Supervisors agree to back appeal to zoning board if certain conditions are met
By Kelli Siehl, Staff Writer, UnionvilleTimes.com
Expanded paving and the removal of a hedgerow created some concernes about stormwater runoff behind the Lenape Village Shoppes in Pocopson.
POCOPSON — Brandywine Vista, LLC representative, Armand Coppotelli told members of the township Board of Supervisors at Monday’s meeting that he met with the Chester County Zoning Hearing Board regarding receipt of a township zoning violation for paving too large of a space to be used as a loading area at the Lenape Village Shoppes.
Coppotelli said he asked the Zoning Hearing Board for an expansion due to the hardship of the original angle of the loading area and it was “granted with some conditions.” He recalled the tractor trailer traffic that used to block Denton Hollow Road while unloading supplies for the pizza and other shops. He appealed to supervisors, “What do you need, what are your concerns and how do we address it?”
“I’m trying to beautify and stabilize that center,” he told supervisors, “I think my tenants would attest to it being a better place to do business.”
Supervisors’ Chair Steve Conary said he understood Coppotelli’s intentions of trying to make the area more usable, but the issue at hand is “you didn’t come to the township to get the approval and you paved an area you were not supposed to pave and took out the hedgerow without permission.”
Township Zoning Officer Richard Jensen explained that the new blacktop surface is not able to absorb water, allowing increased storm water runoff onto Denton Hollow Road and into the Riverside development.
Bill Sellers, a longtime resident and former supervisor, who lives along Denton Hollow Road, urged supervisors to work with Coppotelli to come up with a plan to improve storm water runoff as well as replace the lost hedgerow “instead of tearing up asphalt.” Sellers said, “Armand has done a lot of work” to improve the center and decrease truck traffic on Denton Hollow Road.
After listening to testimony from all sides, the supervisors passed a motion to recommend approval of Brandywine Vista, LLC’s request for an expansion on the condition that 1) an appropriate landscape barrier is installed between Denton Hollow Road and the back of the shops and 2) as much of the storm water as is reasonably possible, particularly coming off of the building into the parking lot, is diverted into the grassy area to the side of the building. Jensen will be overseeing the project for the township.
Conary reminded the audience that the township can only make a recommendation; the final decision rests with the Zoning Hearing Board.
