West Chester University presents campus master plan; commissioners press for housing, parking and pedestrian-safety details

West Chester University proposed a 10-year “canvas” master plan and has filed a conditional-use application under the West Chester Borough ordinance, chapter 112, section 314, to approve the master plan as the framework for future campus projects, university representative Brian Nagel said.

The plan is intended as a high-level conditional-use approval that would allow the university to file individual land‑development applications for each project once the master plan is accepted. The university and its consultants described near‑term priorities including student housing, deferred maintenance of historic buildings, expanded dining and improvements to campus circulation; commissioners and borough staff pressed for more detail on housing numbers, parking and pedestrian safety.

The master-plan framework and next steps

Brian Nagel, representing West Chester University, told the commission the campus filing is “a conditional use application for master plan approval under the Westchester Borough ordinance, chapter 112 section 314, under the plan university campus district regulations.” He and planner Conrad (surname given as Conrad in the record) and other consultants said the ordinance creates a 10‑year planning horizon and that the conditional-use approval would not substitute for future, project‑level land‑development reviews.

“Once the master plan conditional use is approved, then each of those projects comes back to the borough as a land‑development process,” Nagel said. Consultants said neighbor meetings are planned in September and they expect conditional‑use hearings before both the borough and township later in the year, with November cited as a likely start for hearings (timing described as subject to change).

Key projects and numbers described by the consultants

- South Campus apartments: The team proposed phased gut renovations and an added floor across 11 South Campus buildings to add about 220 beds, increasing that cluster from roughly 499 to about 719 beds over a six‑year period. - Temporary housing (M‑1 lot): A temporary housing installation of about 128 beds on the M‑1 lot (noted as in West Goshen Township) to provide swing space while renovations occur; consultants said these are expected to remain in place…