‘Jeppy Property’ development project tabled
Developer revising plans after neighbor feedback
UPPERGWYNEDD » A development project scheduled to appear before the township zoning hearing board on Sept. 22 has been continued.
Planning and zoning officer Van Rieker told the board last week that a project that has drawn plenty of feedback from neighbors is on hold, for now.
“The applicant has requested an indefinite continuance to that hearing,” Rieker said.
Developer W.B. Homes had proposed two 12-unit apartment buildings for the “Jeppy Property” on Sumneytown Pike, between 773 and 781 Sumneytown adja
cent to Canterbury Drive, but has put those plans on hold based on neighbor feedback.
A motion to direct township solicitor Lauren Gallagher to attend that hearing had been listed on the board’s Sept. 14 agenda, but was tabled after Rieker’s announcement, and commissioner Denise Hull said any neighbors watching for developments should stay tuned.
“That doesn’t mean they’re completely pulling their application. It just means they’re pulling it from the Sept. 22 meeting, and they will have 30 days to let us know” if they’ll revisit the plan, she said.
“Having talked to W.B. homes about this, quite extensively, they are anxious to make some efforts to compromise with the residents, who had some specific concerns,” Hull said.
Those concerns largely centered on the stormwater plan associated with that project and whether it would require construction of a basin, Hull said, and the developer has indicated they may also consider changing the project to townhouses instead of apartments.
“They’re still kind of in that exploratory phase,” she said, before two neighbors on Canterbury thanked the board and staff for their efforts so far.
WIP financing moves ahead: The commissioners also approved two motions related to the township’s
“Wastewater Improvement Plan,” meant to divert sewer flow from a plant in neighboring Towamencin to the township’s own plant.
The motions appointed attorney Dave Nasitir from law firm Obermayer LLP to be bond counsel for financing of the WIP project, and PFM Financial Management as the township’s financial advisor for the project.
“If we need to borrow money through a bond or bank loan, we’d have to get a counsel to do it,” said commissioner Martha Simelaro.
A $10.7 million contract for the diversion project was awarded in August 2019, property acquisitions were finalized in September and October, then construction started that December, with staff giving updates in January and in February on work done to that point, then again in April on waivers granted to continue work despite COVID-19. The adopted 2020 budget estimates an overall project cost of $20.4 million, with an estimated $7.1 million loan needed in late 2020 to fund the remainder not already covered by various reserves.
The latest project update as of Aug. 24 lists work done on the first three phases, with two more portions of work on the far east and west ends of the project still remaining, and Township Manager Sandra Brookley Zadell said another public update could come in October.
Conditional use hearings coming: Rieker also gave updates on several ongoing development projects, including a planned conditional
use hearing for the proposed “Roosevelt Court” project.
“You probably haven’t had a cognitional use hearing in three or four years, and we’re going to have two in one month,” he said.
The “Roosevelt Court” project is a proposed development of nine houses to be built off of State Street, which was first proposed in summer 2019 and detailed in July, when the board approved a set of needed lot consolidations. A series of nine houses would be built on a new P-shaped private roadway running roughly parallel to Girard Avenue with an access off of State Street, on what were once a series of 40 “movie lots” collected and consolidated for that project.
“The new ordinance amendment that was enacted earlier this year, obligates the applicant to come back in, and we had indicated to the neighbors that this would be part of the path toward land development,” Rieker said.
“Before land development, the applicant comes back in and submits this conceptual plan, and goes through a conditional use hearing. At which point, the plan, and the relative conditions of the plan, would be fixed by you,” he told the board.
In addition to that hearing on Sept. 29, the board will also hear a conditional use request for a project to add eight Tesla superchargers at the Wawa convenience store and fuel station at 593 DeKalb Pike, at DeKalb and Welsh Road, Rieker told the board.
Joint board with North Wales finalized: The commissioners also voted unan
imously on Sept. 14 to pass an ordinance expanding the township’s building code board of appeals to include adjacent North Wales Borough.
“The township has entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the borough of North Wales, regarding having a joint board of appeals. What this will do is modify the township’s ordinance, consistent with that,” said Gallagher.
“The township already has three existing board mem
bers, so they will continue serving their terms, in that capacity, until their terms expire,” she said.
Talks have been ongoing over the summer about the township and borough sharing the board, which would hear appeals of any violations of the state Uniform Construction Code filed by property owners. The borough’s officials have said they have trouble filling their board due to membership criteria set by the state, and the joint board would consist of three
members from Upper Gwynedd and two from North Wales. North Wales borough council approved the agreement on Aug. 25, and Upper Gwynedd’s commissioners approved their own ordinance change to do so on Sept. 14, after a brief public hearing that drew no public comment.
Upper Gwynedd’s commissioners next meet at 7 p.m. on Sept. 29; for more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www. UpperGwynedd.org.