SANATOGA PA – The mound will come down.
Earthen fill that’s been piling up for months in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township, on property just west of the Turkey Hill convenience store at East High Street and Rupert Road, within a few weeks will be plowed to a grade that’s level with the highway, the township Planning Commission agreed Tuesday night (Jan. 19, 2010) during its first meeting of the new year.
The property at 3049 E. High St. will be re-graded to road level.
The mound has been a source of controversy and concern as it grew to a height of more than 20 feet. Neighboring property owners publicly worried the fill might contain harmful chemicals or wastes, and that it looked unsightly.
Planners approved the earth-moving application made by Charles Tornetta and Tornetta Realty Co. of Norristown PA. They authorized the township staff to issue Tornetta a grading permit so long as
- engineers were satisfied that soil in the mound was clean and uncontaminated;
- that an escrow account was established with funds to finish the work if the developer ran into trouble; and
- Sunoco Corp. provided its written permission that a pipeline crossing the land could be further buried by the fill.
The property, located at 3049 E. High St., has been owned by his family’s company for more than 30 years, Tornetta said. “Now it’s time to do something with it, develop it, and have it earn tax money for the township,” he said. “And we’ll be happy to take your money,” Planning Commission Chairman Geoffrey Dailey later replied, smiling. The developer hopes to put an office building, hotel, or retail center on the parcel of almost 14 acres.
None of those hopes are plans yet, and no construction of any kind has been approved by commissioners, Chad Camburn, representing township engineering firm Bursich Associates, noted. “This is only for earth moving and nothing else,” he said of the permit. “When they want to build,” Camburn added, the Tornettas have “got to go through the land development process.”
Results of the most recent tests for potential contamination in the fill’s contents were returned to the township Tuesday, Camburn acknowledged. Although they must be analyzed by Bursich, the firm reported earlier tests indicated the fill was safe. “It’ll show its clean,” Tornetta said of the latest test, and added that Lower Pottsgrove’s “highly unusual” demand that he test the fill more than once - in response to public concern – had cost an extra $4,000.
Sunoco representatives have already given oral consent to the earth moving plan, Tornetta said.
Plans show a sediment and drainage basin will be created on the property’s north side to control surface water run-off. Once tree stumps on the property are removed, the mound that occupies its eastern end will be leveled across its length and re-graded to be even with East High Street.
“We’re ready to start tomorrow,” Tornetta proclaimed, but his construction superintendent, Ted Krause, was more cautious. “Well, not quite tomorrow,” Krause said, causing commission members to laugh. It may take a week or two to ensure the commission’s conditions are met.
Approval of the permit authorization was unanimous. Planning Commissioners Nicholas Hiriak and Ronald Dinnocenti were absent from the meeting.
Related:
- Earthen Mound Could Grow Higher
- Still Piling It Up At The Interchange
- Sanatoga Soil Mound Concerns Its Neighbors
- Grading Gets Started Near Interchange
- Fill Piles At Sanatoga Exit
Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Planning Commission meeting of Jan. 19):
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This roadside level should have been maitained from the beginning. I’m glad to hear our township officials have focused their sights on this and hope the scrutiny is maintained.