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Commission reviews West Chester University master plan; asks for campus‑edge details and plans for pedestrian connections
Summary
Planning commissioners discussed West Chester University’s 15‑year master plan, welcomed a campus plan submission, and requested more detail for areas where campus edges meet the borough — particularly circulation near Rosedale and High Street and effects if Church Street becomes a pedestrian zone or is closed.
The West Chester Borough Planning Commission reviewed a 15‑year master plan submitted by West Chester University and urged the university to provide more detail where campus change intersects borough streets and residents.
Commissioners praised the university for submitting a multi‑year framework that projects improvements across 0–5, 5–10 and 10–15 year horizons, but several members said the plan lacks specific designs for areas where campus circulation touches the borough. Commissioners named the Rosedale/High intersection, the Sykes and Rosedale corridors, and proposed changes to Church Street and nearby parking garages as locations that merit focused attention because of their direct impact on borough residents.
The commission noted several themes: the plan appears to stabilize enrollment projections (a contrast with earlier rapid growth that strained borough infrastructure), proposals for new on‑campus housing and greenspace, and the potential loss of roughly 200 parking spaces if Church Street were closed or repurposed. Commissioners asked for an executive summary from university representatives and requested a presentation by university officials at a future meeting so commissioners and residents can ask detailed questions about circulation, parking assumptions and where the campus plan would create new pedestrian flows into the borough.
No formal action or vote was taken on the master plan at this meeting; commissioners said the university has extended the review timeline (applicant extension through late July was referenced) and that a joint presentation with borough council members would be useful. Commissioners also urged the university to consider perimeter treatments that soften campus edges and to clarify how proposed changes would affect pedestrian crossings and sight lines where students and residents interact.
