December 2023 Board of Supervisor Meeting - Presentation Confirmed

 

We have been informed the Developer of Strawberry Acres will be on the agenda for the December 4, 2023 Board of Supervisors Meeting. The meeting will start at 7PM.  Please plan on attending.  We believe they will be working with the plans that Planning Commissioners would not approve. (Information accurate as of 11/12/2023.)

UPDATE!! Strawberry Acres update as of October 24, 2023

The Developer has withdrawn the plans from consideration by the Board of Supervisors at the meeting on November 6, 2023. 

They still have a few months where they can submit the plans for review without having to re-start the whole process. We do not know what the Developer's current plans are and will keep you informed once we have more information.

Strawberry Acres Update October 19, 2023

 The AARC plan went in front of the Planning Commission on Tuesday, September 26, 2023.

 There were some improvements on the plans but there were still numerous issues with them.  Landscaping had been provided, lighting, placement of underground propane tanks were added, to name a few.  However, there  were still numerous faults in the plans and problems.  Adjoining property owners were still incorrect, drainage pipes ended abruptly, and the seven detention ponds were still on the plans, with some still missing fencing and with the vertical walls that were rejected last time.  

Despite continually stating they will comply, they do not.  As such, the Planning Commission unanimously voted no.

As such, the developer will now go in front of the Board of Supervisors.  The meeting will be held November 6, 2023 at 7pm. There is the potential for BOS to reject the plan.   Please plan on attending and spread the word.  A strong show of support for a no vote may help.

Strawberry Acres update September 2023

The Developer has managed to get a new set of plans to the Township.  They are on the agenda for the Planning Commission meeting this month,  which is Sept. 26th at 7 pm.  Please attend.

April 2023 Planning Commission Meeting

As of 4/8/23, Strawberry Acres is on the agenda for the Planning Commission Meeting which will be on April 25th at 7pm.  Please try to attend.  They are again requesting a waiver on the stub road and hope to get a waiver on the detention pond slopes.

Strawberry Acres AARC, March 7 Planning Commission meeting results

 

The Strawberry Acres AARC came before the Planning Commission on Monday March 7 with two agenda items. The first was to consider two zoning waivers, the second to consider the overall preliminary plan. The bulk of the discussion centered on the waivers and resulted in tabling one, and rejecting the second. The discussion on the preliminary plan was tabled.

The first waiver concerned allowing the Developer to use steeper slopes, or vertical walls, for the retaining ponds internal walls. After extensive discussion the Planning Commission tabled this waiver for the Developer to provide additional information. It appeared that the Commissioners tended to agree with our position, but were looking for some specific clarifications. It is possible that they will be allowed to return to the March 28 meeting to provide these answers. If they are allowed to return to the March 28th meeting it will be unusual since it is the Township's rule that items to be considered must be submitted by a specific due date about 1 month prior to the presentation (so by February 27).  The Township is reviewing the legal background for this and will make a determination and post the agenda for the March 28 Planning Commission meeting later soon. At that time we should be able to look at the submitted additional information on the Township website.

The second waiver was a request to be exempt from the SALDO to connect the proposed internal road system to the existing stub road off of Donna Road. The lawyer tried unsuccessfully to claim that the existing stub road was not a road, but a common driveway.  He pointed to a tree and other landscaping that seems to be encroaching on the standard road right-of-way that the Township requires. This was in addition to the arguments that was presented in the actual waiver request.  This argument was met with surprise from the audience and commissioners both, and then was soundly rebutted by Township manager and others. We again had the opportunity to express our comments on this new argument as well as prepared comments against the previously submitted reasons for not connecting the roads.

 In the end the Planning Commission voted to recommend disapproval of the waiver request to the Board of Supervisors.

We will watch for the posting of the March 28 Planning Commission meeting and communicate the news when we get it.

Upcoming Planning Commission Mtg on March 7, 2023

Please note there will be a special Planning Commission Meeting on March 7, 2023 at 7pm concerning Strawberry Acres.

 The Developer has come back to the Planning Commission and stated that they would not present an updated plan until the Township acted on the waiver request, and asked to be put on the February agenda.   The Township looking at the already extensive agenda for the February meeting determined that it would not have time to review either the Waiver Request or overall plan review scheduled a meeting for March 7 to handle the Strawberry Acres items and to balance the work load between the normal February meeting and the special meeting.

We feel strongly that the waivers should not be approved and a group of us will be present at the meeting to discuss our concerns. Please join us to show your support.

2nd January 2023 update

The Strawberry Acres AARC  discussion has been taken off of the January Planning Commission meeting agenda, and will most likely not be on the February 2023 agenda. The Township has reviewed the provided plans and changes are needed. They feel, after reviewing the code, that the Township can ask the Developer to make the changes without it happening at the meeting, and feel that this is a better course of action. We'll keep you updated as more is known.

January 2023 Update

Note - Strawberry Acres developer got their plans in on time and will be on the agenda for this upcoming Planning Commission Meeting on January 24th.  Please note the meeting will start at 7pm, not 7:30pm. We will update you when we've had a chance to review the documents.