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Applicants granted variance for pool after board requires filtration trench to offset new impervious area
Summary
The Lower Makefield Zoning Hearing Board approved appeal Z26-11 to allow a swimming pool and associated deck that raise lot impervious to ~31.9%, conditioned on removal of permeable-paver credit and installation of a filtration trench to bring the effective rate to the 18% standard, subject to township engineer approval.
The Lower Makefield Zoning Hearing Board on June 2 approved appeal Z26-11, allowing property owners Heather M. Palumbo and Rob McCubbin to install a swimming pool, pool deck and associated features, provided the project’s stormwater mitigation is approved by the township engineer.
Palumbo and McCubbin told the board they propose a medium-size pool with 579 square feet of pool deck, a pool equipment pad and roughly 378 square feet of permeable paver. Rob McCubbin said the existing lot’s impervious coverage is 28.98 percent and that the project would increase that figure to roughly 30.71 percent, but that a designed stormwater system would mitigate 2,480 square feet of impervious surface “which effectively brings it back down to the 18%,” inclusive of pool water.
Board members pressed the applicants on details of existing roof leaders, infiltration beds and how permeable pavers are treated under township rules. A board member corrected an earlier misread of the stormwater ordinance and confirmed the township does not give full credit for permeable pavers at residential sites, a change that raised the project’s calculated impervious to about 31.9 percent. The Chair noted the correction and asked the board to adjust the approval language accordingly.
During review, township engineer Dan (first name used in the hearing) confirmed the submitted stormwater specifications and the presence and functionality of an existing infiltration bed serving downspouts at the front of the property. McCubbin said the existing buried infiltration bed remains functional and that the proposed filtration trench and additional drainage details would be designed to the engineer’s specifications.
A board member moved to approve the appeal with the change that permeable pavers would not be counted for impervious-credit and with the requirement that the filtration trench and stormwater mitigation be installed as approved by the township engineer. The motion was seconded and carried unanimously.
The decision grants the variance while imposing a requirement that final stormwater details be reviewed and approved by the township engineer before construction proceeds; the board emphasized that the mitigation must achieve the effective impervious limit discussed in the hearing.
