Minutes of the Wilmington Township Planning Commission
Meeting of September 21, 2010
The meeting was convened at 8:05 p.m. at the Township Building. Members present: William Allen; Frank Antoniazzi, chair; John M. Byler; Frederick Neikirk, secretary; and Lynn Williams.
Members absent: None
Visitors: Kerry Schroyer, Anthony Uberti, and Bryce Veon.
1. Secretary's Report
a. The minutes of the meeting of August 17 were not yet ready to be presented.
b. The Secretary reported that the materials needed to complete the Allen and Wilson subdivisions had been received and that he had signed both drawings.
c. There were not formal applications arising under the Zoning or Subdivision Ordinances.
2. All 3 visitors were present to discuss informally a proposed subdivisions and land development. They are interested in purchasing a piece of a property that is located off Route 208 (west of the Borough) in an area that is zoned R-1. They would like to establish a doctor's office on the new parcel. On the advice of one of the Suprervisors they had spoken with the Secretary about their proposal. He had noted that doctor's offices are not permitted in areas zoned R-1. Thus, the men would either need to seek to have the property rezoned or they would need to ask to have the zoning ordinance amended to allow doctor's offices in areas zoned R-1. The three men shared a preliminary drawing of the site and the proposed building.
It was agreed by common consent that the Planning Commission supports, in principle, extending the commercial district that is located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Routes 18 and 208. The idea would be to extend the commercial zone to the east to encompass all properties up to and including that of New Life Baptist Church, as well as the proposed subdivided property (which is adjacent and to the east of the New Life Baptist Church property). The idea will be to include all land located between route 208 and a line extended east from the southern boundary of the current commercial zone to the point where it intersects the property proposed for subdivision.
The men had not intended to have their parcel extend back as far as that boundary line. It was suggested informally that the zoning change would be cleaner if they were able to do this. It was also noted that the men would likely want to wait until the zoning change was finalized (whether positively or negatively) before they seek approval for the subdivision and land development.
It was further agreed by common consent that we should consider adding churches to the list of conditional uses in commercial districts and that we should add a phrase to the definition of clinics to make clear that such uses do not include drug and alcohol treatment facilities. The Secretary will work with the Solicitor to draft proposed amendments reflecting the above discussions.
There being no further business that could be accomplished at this meeting, the meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m.
Frederick R. Neikirk Secretary