destroy open space, harm local wildlife, and diminish the quiet, scenic quality that defines life in Chadds Ford. They are also arguing that there are areas of the development that are in Chadds Ford Township.
Save-Ridg.Org is soliciting donations so it can retain land use and environmental legal experts to challenge the development.
The zoning hearing is scheduled for the proposed Shops at Ridge Road on Dec. 17. At issue for the hearing is the proposed gas station for the 22-plus-acre property.
Concord’s zoning officer determined in October that the township code does not support the retail sale of gasoline as an accessory use to the proposed 57,000 square foot supermarket. The hearing is an appeal of that determination.
The meeting is at 7 p.m. in the Concord Township municipal building meeting room.
The property, though in Concord Township, borders Chadds Ford Township, and many Chadds Ford residents, even those who are not part of the Save-Ridge.Org, oppose the plan. Save-Ridge is urging as many people as possible to attend the hearing. Residents have said that the gas station could contaminate well water, rendering those wells unusable.
While not part of this hearing, people are also concerned about the proposed widening of Ridge Road to six lanes for a quarter of a mile, with the main entrance being on Ridge. One member of the Save Ridge group, Ellen Spoehr, has said the widening could have a negative impact on Heyburn Road, which is in Chadds Ford.
The site, along with several different development plans, has been controversial for years. There have been three different owners with development plans during the past 17 years.
It was originally owned by Capano Management, which wanted to put in a commercial development with a small part in Chadds Ford for residential. But that never came to fruition, and Capano eventually sold to Pettinaro Commercial Real Estate. Pettinaro reduced the size of its proposed development, which excluded the Chadds Ford property.
The Pettinaro plan called for the widening of Ridge Road, and that triggered concern among many Chadds Ford residents, especially those who live on or just off Ridge Road. That concern led to several lawsuits with Chadds Ford being a party to those suits that also involved Concord as well as Pettinaro.
But Pettinaro never developed the property either, and in 2021, leased the property for farming of soybeans and wheat for two years. Nothing has been done with the site until Pettinaro sold it to Retail Sites, a New Jersey-based company, late last year.
Open space remains an issue for some people. As Hank Somers said recently, “With that development, all that foliage is going to go away. So, all these horrific storms, the water will go right down the hill,” and he added the concern about the possible contamination of well water. “We’re all on well water, and we’ve heard that once well water is contaminated, you never get it right.”
The township published a letter from the applicant’s attorney — Leonard B. Altieri, III — requesting the change. He said in the letter that Concord’s solicitor, Hugh Donaghue, as well as other attorneys J. Adam Matlawski and Jonathan Long, have said they don’t oppose the continuance.
“The application that’s currently in front of the Zoning Hearing Board, Concord Acquisitions [aka Retail Sites], and specifically as part of that proposed development, is a Giant Supermarket. The Giant Supermarket is applying for a liquor license transfer.”
