Preliminary approval given for 72-home development

WEST ROCKHILL » Plans for a new senior citizen housing development moved to the next step after receiving conditional preliminary approval March 17 from the West Rockhill Township Board of Supervisors.

The Oakwood Terrace plans by THP Investments for the 16.7-acre former Precision Finishing property along Lawn Avenue and Farmer’s Lane were reviewed at the board’s Feb. 16 meeting, along with having been reviewed by the planning commission in February. Access will be through Hidden Meadows Drive, an existing private road.

“They’re proposing a 72unit age qualified community, all townhouses, public sewer and water,” West Rockhill Township Planning Commission Chairman Chris Derstine said at the February supervisors’ meeting.

“There was a handful of issues that the township staff and planning commission members had with the project,” he said, “and it seems like they’re working most of them out.”

One of the remaining issues at that time was for a planned driveway 48 feet from an intersection. The township’s land development rules put the minimum distance between an intersection and driveway at 60 feet. Supervisors Chairman Jay Keyser said in February he’s concerned the shorter length won’t be enough to allow drivers coming from the intersection to react to someone backing out the driveway. It was decided not to make a decision on whether a waiver to allow the shorter distance should be allowed until after a review by the township’s traffic engineers, which had been requested following the planning commission meeting,