Feb 25, 2013 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – Franklin Township supervisors granted conditional approval Monday to plans for a 32-lot residential development off Powell Lane and for a two-building, 10-unit townhouse development in Huntington Woods.

Both projects had been reviewed by the township planning commission last Tuesday and were recommended for approval, each with conditions that must be met before the final OK is granted.

Kirby Development LLC plans to construct the Castle Oaks residential development on 17 acres in an area between Park Avenue and the Waynesburg Central High School football field.

Access to the property will be from East Oakview Drive and Powell Lane. The development will have space for 44 single-family homes.

Of the 32 lots, 12 will contain two single-family homes each and be part of a homeowners’ association, under which the home will be owned by the occupant and the property will be owned and maintained by the association. The remaining 20 lots will be sold individually.

The plans were approved with 21 conditions. Among the conditions are receipt of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit from the county conservation district and approval of a developer’s agreement with the township on construction of the access road. The developer will build the road and proposes having the township take ownership of it.

Many of the conditions will require only minor modifications to the submitted plans, said Steve Coss, township code enforcement officer.

The supervisors asked Coss to talk to the developer about possibly using a right of way the company owns from the site to Rolling Meadows Road for vehicles traveling to the site during construction. This will lessen traffic on Park Avenue.

The supervisors also granted conditional approval to plans by the Camco Construction Co. to build two townhouses off Center Avenue in Huntington Woods. Final approval will be granted with the completion of 30 conditions.

One of the conditions is approval by the state Department of Environmental Protection of the development’s sewage planning module. The supervisors voted to accept the module, which will then be forwards to DEP for its review.

The supervisors tabled action on plans by Nikita Lodging LLC, owner of the Holiday Motel, to construct a new 36-unit efficiency motel on property next to the existing motel.

The planning commission recommended the plans not be approved as presented because of concerns regarding the parking space size and the width of the parking aisle.

Coss said the engineer on the project has indicated the plans will be revised.

The project is to be reviewed today by the Franklin Township Zoning Hearing Board. The company had applied to the hearing board for variances for the size of its proposed parking spaces as well as setback requirements.

The plan revisions may address the parking space size, Coss said, but the company is still expected to need a variance for setbacks.

The property is in a commercial zone under which a motel is a permitted use. Setback requirements for a motel require the building be at least 100 feet from a roadway and 50 feet from the property line. The proposed plan meets neither of those requirements.

Coss also reported a building permit has been issued for the development of a Tractor Supply Store at the Waynesburg Plaza.

The developer will renovate half of the space formerly occupied by the Shop ‘n Save.

The company sells farming supplies, tools, lawn and garden equipment, clothing and other items. It will lease the space from plaza owner, Manny Khoshbin Co. of Irvin, Calif. Shop ‘n Save closed in late 2009.