Carbon County planners withhold final approval for Franklin Township hotel and Ford service center over DEP, water and fire protection gaps

The Carbon County Planning Commission on an interim vote forwarded review comments and declined to recommend final plan approval for a proposed hotel and a 22,107-square-foot Ford service center in Franklin Township, citing outstanding state permits and missing documentation for water supply and fire protection.

A planning staff member told the commission that the applicant had submitted a sewage-facilities planning module to the Department of Environmental Protection but that DEP approvals and supporting letters remained outstanding. "The DEP planning module has been submitted," the planning staff member said, and county reviewers flagged that final plan certification, survey certification and well-test documentation were not complete.

The commission’s recommendation matters because the county cannot grant final subdivision or land-development approval until required permits and township reviews are received. The planning staff member said the county review found that the application “has addressed our 04/15/2025 comments,” but that the submission remained incomplete because it lacked DEP sewage-facilities approval, formal documentation of the proposed water-supply well and review by the Franklin Township fire chief.

In discussion, commissioners and staff pressed for evidence the proposed water supply would provide adequate flows for firefighting. The record shows well drilling and initial testing have been completed and that flow testing is ongoing with a firm referred to in the record as Dwayne Water Well Ground; however, the planning staff member said the county had not yet received finalized test reports or certification. The staff member also noted that no written approval or review from the Franklin Township fire chief had been provided despite multiple requests.

The plan review also flagged other technical items the applicant must address before final approval: survey certification, stormwater and erosion-control details, landscape and loading-screening plans, underground electrical-feed locations, signage and ADA parking notations, and documentation for proposed solar collectors.

Commissioners unanimously moved and seconded a motion to forward the review comments to the applicant and relevant agencies; the motion passed by voice vote. The planning staff member said the commission “cannot recommend final plan approval” until the county receives the DEP sewage-facilities decision, the water-supply certification and the township fire-protection review.

The planning staff member and commissioners also discussed several site-specific details included in the submission: the Ford service center building footprint reported in the file as 22,107 square feet, 213 parking spaces including four ADA-accessible spaces, and a 27-foot site access to Wright State Boulevard. Staff noted portions of the site are shown within a 100-year floodplain and that stormwater-management and floodplain responses must be clarified in revised plans.

Next steps set by the commission require the applicant to provide the outstanding DEP approvals, finalized well-test documents and fire chief review before the commission will reconsider final-plan approval. The commission forwarded its review comments to the applicant and relevant township and state reviewers.