The Sanatoga Post

The redesigned manard-style roof of the proposed garden apartments at Buchert Ridge Community helps the building comform to township height restrictions, the developer reported

SANATOGA PA – Lower Pottsgrove Planning Commission members got an advance peek Monday (Aug. 15, 2011) at what they said were both substantial and favorable changes being considered for revised designs to expand Buchert Ridge Community, 2011 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA. The retirement-age residential project was the controversial subject of a zoning board hearing only four months ago.

Planners were not asked to, and did not, act on any of the proposals introduced by developer J. Wilmer “Wil” Hallman and engineer John McMenamin of Hallman Retirement Communities. Responding to McMenamin’s request for comments, however, all said they were pleased with the redesigned roofline of a proposed four-story building of garden apartments that, as promised during the April hearing, would meet township height regulations.

A rendering of the proposed garden apartments was combined with a winter photograph, taken from Buchert Road looking northeast, to show the building as if seen from a distance

They said they were happy, too, with a proposal to add a new retaining wall and wide planting and grass area on the west side of the apartments nearest Sprogels Run. Properly landscaped, commissioners said, the area would further reduce the perceived height of the building as seen from nearby Kepler Road.

Planners also expressed satisfied surprise with substantial changes to a public bus turnaround on the property, suggested years ago by the township Board of Commissioners, that would be used by Pottstown Area Rapid Transit as the eastern end of its Sanatoga-to-Stowe route. The turnaround now features separate one-way entrances and exits for greater safety.

Most visible of all the proposals is the apartment building’s new roof line. Initial plans called for a gable-style roof that put the building’s height about 13 feet above Lower Pottsgrove’s stated limit of 35 feet, and required a zoning variance. Hallman’s revised plans transform it to a mansard-style roof that McMenamin said adheres to the requirement.

“We did bring the height down significantly,” the engineer said, without sacrificing any of the building’s 39 units. “It doesn’t look so massive now,” Commissioner William Wolfgang noted, and his board colleague, Ronald Dinnocenti, agreed.

Its earlier height was a chief objection during the April zoning debate among area property owners, who told zoning board members their real estate values would be diminished by the towering structure. Hallman later withdrew his height variance request from zoning board consideration, and the project was subsequently approved with several conditions.

“We’ve been telling people that we would conform, and we will conform” on height, McMenamin said.

The addition of a retaining wall and a walk-out area on the apartment’s creek side “gives residents there a place to congregate” in pleasant weather, he noted. It also creates “an additional buffer line that softens the height.”

Turnaround, with separate entrance and exit

Earlier designs for the turnaround would have had public buses use a loop entirely within the project, with a single, two-way entrance and exit. Township engineers raised concerns about whether the loop itself was big enough for some buses, and adequately addressed safety needs. The redesign enlarges the loop, improves driver sight lines, relies on separate driveways for buses to come and go, and also creates a more spacious waiting area for a stopped bus.

“That seems like it would work,” township engineering representative Chad Camburn of Bursich Associates said. “It nicely resolves a number of items.”

The project is still awaiting approvals from outside agencies, such as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, on other parts of the expansion plan. “We can’t move forward without them,” McMenamin explained. “But we’re trying to do what we can to keep things going,” he said, which is why the plans were put on display Monday. Commissioners said they appreciated the chance to look.

Related (to Buchert Ridge Community):

• Planners Get Sneak Peek At Buchert Ridge Revisions
• Hallman Apartments At Buchert Ridge Get Zoning OK
• Buchert Ridge Added Sewer Capacity Gets Board OK
• PART Buses Play A Part In Buchert Ridge Building Plans
• Surprise: Height No Longer Zoning Issue At Buchert Ridge
• Over Objections, Commissioners Endorse Buchert Apartments
• Two Expansions Considered On Lower Pottsgrove Agenda
• Accusations Fly At Planners’ Meeting Over Buchert Ridge
• Applications Withdrawn; Township Cancels Zoning Hearings
• Lower Pottsgrove Hearings Set For Apartments, Lighting
• Walk Through These Rooms Without Moving
• Commissioners Warm To Energy-Saving Apartments
• Commissioners Get An Early Start Tonight
• Meeting Moved Up For Buchert Ridge Presentation
• Buchert Ridge Unveiling Final Phase

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Planning Commission meeting of Aug. 15):

• Planners Get Sneak Peek At Buchert Ridge Revisions

One of the lake features at Hallman Development's proposed Still Waters Community in Pennsburg

POTTSTOWN PA – “Retirement neighborhood” builder J. Wilmer “Wil” Hallman has plenty to keep himself busy these days.

His Sanatoga PA-based company, Wil Hallman Retirement Development, continues to operate and promote new occupancy of age 55-and-older housing at its well-established Sanatoga Ridge Community, 2641 E. High St. In April (2011) he won Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township zoning approval to erect a new, environmentally friendly apartment complex at Buchert Ridge Community, 2011 Buchert Rd.

And just 14 miles northeast of Sanatoga, Hallman is moving forward on creation of another retirement project called Still Waters Community, located along a five-acre lake at 800 Montgomery Ave., Pennsburg PA.

Unlike Sanatoga Ridge and Buchert Ridge, where one-story, connected single-family units so far comprise a significant portion of the available dwellings, Still Waters’ primary housing will initially consist of apartment homes like those proposed to be built in coming months as the second phase of Buchert Ridge.

Wil Hallman

The Pennsburg apartments, like Buchert Ridge, are expected to be certified by the U.S Green Building Council as meeting some level of its “Leadership In Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)” rating system, as well as federal Energy Department “Energy Star” requirements. They also will also include a community center with its own library, entertainment areas, a catering kitchen, and offices.

Mass transit access is offered nearby, but unlike that at Buchert Ridge will not have a stop on the community grounds.

The 15-acre community is expected to consist of 50 units in its first phase, of which 42 are apartment homes and the remaining eight would be town homes. Its land development plan won unanimous approval from the Pennsburg Borough Council in February (2011).

Photos from Wil Hallman Retirement Development

Grind it to bits

SANATOGA PA – Area residents who want to safely rid themselves of personal documents and other paperwork they no longer need or want to keep can have it shredded to bits Saturday for free during what is being called community shredding event conducted by Hallman Retirement Neighborhoods of Sanatoga PA.

Contractor-operated shredding machinery will be available Saturday (May 7, 2011) from 9 a.m. to noon at the Beulah Land Swim Club, 2675 E. High St., Pottstown PA, near the Hallman-operated Sanatoga Ridge Community.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

The event coincides with open house programs at Sanatoga Ridge and its companion Buchert Ridge Community on Buchert Road. Both are located in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township.

For more information, call 610-323-5190.

Photo from Google Images

SANATOGA PA – A proposal for a four-story building of garden suite apartments to complete the Buchert Ridge Community at Buchert and Kepler roads received Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Zoning Hearing Board approval Tuesday night (April 19, 2011), but it came with a list of 12 conditions that regulate the height of some nearby buildings, the size of accompanying carports, and placement of landscaping items.

The hearing board did not rule on the height of the apartment building itself, because developer J. Wilmer Hallman of Hallman Retirement Communities, based in Sanatoga PA, earlier agreed it would not exceed township limits. What was considered its excessive height, when first presented, prompted objections in recent months from neighboring property owners.

One such owner, Matthew Cappelletti of 1215 Kepler Rd., Pottstown PA, was represented by legal counsel at earlier hearings. The board’s conclusions of law, to be distributed today (Wednesday, April 20), specifically found Cappelletti did not meet a “burden to prove to a high degree of probability” that he adjoining buildings would “substantially affect the health, safety and welfare of the community.”

The hearing board ruling could be appealed in civil courts.

The board’s several conditions limit the:

• Amount of impervious coverage (like asphalt and buildings) on the parcel;
• Coverage area of the apartments and service buildings;
• Size and placement of landscape buffers on Buchert Road and facing Kepler Road;
• Height of a pedestrian walkway between the apartments and nearby parking garage, the garage itself, adjacent carports an service buildings; and the
• Number and square footage of adjacent carports.

A audience significantly smaller than the crowd that turned out for earlier hearings was on hand to hear the board’s ruling. It was issued shortly after the 6 p.m. start of the board meeting in the township municipal building on Buchert Road.

Related (to Buchert Ridge Community):

• Hallman Apartments At Buchert Ridge Get Zoning OK
• Buchert Ridge Added Sewer Capacity Gets Board OK
• PART Buses Play A Part In Buchert Ridge Building Plans
• Surprise: Height No Longer Zoning Issue At Buchert Ridge
• Over Objections, Commissioners Endorse Buchert Apartments
• Two Expansions Considered On Lower Pottsgrove Agenda
• Accusations Fly At Planners’ Meeting Over Buchert Ridge
• Applications Withdrawn; Township Cancels Zoning Hearings
• Lower Pottsgrove Hearings Set For Apartments, Lighting
• Walk Through These Rooms Without Moving
• Commissioners Warm To Energy-Saving Apartments
• Commissioners Get An Early Start Tonight
• Meeting Moved Up For Buchert Ridge Presentation
• Buchert Ridge Unveiling Final Phase

SANATOGA PA – Sanatoga developer J. Wilmer “Wil” Hallman is scheduled to return next week (Monday, March 28, 2011) to continue a Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Zoning Board public hearing on his plans to build garden-style apartments on Buchert Road. Although the future of the project itself hasn’t been decided, one of its necessary components is now in place.

Hallman’s proposal for his Buchert Ridge Community Phase 2, to be built on the north side of Buchert – just east of Kepler Road and across the street from the Walnut Ridge townhome complex – received approval earlier this month from both Montgomery County and the township Board of Commissioners for the sewer capacity needed to make its construction possible.

The number of apartments available exclusively to senior citizens was expanded in the last version of Hallman’s plans. Eight additional equivalent dwelling units (EDUs) of capacity represented by the expansion were approved by the township Sewer Authority last December (2010), and were later also accepted by the county. Commissioners were the third and last group to make it official, with a unanimous vote during their March 7 (2011) meeting.

Board President Jonathan Spadt was absent and did not vote.

The sewer capacity gives Hallman the opportunity to add the extra apartments if he either wins zoning board approval for variances needed to bring his existing plans to fruition, or if he determines how to build the project within the scope of earlier plan approvals without requiring variances.

“If the zoning’s not approved, then maybe these EDUs go nowhere,” township Manager Rodney Hawthorne told commissioners.

Hallman’s project has run into opposition, primarily from Kepler Road residents, who object to its building height and other features. During the last Zoning Board meeting on Feb. 28, Hallman attorney Charles Garner Jr. said the developer’s request for a height variance was being withdrawn. It means that, if the project is allowed to proceed, it must be built within the height limitations of township law.

Related (to Buchert Ridge Community):

• Buchert Ridge Added Sewer Capacity Gets Board OK
• PART Buses Play A Part In Buchert Ridge Building Plans
• Surprise: Height No Longer Zoning Issue At Buchert Ridge
• Over Objections, Commissioners Endorse Buchert Apartments
• Two Expansions Considered On Lower Pottsgrove Agenda
• Accusations Fly At Planners’ Meeting Over Buchert Ridge
• Applications Withdrawn; Township Cancels Zoning Hearings
• Lower Pottsgrove Hearings Set For Apartments, Lighting
• Walk Through These Rooms Without Moving
• Commissioners Warm To Energy-Saving Apartments
• Commissioners Get An Early Start Tonight
• Meeting Moved Up For Buchert Ridge Presentation
• Buchert Ridge Unveiling Final Phase

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ March 7 meeting):

• Buchert Ridge Added Sewer Capacity Gets Board OK
• Proof Lower Pottsgrove Loves You: Tax Bills In Mail
• Emergency Team Took What February Threw At It
• Board Orders Long-Delayed Drain Repairs … Or Else
• Commissioners Again Reject Boulevard Name Change
• To Those Who Dug Out, Lower Pottsgrove Salutes You
• Commissioners Approve Park Trail Bid Advertising
• Sprogels Run Park Project On Commissioners’ Agenda

A Pottstown Area Rapid Transit bus en route to Sanatoga

SANATOGA PA – Retirement community builder J. Wilmer “Wil” Hallman years ago hoped to win Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township approval of his plans to create an age-restricted housing project on Buchert Road. He wanted to do the right thing too, his attorney explained Monday (Feb. 28, 2011), in solving a problem that troubled the place he also called home.

So at the township’s request, Hallman agreed to include in his plans for what became Buchert Ridge Community, 2011 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA, a paved loop that would serve as a turn-around for Pottstown Area Rapid Transit Inc. (PART) buses. It would mark the east end of their Sanatoga-to-Stowe route, which takes riders primarily along High Street.

In helping the township eliminate what is recognized as a dangerous situation posed by PART, though, Hallman may have inadvertently made problems of his own for Buchert Ridge.

The bus loop was one of several features highlighted by attorney Charles Garner as he spoke during a Monday night hearing on Buchert Ridge conducted by Lower Pottsgrove’s Zoning Hearing Board. Hallman’s plans require a variance on the number of parking spaces his community must have by law; the board has yet to rule on that request, and continued its hearing until March 28.

PART’s route currently ends at the Rolling Hills rental complex on Buchert Road, on the west end of semi-circular Rolling Hills Drive and across the street from Buchert Ridge. The turn-around there is a three-pointer: buses are driven west to, and then stopped just past the intersection (Point 1); drivers then back across the width of Buchert Road into Rolling Hills Drive (Point 2); and when ready to return to Stowe they leave the drive turning right (Point 3) and head east on Buchert to North Pleasant View Road.

A sketch shows the bus loop proposed at Buchert Ridge near Kepler Road

Township police and officials have long complained that the three-pointer is an accident waiting to happen on the busy and often speedy highway, in an area filled with children. Construction of Buchert Ridge, with its second entrance closer to the intersection of Kepler and Buchert roads, and with what at the time appeared to be available vacant land, seemed the perfect opportunity to install a PART loop and remove the perceived accident threat.

The loop’s location, in Buchert Ridge’s southwest corner, is adjacent to a proposed multi-story building of garden suite apartments that is now a bone of contention among Kepler Road property owners. They crowded into the zoning hearing, and a earlier meeting of the township Board of Commissioners, to protest its excessive height. Hallman would have needed a variance for it, too, but announced Monday the building would comply with township height requirements.

Could the building be lengthened, and its objectionable height further reduced, if the designed bus loop wasn’t in its way? Hallman’s engineering consultant, John McMenamin, hinted at it – but did not testify to as much – during the hearing.

Ironically, Hallman estimates 75 percent of buyers at Buchert Ridge, and an earlier project about two miles east – Sanatoga Ridge – rely on their own cars for transportation. Of the 25 percent without vehicles, Hallman reported, “few ride a bus.”

Related (to Buchert Ridge Community):

• PART Buses Play A Part In Buchert Ridge Building Plans
• Surprise: Height No Longer Zoning Issue At Buchert Ridge
• Over Objections, Commissioners Endorse Buchert Apartments
• Two Expansions Considered On Lower Pottsgrove Agenda
• Accusations Fly At Planners’ Meeting Over Buchert Ridge
• Applications Withdrawn; Township Cancels Zoning Hearings
• Lower Pottsgrove Hearings Set For Apartments, Lighting
• Walk Through These Rooms Without Moving
• Commissioners Warm To Energy-Saving Apartments
• Commissioners Get An Early Start Tonight
• Meeting Moved Up For Buchert Ridge Presentation
• Buchert Ridge Unveiling Final Phase

SANATOGA PA – The need for a height variance in the proposal to build a four-story building of garden suite apartments in the Buchert Ridge Community at Buchert and Kepler roads came off the table Monday night (Feb. 28, 2011), in a surprising move by developer Wil Hallman before a crowded meeting of the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Zoning Board of Appeals.

Lower Pottsgrove Zoning Office Keth Place, right consults with Zoning Board attorney Joseph McGrory, second from right, and board members during Monday night's hearing.

Buchert Ridge attorney Charles Garner told board members Hallman was withdrawing his request to allow the apartment building to exceed the township’s 35-foot height limit. Hallman, himself a Lower Pottsgrove resident, still intends to erect the building, but does not yet know whether its design will involve four or fewer stories, or fewer units.

It will, however, comply with township law, Garner added. “We want to make sure community concerns are properly addressed,” he said.

The building’s re-design must be reviewed and approved by Lower Pottsgrove’s Planning Commission and the Board of Commissioners. It might sail through both, if it hews to overall plans for Buchert Ridge accepted by the township during 2006.

Removal of the height issue took away a primary reason several Kepler Road property owners came out to the hearing: to convince the board that plans for what was envisioned as a 48-foot-tall building were inappropriate for the surrounding neighborhood of mostly one- and two-story residences. That left zoners to consider only Hallman’s request for parking relief, and five special exceptions for additional accompanying maintenance structures.

Arguments about the proposal seem far from over, however. An attorney representing nearby property owner Matthew Cappelletti, 1215 Kepler Rd., was among those who questioned Hallman and other witnesses during the more than two-hour hearing, preparing what he hoped were grounds for a potential lawsuit to force re-examination of the entire project.

Buchert Ridge’s first phase – the installation of mostly one-story, one- and two-family buildings for owner-occupants age 55 and older, on seven acres at 2011 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA – is considered finished. Area residents embraced that proposal introduced by Hallman several years ago, favoring it over what could have been higher-density, less attractive dwellings in the same space.

Some of the same residents are adamantly opposed to current plans for an additional six acres of Buchert Ridge Phase 2, which have changed with the distressed economy. On Monday night and earlier, they complained the towering garden suites – to be built along side a tributary of Sprogel’s Run – would dwarf their homes.

Related (to Buchert Ridge Community):

• Surprise: Height No Longer Zoning Issue At Buchert Ridge
• Over Objections, Commissioners Endorse Buchert Apartments
• Two Expansions Considered On Lower Pottsgrove Agenda
• Accusations Fly At Planners’ Meeting Over Buchert Ridge
• Applications Withdrawn; Township Cancels Zoning Hearings
• Lower Pottsgrove Hearings Set For Apartments Lighting
• Walk Through These Rooms Without Moving
• Commissioners Warm To Energy-Saving Apartments
• Commissioners Get An Early Start Tonight
• Meeting Moved Up For Buchert Ridge Presentation
• Buchert Ridge Unveiling Final Phase

SANATOGA PA – Distressed Kepler Road residents, who on Monday night (Feb. 7, 2011) told the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Board of Commissioners that a four-story apartment building proposed to be built near them was too high and inappropriate for the neighborhood, were disappointed when commissioners decided to recommend the project for approval by the township Zoning Hearing Board.

During a meeting that was unusual for both its length (2 hours) and crowd size (the Buchert Road municipal building conference room was nearly filled), commissioners who voted – President Jonathan Spadt, Vice President Bruce Foltz, and Michael McGroarty – were unanimous in their decision to recommend to the Zoning Board that it grant variances for an expansion of Buchert Ridge Community, 2011 Buchert Rd.

The endorsement is not binding, and can be ignored by Zoning Board members if they so choose, Spadt noted. Commissioner James Phillips announced in advance he would recuse himself from voting due to what he described as a “financial relationship” between his employer, The Victory Bank of Limerick PA, and Buchert Ridge developer J. Wilmer “Wil” Hallman. Commissioner James Kaiser was absent.

Hallman’s plans to build a 48-foot-high, 39-unit building of “garden suite” apartments, to be marketed as environmentally friendly to age 55-and-older buyers, are scheduled to appear Feb. 28 (Monday) before the Zoning Board. Before his project proceeds to final land development, Hallman hopes to obtain several variances and exceptions that address, in part, its non-conforming height and parking requirements.

Although Hallman’s construction quality, and the current appearance of Buchert Ridge Community in general, were uniformly praised by audience members, dissenters made it known they weren’t happy with the apartment plans. Hallman earlier received permission for a three-story building; a fourth story, several in attendance said, was excessive.

“I’ll be able to see that building from my house,” said home owner Matt Cappelletti, 1215 Kepler Rd. “It doesn’t fit in with the character of the neighborhood. You need to consider its impact on surrounding residents,” he told commissioners.

“From an aesthetic standpoint, it’s not pleasing in any way, shape or form,” added Scott Aston, 1236 Kepler Rd. “I object to waking up every day to look at this. It’s not something that feels like it fits in with the community whatsoever.”

Even two former commissioners, both of whom served when Hallman’s three-story proposal was accepted, raised concerns. Previous board member Anthony Doyle of 1745 Kepler Rd. claimed the building’s fourth floor “was a bit much.” His colleague, previous board member Stephen Klotz, rhetorically asked, “If this were next to your home, would you approve it?”

All had legitimate comments, Spadt replied. Hallman, however, particularly during the past two weeks, had cooperated with the township staff to overcome its objections, he said. Township engineering representative Scott Exley of Bursich Associates Inc. agreed the project had changed enough to reduce some of its Zoning Board requests.

The commissioners’ endorsement is accompanied by about a dozen conditions they asked the Zoning Board to include as requirements if it grants the variances and exceptions sought. Hallman’s attorney, Charles Garner, said the developer would meet with Cappelletti, Aston and others to discuss how landscaping or other items might improve the project’s appearance.

Other than that, Spadt said, “we’ll leave it to the Zoning Hearing Board to do the right thing.”

Related (to Buchert Ridge Community):

• Over Objections, Commissioners Endorse Buchert Apartments
• Two Expansions Considered On Lower Pottsgrove Agenda
• Accusations Fly At Planners’ Meeting Over Buchert Ridge
• Applications Withdrawn; Township Cancels Zoning Hearings
• Lower Pottsgrove Hearings Set For Apartments Lighting
• Walk Through These Rooms Without Moving
• Commissioners Warm To Energy-Saving Apartments
• Commissioners Get An Early Start Tonight
• Meeting Moved Up For Buchert Ridge Presentation
• Buchert Ridge Unveiling Final Phase

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ Feb. 7 meeting):

• Over Objections, Commissioners Endorse Buchert Apartments
• Two Expansions Considered On Lower Pottsgrove Agenda

The entrance to the Buchert Ridge Community on the north side of Buchert Road.

SANATOGA PA – Plans to build what is being called the second phase of the Buchert Ridge Community residential development, marketed to buyers age 55 and older, on Buchert Road east of Kepler Road in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township are on the agenda for tonight’s (Monday, Feb. 7, 2011) meeting of the township Board of Commissioners at 7 in the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

The proposal by developer Hallman Retirement Neighborhoods of Sanatoga to build an environmentally friendly, three-story garden suite apartment complex at 2011 Buchert Rd., Pottstown, has been a hotly discussed issue in recent months. Company President J. Wilmer “Wil” Hallman in December (2010) accused township staff members of ignoring agreements on the project he thought had been reached earlier with the board’s solicitor.

Hallman’s project, which requires several zoning variances, is scheduled to be the subject of a township Zoning Hearing Board hearing on Feb. 28 (2011; Monday) at 6 p.m. in the municipal building. The hearing was advertised this morning in The (Pottstown) Mercury newspaper, the township’s publication of records for legal notices. Commissioners may be asked to recommend the project to the zoning board for approval.

Hallman employees also are involved in plans to expand the gymnasium of Berean Bible Church, 2675 E. High St., Pottstown, with which Hallman has had a long-standing personal relationship. Those, too, require zoning variances, and also are expected to be reviewed by commissioners.

Additionally on their agenda are:

• Plans to advertise a Feb. 17 public hearing regarding the transfer of a liquor license involving Sunnybrook Ballroom, the entertainment and conference center at 50 Sunnybrook Rd., Pottstown, that is owned by a non-profit foundation of which Hallman is a board member;

• Potential changes to the Lower Pottsgrove Police Department pension plan, and an accompanying letter of understanding between the township and the union representing its police officers; and

• A request by Redner’s Warehouse Markets for relief from subdivision and land development requirements.

The commissioners’ meeting is open to the public. A copy of the board agenda has been available since Friday (Feb. 4, 2011) and can be downloaded from the township’s website, here.

Related (to Buchert Ridge Community):

• Two Expansions Considered On Lower Pottsgrove Agenda
• Accusations Fly At Planners’ Meeting Over Buchert Ridge
• Applications Withdrawn; Township Cancels Zoning Hearings
• Lower Pottsgrove Hearings Set For Apartments Lighting
• Walk Through These Rooms Without Moving
• Commissioners Warm To Energy-Saving Apartments
• Commissioners Get An Early Start Tonight
• Meeting Moved Up For Buchert Ridge Presentation
• Buchert Ridge Unveiling Final Phase

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ Feb. 7 meeting):

• Two Expansions Considered On Lower Pottsgrove Agenda

SANATOGA PA – An obviously frustrated Sanatoga-based real estate developer, during Monday night’s (Dec. 20, 2010) Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Planning Commission meeting, accused the municipality’s staff of failing to abide by an understanding he thought he had reached with other township representatives, and of unnecessarily delaying a project he wants to expand on Buchert Road.

The entrance to the Buchert Ridge Community on Buchert Road.

Developer J. Wilmer Hallman, who hopes to add a three-story garden suite apartment complex that would be certified as environmentally friendly to his Buchert Ridge housing community, 2011 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA, alleged a previously scheduled review of his plans was wrongly removed from the board’s agenda. The resulting delay, he said, could cost “hundreds of thousands of dollars” over the life of the project.

Hallman did not identify specific individuals, but clearly directed his wrath toward township Manager Rodney Hawthorne, Assistant Manager Alyson Elliott and Chad Camburn, who represents Lower Pottsgrove’s engineering firm, Bursich Associates Inc. Hawthorne, who Hallman claimed had arbitrarily canceled his project’s review, was not present at the meeting; Elliott and Camburn, both of whom attended, denied the accusations.

The commission took no action, despite Hallman’s urging that it recommend the apartment plans as submitted to the township Zoning Hearing Board. “We have no new information” on the proposal, Chairman Frank Cebular said, “and we can’t do anything about it until we do.”

However, Commissioner Ronald Dinnocenti – himself a former developer – offered Hallman some interesting advice: Return to the commission with “the meanest son-of-a-bitch lawyer you can find” in tow. “You’ll get things done pretty fast that way,” Dinnocenti suggested.

Township Commissioner James Phillips sat in the audience while the back-and-forth argument raged.

At issue are a list of items in Hallman’s plans that, unless modified to conform with existing regulations, will require several zoning waivers. Hallman disagrees with staff interpretations of the law on some; suggested a few involve private property rights beyond the township’s oversight, and contended others had been addressed and solved earlier in meetings he had with his attorney, Hawthorne, and township Solicitor R. Kurtz Holloway.

“I’m not blaming the Planning Commission, but I am blaming the staff,” Hallman said.

Hallman wants to erect the multi-story “green-certified” apartments, designed to appeal to retirees, in a zoning district that limits building height. Parking, a public transit turn-around, and property line set-backs apparently also pose problems. His initial plans, which won strong endorsement from the township Board of Commissioners in October 2009, have since changed considerably, Cebular said. “We’ve had to look at it with new eyes,” he added.

Related (to Buchert Ridge Community):

• Accusations Fly At Planners’ Meeting Over Buchert Ridge
• Applications Withdrawn; Township Cancels Zoning Hearings
• Lower Pottsgrove Hearings Set For Apartments Lighting
• Walk Through These Rooms Without Moving
• Commissioners Warm To Energy-Saving Apartments
• Commissioners Get An Early Start Tonight
• Meeting Moved Up For Buchert Ridge Presentation
• Buchert Ridge Unveiling Final Phase

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Planning Commission’s Dec. 20 meeting):

• Accusations Fly At Planners’ Meeting Over Buchert Ridge
• Planning Commission Agenda For Dec. 20, 2010