Planner warns DEP, HOP checks needed before approving Hoover farm lot; commission grants waivers

Daniel Hoover, owner of a 114.5-acre farm, asked the Perry County Planning Commission to approve a new lot for a retirement home. Staff and commissioners noted difficulties locating acceptable septic/perk sites and highlighted a swale that national inventory maps show as riverine wetlands. The applicant reported that preliminary testing required moving across the farm and that a pipe currently carries the field lane across the swale.

Staff told the commission that if the plan proposes changes to an existing stream crossing the applicant may need a PADEP Chapter 105 stream-encroachment/stream-crossing permit. Commissioners discussed the threshold for waiver (drainage area under 100 acres could qualify for a waiver) and urged a plan note requiring the property owner to maintain the existing pipe and to obtain any required permits before building permits are issued. “Only changes to stream crossings or driveway improvements will require DEP approval,” a commissioner said while proposing a plan note.

The commission moved to grant the requested preliminary plan waivers (track boundary bearings and distances, wetland study modification, final grading submission, and related waivers) and approved the plan subject to conditions: verification of any required PADEP permits or waivers, addition of a Highway Occupancy Permit (HOP) note requiring HOP before building permits, and signage of a maintenance note for the existing crossing. The motion passed by voice vote. Staff will verify drainage area calculations and confirm whether a DEP permit or waiver is needed before issuing final approvals.