When: Paradise Township Board of Supervisors meeting, March 17. Supervisor Adam Bills was absent.
What happened: Supervisors heard details on several land development plans — two apartment buildings totaling 13 units — and an Amish-Mennonite wellness center.
Route 30 apartments: Amanda Groff of Harbor Engineering briefed supervisors on the preliminary and final land development plan for 3413 Lincoln Highway East, on behalf of Ben King 5K Property Management. Located in the village mixed-use zone, and in a growth area, the property currently consists of a single-family dwelling and some other improvements, which are to be removed and replaced with a five-unit apartment building and 10 parking spaces.
More: Approvals are still needed from the Lancaster County Conservation District for erosion and sediment control, and from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for the minimum use driveway.
Concerns: There was some concern from officials over a decision to not use a dumpster because of driveway size but instead use individual trash receptacles at curbside. With five units, roughly 50 feet of the 79 feet of frontage along Route 30 will be taken up with trash and recycling one day a week, said Michael Hartmann, zoning board chair. Groff said she would investigate that matter further.
More apartments: Groff then returned to seek conditional approval for an additional apartment complex, this one proposed for 57 Paradise Lane by JK Real Estate. Supervisors voted in favor of conditional approval; the proposal has also received erosion and sedimentation control approval from the Conservation District. Still pending are approvals for the driveway from the state Department of Transportation and Department of Environmental Protection for the sewage plan module.
Details: The property is 2.5 acres in the residential zoning district and within the village growth boundary. A single-family dwelling and garage will remain on the property, but an existing four-unit apartment building will be torn down, to be replaced by two four-unit buildings.
Cornerstone Retreat: Robert Visniski of RAV Associates briefed supervisors on the final land development plan for Cornerstone Retreat, relocating from Gap to 41 Black Horse Road, Paradise.
Background: The facility offers members of the Amish community a place to stay with a family member who is undergoing physical therapy. The new construction will be a one-story building with room for 12 patients and a caretaker. A Cornerstone Retreat representative, Joseph Beiler, said the Amish-Mennonite wellness facility would be open to those under the 1963 Confession of Faith.
Question: Zoning Officer Walter Hockensmith asked, “So if I’m not Amish and I need therapy I can’t go there?” When he received an affirmative answer, Hockensmith replied, “We shouldn’t have anything that’s not available to everybody, in my opinion.” However, supervisors did not take up Hockensmith’s objection for further discussion.
Waivers: Cornerstone is seeking waivers from a traffic study, due to the low amount of daily traffic going into the facility, Visniski said. Further, they would also like a waiver from sidewalk installation. Chair Dylan Coleman thought a waiver would be unlikely because township planners think too many sidewalk waivers have been granted.
Concerns and suggestions: Visniski proposed an asphalt path, set in further from the road than a traditional sidewalk — a potential solution that is more cost effective and less of a complication for stormwater management. Board member Kolby Bills expressed a concern the topography of the area would end the path on the crest of a hill, which might force pedestrians onto the road at a dangerous spot. Visniski proposed ending the path prior to the hill, which supervisors expressed general agreement with.
Park grant expenditure: Supervisors approved an $83,000 proposal from Capital Coating for sandblasting and painting of two park pavilions. The money will come from a $300,000 capital share account grant from the state.
What’s next: Supervisors will meet again at 7 p.m. April 21.
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