Township officials approve plans for community center

Groundbreaking for the planned new Swaminarayan Cultural Association’s community center at 4731 Bethlehem Pike is expected to take place next spring, engineer Anand Bhat said following conditional preliminary/final approval of the plans at the July 25 Hilltown Township Board of Supervisors meeting.

The about 4,400 square-foot building will replace the existing 1,800-square-foot house on the site, he said. The house will be demolished after the new building is completed, he said.

The primary goals of the Hindu congregation are helping meet children’s and senior citizen needs, Raj Patel, one of the members, said.

Yoga classes are also held there and medical camps have been held at other locations, he said. More than 400 people took part in a medical camp last year that provided free medical services by 23 medical professionals, he said.

The building will also have a prayer room, he said.

On average, 50 to 55 people attend the Sunday meetings, which also include a meal, Patel said.

In answer to a question from board Chairman Jack McIlhinney whether the 40 parking spaces were enough, Patel said the attendees are often part of a family with parents and children or

senior citizens who don’t drive and are brought by someone else.

“We tend to have multiple people in one car,” Patel said.

The number of cars at the property on Sundays averages 18 to 20, he said.

The Sunday meetings are the primary use, with little taking place at the property the rest of the week, he said.

“Six days, it’s pretty much non-activity,” Patel said. “One or two people sometimes come to do some small things.”

Although the group would love to see growth, that’s not expected to happen, Patel said in answer to a question about possible expansion in the future. There has not been a lot of growth in the past seven years, the first five of which the group met in a church in Lansdale before purchasing the Hilltown property in June of 2015, he said.

A $1,000 contribution will be made to the township in place of the SCA having to pay the costs of some public improvements that were waived, the board and SCA agreed.

The amount of the contribution would usually be required to be more, but the reduced rate was warranted because it was for a non-profit, religious organization, board member Ken Bennington said.

“I don’t want to set a precedent by not requiring something, but I also don’t want to make it cost-prohibitive. I want to make it minimal,” Bennington said during

the discussion leading to the decision on the contribution amount.

Questions raised by residents of the neighboring Village at Dorchester 55 and older community who attended the meeting included ones about buffer area, noise, lighting, traffic congestion and persons living or temporarily staying in the building.

“There are people there all the time,” Village at Dorchester resident Jean Vandegrift said.

There were noise complaints from a July 4 celebration in 2015, Patel said, but those issues were discussed with the neighbors and the noise was not repeated this year, Patel and the neighbors said.

Bhat said deciduous and evergreen trees will be planted as a buffer zone from the neighbors and will at least double the current buffering.

The lighting will not shine onto neighboring properties, he said.

“Everything is facing down and not going on your property,” he said. “There is zero spill on somebody else’s property.”

In answer to a question about the height of the building, he said the architectural plans are not yet complete, but it will be a one-story building and will be less than the 35-foot maximum height township rules allow.

People will not be allowed to live in the building, township officials said.

“The bottom line is when a plan’s approved, a final plan’s approved, they need to comply with the restrictions of the plan,” Bennington said. “If they don’t, then we act, simple as that.”

McIlhinney said, in some cases, including an instance that happened in his own neighborhood, noise problems can be solved by simply asking the neighbors to turn the speakers in the opposite direction.

Although it’s not a part of this plan, the township should also consider adding a traffic signal at Keystone Drive and Bethlehem Pike, Vandegrift said.

“The traffic there is unbelievable,” and with increased development, there will be more traffic, she said.

Neighboring property owner Lauren Geitz said she understands the concerns raised, but said the new building will be an improvement.

“I think that both parties can work together, and I do support the plans,” Geitz said.

“They have proven that they can work with the residents. This July 4 was a good example of that,” Leigh Narducci, SCA’s attorney, said.

“As for the parking, I think everybody’s overlooked the fact that its 40 spaces now, but there is room to grow to 72 if they’re needed,” he said.

“The only heavy use is on a Sunday. The other days, very little, if any use,” compared to other uses that would be allowed to operate 24/7 at the site, Narducci said.