West Cornwall planning commission begins review of Gretna art school plans

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The West Cornwall Township Planning Commission reviewed a newly submitted plan for a 7,168-square-foot art community building off state Route 117 at a meeting Sept. 23.

As the developer is still working through engineer’s comments, the commission was not asked to make a recommendation.

Mount Gretna School of Art executive director Jay Noble explained that the building will be the site of the school’s seven-week summer residency for college and graduate students, as well as other events throughout the year. Greg Schwartz of Steckbeck Engineering said the building will include classroom space, space for gatherings and workshops, a display area, an art library/resource center, and a small museum.

The developer submitted plans for the 3.3-acre site off a 15-acre residential forest parent lot on Sept 2. They hope to have revisions ready for the commission in October, though West Cornwall zoning officer Jeff Steckbeck said it may be until November that the county engineer has time to review changes.

Noble said the program has relied on Mount Gretna community buildings since its founding in 2013, but the need has recently arisen for a dedicated space. The school already owns four cottages where students stay during the program.

The plan includes a 20-foot driveway off Route 117, narrowing to 14 feet before widening again to 20 feet at the parking lot (revised from an earlier proposal). The parking lot includes 10 spaces, with Noble expecting 10 trips per day (mostly faculty) as most students walk to campus. Schwartz said a traffic study for the plan is being conducted now.

Resident Will Weismantel, who lives nearby, said he is not opposed to the plan but has concerns including whether the site is well-prepared for pedestrian access. Commission member Amy Weaver echoed this concern.

“I think that’s a valid point, I parked by the playground, walked between the garages, came across the street, and then walked to the property,” said Weaver, who was appointed to the board after it last heard from the art school last year. “I don’t know what it’s gonna look like when it’s done, but the road coming out from the fire hall and where the property’s gonna come out is not directly across from each other.”

Weaver then suggested a footpath for pedestrians, which Schwartz said they would consider.

Weismantel asked about the number of trees that will be removed during the project, saying he was worried about the possibility more trees would be removed than are shown on the plan. The limits of soil for the disturbance will be 1.3 acres, but the area of tree removal will be less, Schwartz said.

Weismantel also asked whether exhibited art will be sold, questioning if that would be allowed in residential forest. Noble said that students are prohibited from selling art except in an end-of-program event at the Hall of Philosophy.

In response to a question from Weismantel, Noble confirmed that there will be no vehicular access from the nearby Lebanon Valley Rail Trail. Weismantel also asked about lighting for the driveway and parking lot.

Plans have also been submitted to the Lebanon County Planning Department and Lebanon County Conservation District for NPDES approval. The driveway crossing general crossing was approved by the US Army Corps of Engineers in August, the planning module exemption was approved by West Cornwall supervisors in September, and the PennDOT scoping application was approved for the driveway permit. Schwartz said he expects that highway occupancy permit documents will be approved shortly.

Schwartz said he was confident the developer would be able to address all engineer comments on the plan.

Commission member Clay Collins said there were still many questions remaining on the plan, and Schwartz said they were not asking for approval and just wanted to introduce the plan to the commission.

The meeting was led by commission member Mark Stone as Kim Juliani was not in attendance. Commission member Rick Heisey was also not present. The commission meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 73 South Zinns Mill Road as needed.

Editor’s note: This article was updated after publication to clarify that the area of tree removal will be less than 1.3 acres.