Mar 23, 2015 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – Greene County will soon have another option for restaurant dining as plans were approved Monday by the Franklin Township supervisors for an Applebee’s restaurant.

The supervisors approved site plans for the restaurant which will be constructed in front of the Greene Plaza on Route 21, next to the Taco Bell restaurant.

The plans were reviewed March 16 by the township planning commission, which recommended the supervisors’ approval with a number of conditions.

Steve Coss, township code enforcement officer, told the supervisors most of the conditions cited by the commission are being addressed between Applebee’s engineer and the township’s engineer.

One of the issues involves parking. Entrance to the restaurant from Route 21 will be by Miller Lane and the traffic lane through Greene Plaza. The restaurant will have 25 to 30 parking spaces on-site, Coss said.

Any additional parking that may be needed, to meet requirements of the township zoning ordinance, will be provided by spaces available at the Greene Plaza, he said.

Steve Krekus, director of construction for Applebee’s, told the supervisors construction of the 5,400-square-foot restaurant will begin as soon as all required permits are received.

The restaurant will be a full-sized Applebee’s and have a liquor license, he said.

The company is hoping to start work mid-May or June. Once construction begins, the store should take about 105 days to complete, Krekus said.

The supervisors also accepted the site development application for Valley Farms Estates. The company proposes to construct two town houses, each with four units, on Rush Lane.

The supervisors also agreed to a proposal by Greene County Soccer Association to address a problem with geese on the soccer fields at the Route 188 park.

Feces from the geese have created problems for players using the fields.

The association will hire a firm to control the geese using “nonviolent” means, supervisor Corbly Orndorff said. The firm will disrupt nearby nests and use decoys, balloons and other methods to scare geese away from the field.

The township maintains the fields, and approval was needed for the association to receive a permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection to conduct the activities.