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Peters Township Council approves site plan for senior complex

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The site plan of a new complex for senior citizens has received approval from Peters Township Council, conditioned on obtaining a variance with regard to parking spaces.

Plans call for The Waters Senior Living Holdings LLC of Minneapolis to develop a 124-unit building on 3.72 acres at Valley Brook Road and Friar Lane, with an 86-space underground parking garage for residents’ vehicles.

Conceptual drawing of the building’s main entrance, with 45 regulation-size parking spaces nearby

As designed, the spaces are 9 by 18 feet, while a long-standing township regulation calls for a 10-by-20-foot minimum. Implementing a smaller size requires a variance to be granted by the township zooming hearing board.

Council’s June 25 vote on the site plan was 4-2-1, with Frank Arcuri and Robert Lewis opposing. Frank Kosir Jr. has abstained in manners involving The Waters because his law firm, Meyer, Unkovic & Scott, has represented the corporation.

Paul Maenner, senior developer for the corporation, told council that the 9-by-18-foot configuration “is consistent with the way we have striped the stalls in all of our other communities. We’ve never run into a situation like this before.”

The design calls for support columns to be located between many of the stalls.

“They’re spaced in such a way that you can’t fit three 10-foot spaces between those pillars,” township manager Paul Lauer explained.

Hamlet of Springdale Phase 7

Hamlet Phase 7 preliminary plan receives OK

Development of the seventh phase of Hamlet of Springfield is proceeding.

Peters Township Council on June 25 approved the preliminary plan for the new phase, which calls for 21 single-family homes on 15.05 acres with a price range of $450,000 to $650,000, representing a lower figure than in previously constructed sections.

Along with the preliminary plan, council also approved a request by developer Benjamin Marcus Homes LLC for a departure from regulations pertaining to the street, to be named Barons Court, that will access Phase 7. Its length, approximately 1,400 feet, exceeds the township’s prescribed length for a cul-de-sac.

The design, though, is for an “oversized circle” at the terminus to allow for access by fire trucks, garbage trucks, school buses and other service vehicles. A second access road, from Barons Court south to Sienna Trail, was deemed impractical because of the topography.

A difference of approximately 74 feet exists between the proposed street and the existing one, resulting in a 35 percent slope downward to Sienna. The township limits a street’s slope to 12 percent.

Council must approve a final plan before construction begins.

Increasing the size of the spaces would result in losing about 30 of them, Maenner said, and efforts to alter the design for angled spaces have shown it to be impractical for safe traffic flow.

The applicable property is within the Town Center Zoning district, which stipulates a maximum of four stories for buildings. A conceptual drawing shown to council appears to show five stories along Valley Brook Road, with the lowest level representing the exposed southern side of the underground garage.

“Because more than 50 percent of it is underground, that is not identified as a story,” Grant Shiring, project manager for Frankin Park engineering consultant PVE Sheffler LLC, explained. “Rather than just leaving it garage space, we figured we’d try to add something that would create interest along the street.”

The area is to include amenities for residents such as a restaurant, lounge, salon and wellness area.

Despite the building complying with zoning regulations, its appearance doesn’t sit well with some council members.

“There was a lot of objection relative to the idea of it going four stories,” Lewis said. “This council approved it going to four stories. And I look at this, and I think the public would laugh at us for calling this a four-story building from Valley Brook Road.”

Although she voted in favor of the site plan because if its compliance, Monica Merrell registered similar concerns and said she particularly objects to The Waters seeking a variance to the minimum size of parking spaces.

Dave Ball also cast a positive vote, with reservations.

“I understand why you’re doing it and I understand what it achieves,” he said. “But it is a fifth floor.

In a separate action with regard to the project, council voted to approve a subdivision that dedicates 3,309 square feet of The Waters property to Peters Township for a turning lane from Valley Brook Road onto Friar Lane, as a traffic study determined is necessary.

“Council agreed to forgo that turning lane in exchange for an enhanced traffic impact fee, as well as a dedication of a portion of right of way that would allow for that to be constructed at a future date,” Lauer explained. “This subdivision allows for that to occur.”

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