1-11-2017 Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes

NLT PLANNING COMMISSION REORGANIZATION AND REGULAR MEETING MINUTES FOR 1/11/2017

 

The New London Township Planning Reorganization Meeting opened at 7:00 PM.  Present were:  Ron Ragan, Chairman, Mary Anne Steel, Vice-Chair; Members, Martha Straus, Charlie Humkey, and Lynn Klingensmith.  The minutes were recorded by Maureen Zdun.

 Reorganization

Chairman

Charlie Humkey made a motion to approve the nomination of Ronald Ragan for the office of Chairman, and Lynn Klingensmith seconded the motion.  The nominations were closed and the vote was unanimous.

Vice Chairman

Charlie Humkey made a motion to approve the nomination of Mary Anne Steel for the office of Vice Chairman, and Lynn Klingensmith seconded the motion.  The nominations were closed and the vote was unanimous.

 Meeting Dates/Times

The 2017 meetings will be held on the 2nd Wednesday and last Thursday (workshop) of each month at 7:00 PM.  There will be no workshop meetings in November or December.

Regular Meeting

The Regular Meeting commenced at 7:05 PM.

Public Comment

None.

Minutes

Lynn Klingensmith made a motion, seconded by Mary Anne Steel to approve the December 14, 2016 Minutes.  The vote was unanimous.

 Kieras Farm Subdivision

The Planning Commission reviewed the Kieras Limited Partnership Final Plan with Gerry Porter, who attended the meeting on behalf of the Kieras Family.  Ron Ragan advised that the Chester County Planning Commission reviewed the plan and offered the usual waivers.  There was some discussion regarding correcting the non conforming lot issues and Mr. Ragan suggested tabling this issue until next month’s  meeting which will give Gerry Porter time to speak with the Kieras family regarding the Planning Commission’s suggestions.

Kieras Farm – Zoning Amendments – David Sweet

Martha Straus presented a drawing of the Kieras Farm Plan showing the isolated primary conservation districts from the secondary conservation districts.  There was some discussion regarding the Plan.  It was agreed that the next steps would be cleaning up all lines, take out buildable sections, and do work with in the parimeters of the existing Ordinances.

Old / New Business

New London Township Park

Martha Straus advised the Planning Commission that part of the land of the proposed New London Township Park where the pond is to be located may be a bog turtle habitat.  Ms. Straus advised that the Township can either elect to have a full study done to determine if there are bog turtles, which can take months, or to not have a bog turtle study done but to move away from the area where the bog turtles are possibly located.

Martha Straus presented the Planning Commission with three options regarding the location of the pond.  The first option, assuming the bog turtle study was done and shows no bog turtles present, is to leave the pond where it is, refine the pathways, and shift the gazebo a bit.

The second option was to leave the pond in the same spot and to move the major pathway so it is on the berm of the pond and no longer crossing the pond.  This would leave one major fitness station accessible by asphalt.

The third option, which includes major changes to the Park Plan, is assuming bog turtles are present is to slide the pond farther up, pulling it 150 feet from the edge of the wetlands, eliminate the crossing, and move the gazebo.

There was some discussion regarding the three options.  It was agreed since the grants the Township has received for the park have time frames on them that Ron Ragan will contact the DCNR regarding the possible bog turtle issue.

Planning Commission Work Meeting

Martha Straus, Charlie Humkey, and Lynn Klingensmith all advised that they will not be able to attend the Work Meeting scheduled on January 26, 2017.

Adjournment

On a motion made by Charlie Humkey and seconded by Lynn Klingensmith the meeting was adjourned at 8:10 PM.   The vote was unanimous.