North Strabane continues public hearing on development
North Strabane Township recommended changes to the stormwater management plan for a proposed development off Thomas Road, between Ross and Springdale roads, after residents raised concerns about the area already being prone to flooding.
During Tuesday’s public hearing on a conditional-use application for the Walnut Grove development, residents said the developer’s proposed detention pond would be too near a clearwater stream, in an area that already sees flooding.
Mike Wetzel, a representative for Waterdam LP, presented the plan for 31 single-family lots in an R-2 district east of Thomas and Ross roads. Included in the application was a plan to have stormwater run into a detention pond on the other side of Thomas Road, which is zoned A-1.
One Ross Road resident, James Reid, said within the past few months, Thomas Road flooded multiple times.
“It gets so bad, and I’m just concerned about the flooding down there,” he said. “My driveway floods all the time.”
Another resident, Mark Aquilino, is building a home at 494 Ross Road, just downstream of where the basin would sit. He said the flooding in that area already has washed out his septic system twice. He also expressed concerns if the detention pond were eventually to be given to the homeowners association for maintenance, the association would most likely not have the funds to make repairs.
“My No. 1 concern is the clearwater stream that’s there,” Aquilino said. “There are wetlands and a clearwater stream there – you can’t mess with either one of them.”
Township supervisors took the residents’ concerns into consideration, and the public hearing was continued so the developer would have time to respond.
“With the flooding issues we’ve had, and they seem to be compounding lately, I’m just not sure about putting the stormwater on that side of the road,” Supervisor Robert Balogh said. “This is not going to be a situation that we glaze over.”
The township engineer, Joe Sites, recommended the developer come up with an alternative location for the detention pond within the R-2 district.
“You need to listen to what people have to say,” Sites said. “They are adding value to the project because they live there every day and see the flooding.”