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Supervisors approve preliminary plan for Charliesville Pike townhouse project over strong neighbor objections
Summary
Lower Salford supervisors granted preliminary approval for the Charliesville Pike (Orleans) townhouse development after a lengthy hearing in which neighbors raised concerns about tree loss, stormwater, fencing and traffic; applicants held two outside permits and agreed to mitigation conditions recorded in the approval resolution.
Lower Salford Township supervisors voted to grant preliminary approval to the Charliesville Pike (Orleans) townhouse development after more than an hour of presentations and public comment.
Kristen Pianio, representing the applicant, told the supervisors the developer has worked with township staff and the planning commission for 19 months, has received a PennDOT highway‑occupancy permit for Route 113 improvements and an NPDES permit for stormwater controls, and is prepared to return for final approval with the conditions itemized in the draft resolution. "We have met numerous times, I think six total, with your planning commission," Pianio said, adding that outside‑agency approvals were in hand and that the plan complies with most ordinance requirements.
Neighbors urged the board to deny or delay approval. Betty Daddy said the project will "drastically affect" local waterways and wildlife, disputed the developer’s tree‑replacement numbers and pressed for a six‑foot privacy fence rather than the two‑rail split‑rail fence the developer offered. "We're going to have a disaster is what we're going to have," she said, describing concerns about erosion, sedimentation and increased downstream flooding.
Other residents echoed flooding and safety worries near Route 113, asked whether bus stops and crosswalks would be safe, and said the circulated traffic study is outdated. One resident called for the board to defer action until state waterway (Chapter 105) review and public comment had completed; township counsel and staff replied that outside permits are commonly conditions of approval and that failure to secure a required permit would require the applicant to return to the board.
Board members repeatedly noted the planning commission had recommended the preliminary approval and that the resolution includes conditions addressing landscaping, fencing, trail placement and required permits. The applicant agreed to increase certain plantings (for example substituting evergreens and increasing heights where required) and to install a split‑rail perimeter fence where neighbors raised concerns; the resolution records those commitments as conditions to be enforced at final approval.
The board moved and seconded the resolution for preliminary approval; the motion carried on a voice vote.
What happens next: preliminary approval entitles the applicant to proceed through the final‑plan review steps but does not permit grading or construction until final approval, submission of required permits, and posting of any financial security under the township’s development agreements.
Speakers quoted or cited in this story are identified as they appear in the meeting record: Kristen Pianio (representative for the applicant), Betty Daddy (resident), and multiple unnamed residents who spoke during the public comment period. The planning commission and township staff will continue to review and vet the final plans before the supervisors consider final approval.
