The Sanatoga Post

Orange-tagged stakes mark where soil tests were conducted in December on vacant land at 3049 E. High St., Sanatoga, just west of the Turkey Hill convenience store

SANATOGA PA – During the economic downturn of recent years, the Planning Commission in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township has had only a few major projects – the construction of an office building or two – into which its members could sink their collective teeth. That may change later this month.

Tornetta Realty Corp., which owns and is marketing the vacant and once heavily wooded 14-acre property at 3049 E. High St., Pottstown PA, apparently is considering development there, township Assistant Manager Alyson Elliott recently confirmed. The land is located just west of the Turkey Hill convenience store on the north side of the Sanatoga interchange of U.S. Route 422.

The Tornetta firm, of Norristown, has preliminarily indicated its intentions to the township, she said. It might be ready to make a presentation to planning commissioners, on what is tentatively named “Sanatoga Marketplace,” when they meet Feb. 27 (2012; Monday).

It’s been about 18 months since the property was last in the news. At the time, Tornetta was completing work on leveling ground, installing drainage, and negotiating potential right-of-way use with owners of an underground gas pipeline that crosses the land. Since then, the huge Costco retail warehouse has opened on the south side of the interchange, in Limerck Township, and developers of property there have been actively seeking new tenants for future construction.

With the economy slowly gaining momentum, with loan interest rates still at historic lows, with increased shopping traffic in the area, and with its ground ready, there’s plenty of public speculation about what Sanatoga Marketplace might contain. Tornetta hasn’t tipped its hand; as of late last month, no drawings or renderings had been submitted to the township, Elliott said.

Tornetta has been active nonetheless. In late December (2011), its representatives conducted water infiltration tests at 10 separate sites on the property, according to Keith Place, Lower Pottsgrove zoning officer and director of codes. Small plastic orange streamers tied to stakes that dot the ground mark where testing was done to gain information for what could be required in a land development plan.

In some ways, the seemingly leisurely pace at which Sanatoga Marketplace is unfolding has been a benefit to the Planning Commission. The usually five-member board has lacked one commissioner since the resignation in July (2011) of Nicholas Hiriak; his successor, Brian Brentzel, was appointed only last month by the Board of Commissioners.

The board did not meet as scheduled on Jan. 23, Elliott acknowledged, because it lacked a quorum. Besides Hiriak’s vacancy, the board also had one member out of town on business, and another was ill. In addition, the board still has not named a vice chairman to fill in as its leader if Chairman Frank Cebular is absent.

Related:

• Notebook Worthy (of July 19, 2010)
• Grinding Stumps At Sanatoga’s Interchange
• Grading Permit Change Comes With Limits
• Grading Plan May Leave Gap In Sanatoga Land
• Talks Delay Take-Down Of Sanatoga Mound
• Huge Fill Mound On East High To Come Down
• 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

SANATOGA PA – Local government junkies love early January. It’s the best time of year to make their marks on a brand new, pristine calendar.

Like local governments everywhere, Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township has obliged those who follow its inner workings – far more closely than most of us – by supplying in advance its schedule of commissions, boards, and agencies meeting dates during the next 12 months.

Meetings are planned for:

• the Board of Commissioners, at 7 p.m. on Jan. 3 and 19 Feb. 6 and 23, March 5 and 22, April 2 and 9, May 7 and 24, June 4 and 21, July 2 and 19, Aug. 6 and 23, Sept. 4 and 20 Oct. 1 and 18, Nov. 1 and 15, and Dec. 3 and 20;

• the Sewer Authority, at 7 p.m. on Jan. 9, Feb. 13, March 12, April 9, May 16, June 11, July 9, Aug. 13, Sept. 10, Oct. 9, Nov. 12, and Dec. 10;

• the Planning Commission, at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 23, Feb. 27, March 19, April 16, May 21, June 18, July 16, Aug. 20, Sept. 17, Oct. 15, Nov. 19 and Dec. 17; and

• the Parks and Recreation Board, at 7 p.m. on Jan. 30, Feb. 28, March 26, April 23, May 29, June 25, July 23, Aug. 27, Sept. 24, Oct. 22 and Nov. 26, with no meeting in December.

Exceptions in scheduling meeting dates are the township Zoning Hearing Board and Civil Service Commission. They meet only on an as-needed basis.

All meetings are held at the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown, and are open to the public. Both the building and its and meeting room are wheelchair accessible. Anyone who needs assistance or accommodation to attend a meeting is asked to call the township office, 610-323-0436 Ext. 8, at least 24 hours in advance. Those with limited or no hearing can contact the township using a telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD) by calling the AT&T Pennsylvania Relay Center toll-free at 800-654-5984.

The township advertised its meeting dates Dec. 21 (2011) in The Pottstown Mercury newspaper, its publication of record for legal notices.

SANATOGA PA – Monday night’s (Dec. 19, 2011) meeting of the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Planning Commission was canceled, according to an announcement on the township website that was posted after 3 p.m., only three-and-a-half hours before commissioners were scheduled to gather at the municipal building on Buchert Road.

A paper sign about the cancellation also was taped to the front door of the building (right).

No reason for the cancellation was offered. The board meeting of the previous month also was canceled.

Commissioners are next scheduled to meet Jan. 23 (2012; Monday) at 6:30 p.m.

Related:

• Township Planners’ Meeting Canceled; No Reason Given
• Planners Scheduled To Meet Tonight; No Agenda Yet
• Planners’ Meeting Canceled, But An Appointment Ahead

Lower Pottsgrove's municipal building

SANATOGA PA – Lower Pottsgrove’s Planning Commission is scheduled to meet tonight (Monday, Dec. 19, 2011) at 6:30 p.m. in the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA, but as of 6 this morning what its members will talk about remains a bit of a mystery. No agenda for the forthcoming meeting is available.

The two-month-old agenda for the board’s October meeting is the only one online at the township’s webpage for the planners, here. Its November meeting was canceled. Because tonight’s meeting has not been announced as canceled, a new agenda for it likely will be found at the same location later today.

Two members of the current board will be among the returning faces to its meetings in 2012 and beyond. The Board of Commissioners last Thursday (Dec. 15) approved the re-appointments of Frank Cebular, Planning Commission chairman, and member Anthony Cherico.

It also approved the 2012 meeting dates for the planners as Jan. 23, Feb. 27, March 9, April 16, May 21, June 18, July 16, Aug. 20, Sept. 17, Oct. 15, Nov. 19, and Dec. 17.

SANATOGA PA – This month’s Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Planning Commission meeting, which was anticipated to be held tonight (Monday, Nov. 21, 2011) at the municipal building on Buchert Road, has been canceled. But just as the planners are now scheduled to next meet during December, so too are officials expected to decide who will become the commission’s newest member.

An announcement on the township website gives no indication why the regular monthly meeting of the Planning Commission was called off, although it has similarly occurred several times this year. Most often the reason is that planners have nothing to review in an economically tight real estate market for which few new projects are proposed.

The Planning Commission’s last meeting of the year is scheduled for Dec. 19 (Monday) at 6:30 p.m., also in the municipal building.

In planning-related news, the township Board of Commissioners acknowledged Thursday (Nov. 17) it is preparing to recommend who should become the Planning Commission’s newest member. A vacancy in its ranks has existed since former board member Nicholas Hiriak resigned in July.

Board of Commissioners’ President Jonathan Spadt said the township had received seven applications to fill the vacancy, “and in my opinion some are clearly not qualified,” he added, although he did not identify individuals. He asked fellow commissioners to read through resumes provided, choose three or four potential candidates, and be ready for a possible vote on one during December.

SANATOGA PA – Plans to relocate a Pottstown beauty salon to Sanatoga village won approval from the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Board of Commissioners last Monday (Oct. 24, 2011), but board members offered their consent with a caveat. They want to ensure both the salon owner and her neighbors all have enough water for their needs.

Commissioners accepted land development plans for 2135 E. High St., Sanatoga, as presented by Tracy Heebner of Gilbertsville PA, a Pottsgrove High School graduate and the owner of Salon 22, 190 Moser Rd., Pottstown. She has operated the business since 2004, and is looking to move into the former offices of Dr. Charles Vickerman. Her plans previously were approved by the township Planning Commission and Zoning Hearing Board.

Heebner’s new location, at the corner of East High Street and Heritage Drive, will rely on a well for its water supply. Commissioners were concerned, however, that her business uses for water – hair washing, coloring and the like – did not adversely affect the property’s neighbors, most of which are homes that similarly draw from wells, according to Assistant Manager Alyson Elliott.

Public water is available nearby, on the south side of East High, but would be expensive to connect, Heebner’s contractor said.

The business-conscious board acknowledged it didn’t want to add to Heeber’s costs, but sought to protect water availability in the area. Their solution was to amend her plans to include a two-year monitoring period so that water usage could be checked if a need arose. If no water supply problems surface within the next 24 months, commissioners said, the restriction will expire.

Heebner thanked commissioners, and invited them to the salon when it opened. “We’ll be happy to do your hair then,” she said, for a fee. After all, she’ll have a mortgage to pay.

Related:

• Water An Issue In Sanatoga Beauty Salon Approval
• Planners OK, Recommend Salon On East High Street
• Sanatoga Beauty Salon Subject Of Zoning Hearing

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of Oct. 24):

• Commissioners Challenged By Sanatoga Pipe Plaintiff
• Water An Issue In Sanatoga Beauty Salon Approval
• Pruss Hill Bridge To Reopen, But As One-Lane Only

SANATOGA PA – A proposal to convert a former doctor’s office at the corner of East High Street and Heritage Drive in Sanatoga village into a beauty salon was recommended for approval Monday (Sept. 19, 2011) by the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Planning Commission to the township Zoning Hearing Board.

The staff at Salon 22

Gilbertsville resident Tracy Heebner, who has operated Salon 22 at 190 Moser Rd., Pottstown PA, since June 2004 is looking to expand her operation, and hopes to relocate into the home once used as offices by Dr. Charles Vickerman at 2135 E. High St., Sanatoga. Vickerman closed his practice there in Spring 2010, and the building has been unoccupied since.

Heebner, who is the salon’s owner and lead stylist, said she can use the building’s added space. She works with a staff of six stylists, a massage therapist, a skin therapist, and several support personnel. She intends to make only interior improvements to the building, and add parking at the rear of the property, she told planning commissioners.

Traffic flow into the property also will be changed slightly, she explained. A driveway on its east side, which previously was used as both an entrance and exit, in the future would serve as a one-way entrance only. Patrons would exit to Heritage Drive through an alley at the rear. Landscaping features will be added, and a storm water retention facility installed.

“I don’t have any problems with what I see,” board Chairman Frank Cebular said. His colleagues agreed, and decided unanimously to recommend Heebner’s plans for zoning board approval.

Heebner petitioned the zoning board for permission to forego the need of a Historic Building Impact Study, because there are no changes proposed for the building exterior; allow 14 new parking spaces in the rear yard; and operate the salon as a special exception use within the districts. The zoners’ hearing was scheduled for Tuesday (Sept. 20).

Related:

• Planners OK, Recommend Salon On East High Street
• Sanatoga Beauty Salon Subject Of Zoning Hearing

Photo from Salon 22

SANATOGA PA – You can’t make pizza without pushing around a little dirt.

Lower Pottsgrove’s Planning Commission agreed to authorize a grading permit Monday (Aug. 15, 2011) for earth-moving to begin on the 2209 E. High St., Sanatoga PA, site that someday will be the home to the new Bella Italia restaurant and pizzeria. It won final approval last month from the Board of Commissioners. The project is being built and operated by Cilluffo Property Holdings LLC of Blue Bell PA.

In their eagerness to prepare the property for use, its owners began trying to clear the site of tree stumps and other debris back in November 2009. That was halted at the time by township Codes Enforcement Officer Keith Place because all development requirements had not yet been met.

That’s no longer the case. Planners unanimously granted the permit within less than a minute.

Related:

• Grading Permit OK’d For Sanatoga Restaurant Parcel
• Italian Restaurant Construction Could Start Within Weeks
• One Down, One To Go For Township Italian Restaurant
• Watch Your Speedometer! Sanatoga Street Slows 5 Mph
• Commissioners OK Italian Restaurant’s Plans, Without Alley
• It Could Be Awhile Before Sanatoga Pizza Oven Fires Up
• 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 Aug. 15):

• Grading Permit OK’d For Sanatoga Restaurant Parcel
• Sportmans Storage Barn Wins Planners’ Approval
• Planners Get Sneak Peek At Buchert Ridge Revisions

Photo from Google Images

SANATOGA PA – A new pole barn of 2,000 square feet will replace several smaller storage buildings that total less than half that size under a proposal introduced Monday (Aug. 15, 2011) by the Lower Pottsgrove Sportsmans Association and approved by the township Planning Commission.

Logo of the Sportmans Association

The association, which encourages outdoor field activities such as hunting, fishing, archery and sport shooting, operates its fish and game club at 2121 Sanatoga Station Rd., Pottstown PA. Several buildings there currently provide about 713 square feet of storage space for its use. They will be removed to erect the larger building on what is roughly the same area of the 33.9-acre property, commissioners said.

The new building required a minor land development plan within the Limited Industrial District zoning where it would be located, which commissioners approved unanimously in a discussion with a group of club representatives that took about five minutes. They recommended the project be approved by the township Board of Commissioners, which is tentatively scheduled to act on it before Nov. 3 (2011).

The association this year has actively promoted a popular series of public archery shooting contests held on the second Sunday of every month from April through September. Its three-dimensional target course features simulated hunting conditions, and the contest includes a breakfast fund-raiser that benefits its youth committee. Its last shoot of this year is scheduled for Sept. 11.

The club also encourages hunter safety for youths age 11 and older, and regularly conducts state approved hunter-trapper education programs on its grounds. Its next series is scheduled for Sept. 10 and 12.

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

• Sportmans Storage Barn Wins Planners’ Approval
• Planners Get Sneak Peek At Buchert Ridge Revisions

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