Chester planning commission recommends conditional approval for 742 West Front Street warehouse project

The Chester Planning Commission on a unanimous voice vote recommended that city council approve a proposal to consolidate 14 lots into a single 3.03-acre parcel and build a 57,695-square-foot warehouse with 7,000 square feet of office space and 63 parking spaces at 742 West Front Street.

The recommendation, made during the commission’s meeting after a review of staff and engineering comment letters dated June 27, 2025, includes multiple partial waivers from the city’s Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance and conditions requiring the applicant to resolve utility connections, property acquisitions and provide required construction and maintenance agreements before the plan is recorded.

Planning staff said the applicant has agreed to pay a fee in lieu for seven trees because required shade trees cannot all be accommodated on site. The fire marshal reviewed the submission and required that fire-suppression system plans and hydraulic calculations be submitted with the building permit. The Shade Tree Commission reviewed the proposed species and accepted the applicant’s revised planting plan for trees at the corners of the property’s West Front Street frontage.

Anthony Capanigro, an engineer with Kimberly Horn & Associates, presented the application and described six waiver requests from subdivision and land-development standards. "We do have six waivers associated with the application as well," he told the commission, and said the applicant will mill-and-overlay the full width of Curlin Street along the property frontage, install new curbing on its Curlin frontage, and provide a concrete sidewalk along Curlin Street. Capanigro said the applicant would replace curbing and the sidewalk on its side of West Front Street but asked for a waiver from repaving the full width of West Front Street because a railroad right-of-way constrains widening there.

Ron, representing Collier Engineering and acting as the city engineer for the meeting, said Collier’s June 27 review letter contained detailed engineering comments and that the applicant had committed to address those comments. "We’re pleased that the applicant is willing to mill and overlay all of Curlin Street," Ron said, and he recommended the applicant also mill and overlay West Front Street if feasible while noting ownership and right-of-way issues that must be resolved with PennDOT and the Chester Redevelopment Authority.

The commission moved through the waiver requests one by one. Motions recommending city council approval of partial waivers were recorded for: (1) consideration of the plan as a combined preliminary/final submission; (2) paving and sidewalk/curb modifications (partial waiver) with a requirement that Curlin Street be paved full width and receive a concrete sidewalk on the applicant’s frontage; (3) a waiver from dedicating additional right-of-way along West Front Street to meet the local-street standard because the railroad limits widening; (4) a partial waiver from providing curbing on both sides of surrounding streets while requiring new curbing along the applicant’s frontage; and (6) a partial waiver for a temporary three-foot bituminous pavement strip behind the West Second Street sidewalk pending construction of the East Coast Greenway trail. Waiver 5 (sidewalk requirement) was removed from the waiver list after the applicant agreed to provide the Curlin Street sidewalk.

The commission’s final motion recommended conditional approval to city council of the full preliminary/final subdivision and land development application for 742 West Front Street. The motion, as read into the record, required that: all comments in the Collier engineering review letter dated June 27, 2025, and the planning and zoning department review letter dated June 27, 2025, be addressed to the satisfaction of city staff; the applicant coordinate PennDOT review of West Second Street access and improvements; the applicant secure equitable ownership of parcels necessary to record the lot consolidation; Delcora (Delaware County Regional Water Authority) utility and easement issues be resolved; and that a development-improvement and financial security agreement be satisfactory to the city solicitor before recording and building permits.

The record shows the commission conditioned the recommendation on the applicant resolving outstanding title and utility questions, providing plan revisions to address Collier’s comments, and supplying construction/security agreements. The applicant said a PennDOT driveway/access permit for connections to York (Ehrlich) Street and Curlin Street is under review and that Delcora is confirming available connection points for combined and sanitary sewer lines in West Front Street.

Commissioners and staff emphasized that the plan cannot be recorded and building permits cannot be issued until the applicant acquires the needed parcels and satisfies plan conditions. The commission also discussed how the proposed temporary asphalt pavement behind West Second Street sidewalk is intended as a short-term measure until the East Coast Greenway trail is built.

The applicant and staff answered questions about gate clearances, pedestrian access, curb and sidewalk locations, and coordination with Chester Water Authority and PennDOT. Staff also noted that the applicant had arranged to pay the fee in lieu for required trees when on-site planting is constrained by utility easements and right-of-way.

The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to Chester City Council for final action; the record and staff letters will accompany the council packet. The applicant must complete the property-acquisition and utility-easement items and satisfy engineering and planning conditions before the plan may be recorded or building permits issued.