Project nearing its final approval
Residents question details of plans for ‘Newbury II’
The latest version of the proposed “Newbury II” house project near Prospect Avenue and Hancock Road is nearing final approval.
Upper Gwynedd’s planning commission heard an updated version of those plans Monday night, and residents nearby had plenty to say before the final version comes back next month.
“Our plans are now at a point of complete compliance. We’ve completed everything for conditional use, as well as subdivision plan approval,” said attorney Ed Mullin.
The Newbury II plans have been discussed since early 2014, and include a proposal to build a complex of 30 houses on an 8.3-acre party adjacent to Sanctuary United Methodist Church and a previous “Newbury I” development. Several variances for the project have been approved by the township zoning hearing board over the summer, leaving the conditional use request, for the type of twin home to be built, and plan approvals as the last remaining steps.
Mullin and landscape engineer Tim Woodrow gave the commission an update Monday night, describing how they have increased the buffering between the Newbury II phase and the adjacent Newbury I neighbors.
“There was some discussion about certain items the township wanted us to look into, mostly concerning the church property, which will remain,” Mullin said.
“There’s nothing happening on the church property at this point. They are planning on building a community center at some point in the future,” he said.
A playground located next to the church and between Newbury I and II has been moved closer to the church, and will be surrounded with a fence to increase safety.
“The new location is probably much safer. As of today, children are crossing the parking lot to get to the playground, and with this new location, it is attached and part of the church building itself,” Woodrow said.
Sidewalks will be installed or upgraded along East Prospect and Hancock Roads, according to Woodrow and township Planning and Zoning Officer E. Van Rieker, which should increase safety for pedestrians in the area.
“We had some discussions, and we are now in agreement for sure, that the Newbury I sidewalk will be extended along Hancock, along the ultimate right-of-way of Hancock and Prospect, an area that will be offered in dedication to the township by the church,” Woodrow said, up to the edge of the property near Pennbrook Middle School and nearby Gwyn-Nor Elementary.
The planning commission voted unanimously to table any action on the plans until a final review letter is received from the township’s engineering consultant, but several residents from the current Newbury I complex asked questions about specifics. Joe Mack of Newbury Court asked if the houses would be roughly the same size as those already there, and Woodrow said they will. Mack also asked wether fencing would be installed between the first and second phases, and Woodrow said it would, likely a splitrail fence similar to those already there.
“I’m happy to see you guys build these, as long as we get the same kind of house,” Mack said.
Ed Trice of Farm Lane asked about a retention basin located near the rear of the property, and Woodrow said the basin is designed to drain water to the north, under a right-of-way for PECO power lines, away from Farm Lane and toward the three new basins recently built at the middle school.
“There’s a series of inlets beyond the new units that captures water and funnels it into a basin. So any water that would flow to your neighborhood, is captured and flowed toward a basin,” Woodrow said.
Trice asked if the basin would see standing water accumulate and be a gathering point for mosquitoes; Woodrow answered that the vegetation in the basin would attract other wildlife including frogs, dragonflies, and birds that would keep the basin clear of mosquitoes.
Anne Christian, also of Farm Lane, asked if a fence included on earlier plans that would run between Newbury II and the Farm Lane residents was still on the latest version, and Woodrow said it remains and will be built. Glenn Johnson of Newbury Court pointed out a discrepancy of roughly ten feet between a wooded area currently there, and a berm on the plans, and Woodrow said that would be resolved in the final plans. Johnson also asked about a $40,000 payment the developer agreed in 2015 to make to the Newbury I homeowners’ association for increased landscaping, and Mullin said that will still be made once building permits are issued for Newbury II.
Planning commission member Kathryn Carlson asked if the residents in either phase would have issues with the lighting for the nearby ballfields at the middle school, and Woodrow said part of the Newbury II plans included shielding and buffering between the new houses and the ballfields, and upgraded lights that would be better focused on the fields and less diffuse into the surrounding area.
The final review letter and updated plans will be discussed at the commission’s next meeting on Nov. 6, and planning commission Chairman Sam Miller invited the neighbors to come back and ask any final questions.
“They’ll be back next month, so if you have any additional questions, please feel free to ask next month,” Miller said.
Upper Gwynedd’s planning commission next meets at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 6 and the commissioners next meet at 7 p.m. on Oct. 17, both at the township administration building, 1 Parkside Place. For more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www.UpperGwynedd.org.