CHARLESTOWN TOWNSHIP
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The Charlestown Township Board of Supervisors held their first meeting of the month on Monday, April 4, 1994, at the Charlestown Elementary School, Charlestown Road, Devault.
| Present: | John C. Martin, Jr., Chairman; John B. Sauser, Vice Chairman; Irene W. Ewald, Member (unavoidably detained until mid-meeting); Thomas F. Oeste, Esq.; Surender S. Kohli, P.E., Ruth W. Buckwalter, Secretary and those on the attached list of attendees. |
The Chairman called the meeting to order at 8:05pm.
Mr. Martin moved for approval of the March 7, 1994 minutes. The motion was seconded by Mr. Sauser and so carried.
Mr. Martin moved to approve the minutes of March 21,1994. The motion was seconded by Mr. Sauser and so carried.
Mr. Martin moved for approval of the March,1994 Treasurer’s Report. The motion was seconded by Mr. Sauser and so carried.
Mr. Martin moved for approval of the April 4, 1994 Accounts Payable. The motion was seconded by Mr. Sauser and so carried.
Zoning Officer’s Report: Mr. Kohli submitted his written report of Permits issued during the month of March. He reported receiving a complaint about a Union Hill residence which was vacated leaving a large amount of trash by the road. Mr. Kohli spoke to the Thomas Real Estate Co. who manage the property and they will take care of the matter.
Mr. Sauser called attention to the Hrinkevich Conditional Use Application. No plans have been submitted to the Township to date. Mr. Oeste advised returning the Application as incomplete. Mr. Kohli will contact Mr. Hrinkevich on the matter.
The Chairman noted that the Park Board’s bid for the soccer club top soil has been advertised and the Supervisors will open the bids at the April 18 meeting.
The Chairman reported on the Bonnie Rogers Conditional Use Application which had been denied by the Board of Supervisors because of insufficient notice to neighbors within 250 feet but said that, if there were proper notice, then it would be allowed subject to a long list of conditions. The Attorney for Ms. Rogers is suppose to send a copy of the Board’s decision to the neighbors within 250 feet. Then a public hearing will be held by the Supervisors at their April 18 Board meeting.
Planning Commission Report: Prior to the meeting, Mr. Churchill reported to Mr. Martin that the Commission had recommended approval of the Fisher Subdivision Plan No other action was taken at their meeting.
The Chairman reported on the Eastern Chester County Regional Planning Commission meeting to be held Thursday, May 5, at 7:30pm at the East Whiteland Township Building.
Roadmaster’s Report: Mr. Hiller submitted his written report for March for the Township files. The beginning of the month required roads to be plowed, salted, cindered and patched. The remainder of the month was spent sweeping and patching potholes. “The pothole of the year was on Yellow Springs Road - required 1 ton to fill” noted Mr. Hiller. Mr. Martin said that President Clinton has declared some parts of Pennsylvania as disaster areas. Chester County is one of them and therefore will be funded to reimburse Charlestown Township for 75% of the cost of snow removal.
Fire Marshal’s Report: Mr. Alston reported that during March there were three vehicle accidents, one transformer fire, one automatic alarm, one traffic control and one medical assist which generated seven incidents responded to by the fire companies serving Charlestown. A written report was submitted for the Township files. At this time, Mr. Sauser said he is trying to contact the Chairman of the previous readdressing committee. Mr. Alston stated he would be glad to participate in this project and noted that the fire company will also help.
Citizens Forum: John DiLello reported his former concern regarding the higher voltage lines PECO is installing on higher poles is really no problem at all. He talked to a PECO Representative who explained that the radiation will be one-hundredth of the former lines. Janet Baldwin reported a very large pothole on Hollow Road that has been filled with gravel. Mr. Hiller said he had reported this to PENNDOT and the gravel is temporary.
The Chairman stated that in September of 1992, the PA Fish Commission notified the Supervisors of their interest in delayed harvest trout fishing along the Pickering Creek in the Township’s open space area. At that time the Board of Supervisors had denied their request for various reasons. Mr. Martin has had a number of phone calls on this matter so he contacted the Fish Commission who responded they would be glad to attend a Board meeting to discuss the issue. The date was set for the May 2 Supervisors’ meeting.
The Chairman briefly discussed the meeting of the Chester County Assn. of Township Officials State Convention to be held at Hershey, April 17 to 20. Mr. Martin will not be attending. Mr. Sauser was undecided at this time.
Mr. Martin reported that there will be a meeting between the Nature Center and the Supervisors next Monday at 5:00pm to discuss the lease for the Township office.
The next item of business was lot 12A of Four Oaks Farm. Steven and Helena van Vliet are seeking the Board’s approval for a private driveway to this lot. Mr. van Vliet stated that they are financially pressed and unable to sell lot 12A using the shared driveway as shown on the approved subdivision plan. He noted that the Planning Commission had unanimously recommended approval and that PENNDOT had issued a permit to exit on to White Horse Road. Compared to other subdivision plans, Mr. van Vliet claimed that the visibility from this drive exceeded most others and he submitted photos to substantiate this. Mr. Martin noted that PENNDOT is not suppose to give permits without consulting the Township so this was an unauthorized permit granted by PENNDOT. The Chairman declared a five minute caucus and met with Messrs. Sauser, Kohli and Oeste. Upon their return, Mr. Martin announced that the consensus was to permit the additional driveway. Mr. Martin moved to approve the additional driveway to lot 12A of Four Oaks Farm. The motion was seconded by Mr. Sauser and so carried. Mr. Martin noted that a new plan should be submitted at the time of a Building Permit Application submission.
Due to the fact that Elwood Fisher was not present to write a time extension for his subdivision plan, Mr. Kohli recommended the Board should take action to deny the plan, subject to receiving an extension letter before April 7. Mrs. Ewald moved to deny the Fisher Plan unless a letter of time extension is received before April 7. The motion was seconded by Mr. Martin and carried unanimously.
The Chairman called on John Panizza to make his presentation on Charlestown Meadows. Mr. Panizza stated that he has signed an agreement of sale for the property known as Charlestown Meadows. He said he has an option to utilize a strictly single family concept as opposed to townhouses and apartments. The big problem is sewage. Mr. Panizza stated he is asking the Board to change the zoning and consider his sewer system. Mrs. Ewald noted that the underlying zoning would allow for single family homes; Mr. Panizza does not read the Zoning Ordinance that way at all. Mr. Martin said he understands that Mr. Panizza wants to handle the sewage problem by using spray irrigation and he is against that for such a small acreage. Mrs. Ewald is also opposed to spray irrigation. Alternatives of both housing and sewage systems were discussed. At the conclusion, Mr. Panizza gave the Supervisors copies of his studies on spray irrigation.
At this time, the Stewart Subdivision Plans were signed by the Supervisors.
The Chairman passed the tax lien reminder, received at the office from the County, to Mr. Oeste commenting that of the several pieces of land owned by the Township as open space, this is the only one taxed. Mr. Oeste will look into the matter.
Mrs. Ewald noted that each year, from the discretionary fund, a tree is planted in the park in honor of some individual. This year she would like to see a tree planted in the park in memory of Margaret Chiccino, a former Township Secretary, the type of tree to be chosen by her family. Mrs. Ewald so moved, Mr. Martin seconded the motion, the motion unanimously carried.
Mrs. Ewald recommended that all requests for subdivision time extensions be for 90 days, even if only 10 days are needed, for the purpose of less administrative hassle. No action was taken.
Mr. Kohli said he had not received any specs for the bid on soil for the soccer field. The advertisement in the paper stated if anyone had any questions, they were to contact Mr. Kohli.
Janet Baldwin informed the Board that she received a letter of resignation from the Historical Commission written by Grace Mohler and this was followed by another letter submitting her resignation as Chairman of the HARB Board. The reason given was that she is taking on additional work in her husband’s office. Mrs. Ewald suggested writing a letter to all residents of the Historical District to see if we get a volunteer. Mr. Sauser offered to speak to people in the village, they are his neighbors. Mrs. Baldwin also noted that Mr. Kohli should be a member of HARB according to law.
All business completed, the Chairman moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Sauser seconded and the motion so carried. The meeting adjourned at 10:40pm.