Mar 21, 2024 By Katherine Mansfield 3 min read

Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter

Peters and North Strabane Township residents whose properties are close to Peters Lake voiced concerns about the potential environmental impact a proposed housing development along North Spring Valley Road would have on the lake and wildlife.

North Strabane Township supervisors held a conditional use hearing Tuesday evening for a proposed 35.5-acre housing development near Peters Lake.

The developer of The Collective at Peters Lake, Laurel Communities, LLC, is seeking approval for a conservation subdivision that allows homes to reside on quarter-acre lots, with dedicated greenspace to make up for the half-acre minimum. According to North Strabane zoning laws, R-2 residential properties must sit on, at minimum, half-acre lots.

Nearly two dozen residents from both North Strabane and Peters townships attended the meeting to voice concerns about the development’s potential impact to Peters Lake and the neighboring communities. Steven Victor, of Victor Wetzel Associates, presented plans on behalf of Laurel Communities for the proposed 41-unit development that would sit on both sides of North Spring Valley Road.

“I really was contacted by no one. No letter, no contact,” Linda Lopez, who has lived along North Spring Valley Road Extension, overlooking Peters Lake, for 30 years, told the Observer-Reporter over the phone because she was unable to attend the meeting in person. “We still have so much great wildlife. That, to me, is what I’m heartsick about. It’s definitely going to affect the lake. We’ll have a dead lake.”

Another concern for residents: the development’s impact on traffic along North Spring Valley Road, which has one entrance and exit, and already heavily traveled Waterdam Road.

“It’s going to be a circus,” said Lopez. “They’re going to raze it and put in patio homes and townhomes. If you’re doing 40 homes, that’s easily two cars per family. There’s 80 cars added to our road, with one way out. There’s no way to put a light in there … let alone the infrastructure to support Amazon coming, the mail. We have water trucks come in for us. I think it’s just a recipe for disaster.”

Victor said the design presented Tuesday was conceptual, not final, and that Laurel Communities is aware of the development’s potential impact on traffic. The township has not yet conducted a traffic impact survey, said township manager Andrew Walz.

“I think if the board approves this, that would be one of the conditions,” Walz said.

John Lubic, whose property along North Spring Valley Road runs up to Peters Lake, said township supervisors addressed resident questions surrounding the Collective at Peters Lake’s potential impact on the lake and traffic.

“I think the township listens. I think they’re trying to make a good, educated decision,” Lubic said. “I don’t think that anybody’s all that frustrated. With progress comes these types of dilemmas, for lack of a better way of putting it. What we want is responsible progress.”

A spokesperson for Laurel Communities did not return a request for comment by presstime Wednesday.

Township supervisors are expected to address the Collective at Peters Lake next month. The voting meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. April 30 at the municipal building.