Commission tables 742 West Front Street warehouse plan pending ownership, easement and utility clarifications

The Chester City Planning Commission on May 14 heard a revised land-development proposal to consolidate 14 lots at the West Second/Front Street block and build a 61,200-square-foot warehouse with an eight-bay tractor‑trailer loading dock. After staff and agency comment and applicant testimony, the commission tabled the application pending clarification of ownership and easement issues with PennDOT and DelCorra and resolution of related street-improvement and waiver requests.

The applicant team said an earlier version of the plan had loading docks facing West Second Street; the current submission flips the building so docks face West Front Street and the public frontage along Second Street would have a consistent architectural wall. Kimley‑Horn’s Anthony Caponigro described a plan that consolidates PennDOT parcels and creates a site with additional green space, proposed street-tree plantings, and a 20‑foot dimension between curb and right‑of‑way to accommodate a future East Coast Greenway trail.

"We are reducing the impervious coverage on the property by approximately 11,000 square feet," Caponigro said. He also said the team is negotiating disposition of several PennDOT parcels that lie within the plan area and that those transfers are close to completion.

City staff and the commission discussed multiple outstanding technical and ownership issues. Planning staff noted zoning‑ and dimensional‑compliance questions from the department’s May 7 review letter and flagged fence‑height details (one plan sheet noted a 6‑foot security fence, while a site detail showed an 8‑foot fence). The Shade Tree Commission, Fire Department and Delaware County Planning Department also submitted comments included in the packet, staff said.

City engineering staff and the applicant discussed sidewalk and street‑improvement expectations on West Front, Ulrich (also spelled Ehrlich in materials), Curlin and York streets, and the need to coordinate with DelCorra on sanitary and stormwater connections. City engineering staff said DelCorra has a large force main that crosses several privately titled parcels and prior right‑of‑way vacations have left gaps in recorded easements that need to be addressed as part of a lot‑consolidation submission.

Owner representatives said they expect to close on PennDOT parcels within roughly 60–90 days, and that earlier plan versions had been flipped to accommodate uncertainty while negotiations proceeded. "We are pretty much at the goal line with closing on these properties with PennDOT," said Tony Bates, the ownership representative.

Because the submission remains contingent on confirmed property transfers and easement cleanups, a commissioner moved to table the 742 West Front Street preliminary‑final subdivision and land‑development application until ownership and related comments are satisfactorily resolved by staff. The motion was seconded and the commission voted in favor. Planning staff and the city engineer said they would continue coordination with PennDOT, DelCorra and county agencies and that several formal waivers will need written justification if the applicant requests them.

Separately during the meeting, commissioners discussed the procedural issue of application deadlines and the risk of "deemed approval" under state law if an applicant does not grant a time extension and the municipality fails to act within statutory time limits. The commission voted to recommend that City Council deny an application unless the applicant grants a 90‑day time extension; commissioners said they would record that recommendation to avoid unintended deemed approvals while ownership and technical comments are resolved.

Ending: The commission tabled the preliminary‑final plan for 742 West Front Street and asked staff to continue coordination with PennDOT, DelCorra and county agencies; the applicant may return when ownership and easement issues and any requested waivers are documented.