Cornwall Properties’ Knoll plan approaches September deadline

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Though no action was taken at the Cornwall Borough Planning and Zoning Commission’s Aug. 3 meeting, the 52-unit Knoll plan approaches a September deadline.

The Cornwall Properties plan was issued comments by borough alternate engineer Josh Weaber on July 28, including concerns about clear sight triangles at intersections. Developer engineer Chad Smith, with Steckbeck Engineering, asked Weaber a series of follow-up questions about his comments to work on a revision to the plan.

Unless a time extension is granted by the developer, the P&Z will need to recommend approval or denial at its Sept. 8 meeting, and council will need to take action on Sept. 14. The use is allowed in village residential, meaning the borough is legally obligated to approve it if it meets borough requirements. Potential approval of the plan would be conditional on the developer obtaining an NPDES permit.

The developer is also requesting that part of the Boyd Street right-of-way be vacated, which the borough may choose to grant or deny. If the request is denied, homes along this part of the development will be partially set back.

Granite Street improvements

The developer presented three ideas for Granite Street improvements, with Cornwall Properties representative Mike Swank saying the third design is based on feedback from residents of the street.

Residents there have voiced opposition to the plan as they believe they will lose parking along Granite Street. Without sidewalks or curbing on the north side, residents also feel they are at risk of damage to their homes by reckless drivers.

The original plan included 19 parking spaces (mostly parallel parking with some across the street), and the first two alternative options provided by the developer include 28 spaces and 26 spaces, with parallel and angled parking, respectively. The newest design includes 26 spaces, angled parking, and keeps Granite Street two-way. All designs include curbing and sidewalk on the south side, but not the north.

Any parking created by the development will be public, which has raised concerns among Granite Street residents whether residents of the new development will use their parking for guests and extra vehicles. The Knoll plan as submitted includes two off-street parking spaces per unit, with some additional parking along rear access drives.

Any of these options for Granite Street will need the borough’s requirement for road-widening to be waived by council.

Cornwall Properties CEO and president John Byler said the developer is “going way beyond what is required” and has the option to submit a plan that meets borough requirements with a widened road and less parking.

The P&Z also reviewed a conceptual plan from resident Andre Dyer, which would have land in the right-of-way donated to Granite Street residents for pull-in parking. While the P&Z said it was open to this idea, it found that the borough’s water line is in the northern part of the right-of-way, which eliminates the possibility.

The board expressed a preference for the option with Granite as a one-way street with angled parking, though they asked that the road be widened from 15 to 18 feet to allow for fire trucks. They also requested stop blocks at the end of parking spaces to reduce the risk of damage to homes.

Requested waivers

The commission discussed six requested waivers for the plan. Five concern relatively routine items, like pipe width and basin fencing, which the commission expressed no problem with.

The developer also requested a waiver on road widening on Silver, Granite, and Boyd streets.

Silver Street, which once lay behind homes on Granite Street, has long been abandoned and is now used by residents for sheds and other structures. The waiver for Granite Street is requested to allow for additional parking.

Swank said that the developer does not want to widen Boyd Street, as they feel a widened road would encourage speeding.

Commission chair Ray Fratini questioned how this would affect traffic from the recently-approved Boyd Street Warehouse. He and other commission members said they wanted to see the road widened and improved to borough code.

Traffic and potential bypass

The borough continues to pursue a bypass to get traffic from the warehouse and, potentially, the Knoll development out of Miners Village. If obtained, Cornwall Properties will likely pursue further development in the Knoll project; an earlier version of the plan (expecting a bypass) contained 100 lots to be built over multiple phases.

Monday, commission member and councilman Bruce Conrad said negotiations with the Elizabethtown Area Water Authority to obtain land for the bypass are progressing, with plans to form an ad hoc committee with two members from the EAWA and two from Cornwall. He said the EAWA is “willing to go as fast as possible” and that the ad hoc committee should expedite the process.

It is still unclear what conditions would be attached to a land transfer, Conrad said, with the EAWA primarily being interested in the safety of the lake.

Residents have voiced concern about the traffic that would be generated from this development onto borough streets with existing speed and congestion problems, exacerbated by warehouse approval last month. Though the borough cannot require off-site road improvements, Cornwall Properties has said it would assist with a bypass.

Neighbors voice opposition

In addition to worries about traffic and parking, resident Jane Clark said she is worried about the effect of historic mining on soil quality and stormwater management.

Solicitor Josele Cleary said such testing can only be required if borough ordinances state as such. Councilman and commission member John Karinch said that, though the borough could take steps to adopt an ordinance requiring this type of testing, it would not apply to already-submitted plans.

Borough engineer Jeff Steckbeck said multiple rounds of testing have been done on the site, including when it was owned by Haines & Kibblehouse, and that he would make those records available.

Residents have also voiced concern that the development will harm neighboring properties, drawing parallels to the Cliffs at Iron Valley development.

At Monday’s meeting, a neighbor of the Cliffs property complained that her property flooded three times during its development, which she attributed to the felling of trees on parts of the tract. She said she has active litigation against Cornwall Properties, alleging $75,000 in damages.

In other news, the commission:

• Heard from Karinch that he will recuse himself from votes on development connected to Steckbeck Engineering after review of his situation by the State Ethics Commission. Though his son’s employment by SESI does not constitute a conflict, Karinch said, SESI is an employee-owned company, so his son has a financial interest.
• Unanimously agreed to authorize the zoning officer to issue a permit to Andre Dyer for a garage in the historic overlay district, after review of aesthetic changes to the plan to match historic overlay requirements.

Cornwall P&Z meets the first Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Meetings are open to the public and do not require prior registration.