SANATOGA PA – The proposed Bella Italia Pizza restaurant that owners hope to have built at 2209 E. High St., Pottstown PA, just west of the now-closed Rite-Aid store at East High and North Pleasant View Road, received preliminary land development approval Monday (Sept. 20, 2010) from the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Planning Commission. However, it’s unlikely to move off the drawing board for awhile yet, everyone involved agrees.
Use of this alley, seen from its east end and looking west toward Sunnyside Avenue, must be resolved before an Italian restaurant facing East High Street, proposed by Cilluffo Property Holdings LLC, can receive final approval.
The project probably won’t be a candidate for final approval – the step that takes it to construction – until Cilluffo Property Holdings LLC signs an agreement with at least three neighboring property owners over the restaurant’s use for exiting traffic of an alley that runs west to Sunnyside Avenue.
In plans that commissioners have seen over several months, Cilluffo hopes to build a 4,500-square-foot building on the property, facing East High Street and with both entrances and exits to East High. The building would contain the restaurant, of 2,500-square-feet, and two smaller offices available for lease. A 900-square-foot patio, complete with water fountain, would be located outside the restaurant for diners to enjoy at adjacent tables.
Planners have said they are happy with the design. The township’s engineers, Bursich Associates, indicates it is satisfied with many structural changes Cilluffo made at its request. Zoning variances have been approved, and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation permits for highway access are expected.
“The elephant in the room,” commissioner Chairman Geoffrey Dailey noted, “is still the alley.”
Because neither the developer or any of the adjoining property owners holds title to the alley, all of them can claim rights to its use up to its center, Cilluffo attorney Amee Farrell of Blue Bell PA explained. She said the company is negotiating with its neighbors for a “restrictions and covenants easement” that would allow the restaurant to use the alley as a secondary exit way for vehicular traffic.
That document, once signed, should allay township concerns over the potential for disputes regarding or blockages in the alley, Farrell added. “The prudent approach will be to come to an agreement with those who have equal access,” she noted. The alley itself also would be improved to meet Lower Pottsgrove road construction standards.
Planners decided to offer preliminary approval to, as Farrell put it, “give the agreement some momentum” and “help move the process along with our neighbors.”
“That’s fine,” Dailey responded, “but just so we’re clear, the alley’s still on the table. You’re going to find it difficult to win final approval without it.”
Related:
- Alley To Sunnyside Ave. ‘Elephant’ In Restaurant Plans
- Restaurant, Doctors’ Office Return To Planning Board
- Owners Ask For Restaurant Variance Extensions
- Planners Hear More About Proposed Pizza Restaurant
- Pizzeria Owner Has History Of Restaurant Development
- Restaurant, Ringing Projects Win Conditional Uses
- Ringing Rocks, Restaurant Hearing Topics Tonight
- Pizzeria Planned Next To Sanatoga Rite-Aid
Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Planning Commission meeting of Sept. 20):
- Alley To Sunnyside Ave. ‘Elephant’ In Restaurant Plans
- Restaurant, Doctors’ Office Return To Planning Board
Sign up to get The Sanatoga Post delivered free daily by e-mail. Share this article.
See our galleries for photos that appear in The Post. Got news for us? E-mail The Post.
Find The Posts on Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, Technorati, Flickr, YouTube, and RSS
