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Skippack supervisors hear conditional‑use request for utility‑contractor yard and headquarters at 2031 Crestman Road
Summary
An applicant seeking to subdivide 2031 Crestman Road into a storage/laydown lot and a new contractor headquarters told the board the site meets ordinance criteria; a traffic study found only a 2.6–2.7% increase at a nearby intersection. The board accepted exhibits and took up to 45 days to decide.
The Skippack Township Board of Supervisors heard testimony and accepted evidence Tuesday on an application from Palm View Capital LLC to subdivide 2031 Crestman Road into Lot 1, which contains an existing utility contractor lay‑down yard, and Lot 2, proposed for a 6,000‑square‑foot utility contractor headquarters.
Applicant counsel confirmed the two advertised matters were consolidated and the board received exhibits A‑1 through A‑9 into the record. James Russell, who identified himself as owner and general manager of Lehigh Valley Underground, told the board Lot 1 will retain existing improvements while Lot 2 would include a roughly 2,000‑square‑foot office and indoor storage, parking for trucks and staff, fencing and LED “shoebox” lighting. “As of today, it would be 8 trucks leaving in the morning and coming back in the afternoon,” Russell said when asked to quantify daily truck movements.
A traffic impact study prepared by Bowman Engineering concluded the development’s trips would raise delay at the Crestman Road/Route 73 intersection by about 2.6–2.7% in peak hours under a conservative future‑growth scenario and would not change letter‑grade levels of service at the four intersections studied. “We studied future conditions and, based on those analyses, none of the studied intersections change their level‑of‑service grade with the site,” engineer John Wishner testified.
Township staff and board members pressed witnesses on stormwater, buffering and driveway access. The applicant is requesting a modification of a prior condition that required moving Lot 1’s driveway to align with Annandale Drive; the applicant asked to keep the driveway in its existing location and agreed to additional landscaping along Crestman Road to reduce headlight impacts if required.
The board did not render a final vote at the hearing. Solicitor Joe Kools said the board will use the statutory 45‑day review period and expects to render a decision at the next public meeting in June. The board accepted the applicant’s exhibits into evidence and listed the matter for final action within the 45‑day window.
Next steps: the supervisors will review the record during the statutory period and may request additional conditions before issuing a decision at a subsequent public meeting.
