Developer seeks multiple waivers for 159‑unit Plymouth Road townhouse project

A developer outlined plans for a 159‑unit townhouse community near Plymouth Road and asked the township to approve several waivers that would alter landscaping, street dimensions and parking standards.

Kristen Pianio of Hamburg Ruben Mull and Maxwell Lupin, who presented the project, said the development would provide 384 parking spaces where the code requires 350 and that the project’s traffic impact study has been approved by PennDOT. Pianio said the team relocated a problematic internal connection at North Gravers for better sight distance, added sidewalks within the development, and agreed to deed a roughly 50‑foot strip to the adjacent Mission Kids site to increase its buffer.

Why it matters: The waivers would change how the community is built—affecting street width, tree planting and parking—and the township will need to decide whether the tradeoffs are acceptable before any approvals.

Pianio listed the waiver requests in detail: substituting evergreen and ornamental trees for required shade trees on association lots; addressing a shortfall of 82 replacement trees by planting some on the Mission Kids property or providing a payment to the township; accepting narrower private cartways (26 feet instead of the 30‑foot standard); allowing a 2% center‑of‑intersection slope for drainage; limited exceptions to driveway slopes; permitting 4‑inch parking stall striping rather than hairpin striping; and permitting perpendicular community parking scattered through the site. She also said the team added a hammerhead turnaround at the end of a dead‑end private road after review by the fire marshal.

"We are required to have 350 parking spaces. We have 384," Pianio said, summarizing the parking plan and the project’s current compliance with parking requirements.

Traffic and school crossing concerns came up repeatedly. A resident who described afternoon school drop‑off congestion said many children cross near Alexander Drive. Matt Hammond, the project’s traffic engineer, said the design team and township traffic engineer worked with PennDOT and plan to reduce the development’s exit lane to a single lane, shorten the crossing distance and install an ADA‑compliant crosswalk to improve pedestrian safety.

"We are going to reduce that down to one lane," Hammond said, describing the change intended to slow vehicles exiting the site and make crossings shorter.

On emergency access and vehicle circulation, Steve of Lancore (the engineering consultant on the call) said truck‑turning analyses show the 26‑foot private streets will permit necessary movements because on‑street parking is not allowed. "There’s physically nowhere you can park because there’s curb cuts everywhere," he said, explaining how parking will be managed and enforced by the homeowners association.

Several committee members and residents pressed the developer on the 82‑tree shortfall, long‑term maintenance of plantings, and protections against future removal of required vegetation. Pianio said the team will maximize on‑site planting where feasible, plant additional trees in large open spaces near Plymouth Road and work with the township engineer on design so trees will thrive. She offered that any remaining obligation could be handled via a development agreement—either by planting on Mission Kids property (with permission), donating trees to the township, or paying a fee.

The developer said the fire marshal reviewed and approved the hammerhead turnaround with a remaining discussion about no‑parking signage. The team also described plans to replace most street lights with residential LED fixtures while keeping some fixtures consistent with adjacent Mission Kids lighting.

On governance and maintenance, the developer said homeowners would need to follow HOA architectural controls and submit architectural request forms to make changes; the presenter suggested the township solicitor could review HOA declarations and that the applicant could accept a condition to include tree‑protection language in the declaration.

Colonial School District services were discussed: the developer said the district won’t determine bus routing until the community is complete and student counts are known. The developer emphasized coordination with PennDOT for crosswalk treatments because Plymouth Road is a state roadway.

No formal vote or decision on the waiver requests was recorded during the session. The developer said it will address review comments from the township engineer and work with township staff, the fire marshal and, if needed, the solicitor to incorporate conditions—such as tree‑protection language in HOA documents—before any approval is finalized.