PLANNERS APPROVE MADISON LOT PLANS
Council approval could follow Wednesday
A developer’s plans to build seven apartment buildings totaling 181 units atop the Madison Parking Lot in Lansdale cleared a huge hurdle Monday night, and could pass through a final step Wednesday.
“I believe that we’ve taken a very large step in the future development of this borough,” said Assistant Borough Manager John Ernst.
For the past several years, developer Equus Capital Partners has presented, discussed and refined plans for seven apartment buildings to be constructed atop the current parking lot, surrounding a public plaza and containing roughly 22,000 square feet of retail space in addition
“I believe that we’ve taken a very large step in the future development of this borough.” — Assistant Borough Manager John Ernst
to the residential units. In recent months those plans have received final revisions based on feedback from the borough planning commission, and that body had one last look at the plans Monday night, before voting unanimously to approve them.
“It’s been a long road, but I think this is a well worthwhile project to pursue,” Ernst said.
Equus Vice President of Development John Knott, engineer Jason Korczak of Bohler Engineering and architect David Schmauk showed the planning commission the latest, and perhaps final, version of the Madison plans Monday, with several minor changes made since the last presentation in early April.
Much of the discussion by the commission last month centered around the location of a trash station, where large trash containers will be kept on the site, and Korczak showed a rendering of the proposed trash enclosure, which would be located near the base of the pedestrian bridge running above the nearby rail tracks.
The enclosure for two large trash containers would be surrounded by boarded fencing, which itself would be buffered by shrubs, small trees approximately human height, and then larger trees, with one side not buffered due to the proximity of part of the Liberty Bell Trail that is planned to run parallel to the rail tracks along the northeast edge of the site.
“We’re not screening it along the back, because that’s where the trail runs, but we are providing as much landscaping around the enclosure as we can,” Korczak said.
“I think you can agree that it does a pretty good job at screening the Dumpsters that will be inside the enclosures,” he said.
Other questions raised in March had to do with emergency vehicle access through the triangular plaza that would be located at the center of the current parking lot, between the two southeastern-most buildings on the parcel. Schmauk showed renderings of the plaza clad in brick and bluestone pavers similar to current sidewalks in the borough’s downtown, and described changes there.
“Originally in the early design, we had the trees in slightly raised beds. We’ve dropped them down, so now what we’re proposing is flat grates, which makes vehicle access a little easier,” Schmauk said.
“The other thing is we’ve taken the trees and lighting and shifted it slightly off-center. That allows for a bigger vehicle to pass through on the right side of those trees,” parallel to a pedestrian concourse that would run north to south along the plaza, he said.
Planning commission members also asked about a swimming pool the plans show would be located between two buildings adjacent to the pedestrian plaza, and Knott said the pool would likely be 40 feet long by 20 feet wide, surrounded by privacy fencing, and the nearest building would contain a pump
room with pool equipment and chemicals.
“We’d have all of the equipment for the pool, and it would be the storage area for all of the materials, and only our on-site manager could have access to that space,” he said.
Commission member John Darab asked if that room would store chemicals below living spaces for residents, and who would have access. Knott said Equus typically contracts with third-party operators to run the pools, and that operator would be familiar with, and follow, state and local regulations on storing and handling pool chemicals.
“If the company tells us it’s OK , we would be able to do that. If they tell us they’re not permitted, then we wouldn’t,” Knott said.
Commission members also asked about the space around the pool plaza area, and whether firefighters or their vehicles would be able to get into the area in an emergency.
“There is sufficient distance between the edge of the building and the pool for them to set up a manual ladder, and that is what the fire marshal is looking for. They would have to get inside the pool,” Korczak said — a statement commission Solicitor Joe Clement immediately clarified.
“That’s inside the pool deck area, not in the pool,” he said.
A total of nine waivers were requested by the Equus team, largely to do with setback distance requirements that could not be met due to the tight fit and triangular shape of the property. The developer has agreed to comply with all request and conditions
set forth in review letters from the borough’s engineer, traffic engineer, and fire marshal, Korczak said, and two rain gardens have been added in green areas to improve stormwater infiltration.
“The soils on the site do not infiltrate. We tested everywhere that is shown in the current layout, and we also provided testing from about three years ago, and everywhere we found, it was zero inches per hour on the site. The basins will help,” Korczak said.
One other comment in the traffic engineer review letter was raised, regarding site distances along
the proposed driveway intersections inside the complex. Korczak said the intersections within the complex should be treated differently than public streets since they are essentially driveways connecting various parking areas.
“If we still don’t meet the site distance requirements based on a 15 mile per hour speed limit, we do have the ability to make that an allway stop,” he said.
No public comments were fielded, and the planning commission unanimously approved two separate motions related to the project. The first granted preliminary and final land
development approval, budget to the review letters and incorporating the waivers, and the second granted conditional use approval for the residential and retail uses atop the parking lot.
Lansdale’s borough council will be asked to approve those same two requests, for the conditional use and for preliminary and final plan approval, during their next meeting on April 19. That meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the borough municipal building, 1 Vine St.; for more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www.Lansdale. org or follow @LansdalePA on Twitter.