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Planning commission conditionally recommends preliminary approval for Ridgeley Ridge, excludes one road‑width waiver
Summary
The commission recommended preliminary land‑development approval for the Ridgeley Ridge townhouse project (UD‑24‑12) subject to conditions including an active playground, a signed pickup plan with lighting, compliance with consultant letters, and a 30‑foot widening of a specified internal roadway segment; the commission excluded one road‑width waiver pending further traffic and engineering review.
Upper Dublin’s Planning Commission on April 21 recommended preliminary land‑development approval for Ridgeley Ridge (UD‑24‑12) but attached several conditions and declined to include one of the developer’s requested waivers.
Rob Goodlock, attorney for Commerce Capital (the applicant), told the commission the project team had met with two adjacent neighbors and had draft easement agreements to extend sidewalk and run storm pipe through the right of way. He said the team had revised the waiver letter to add technical items identified in consultant review letters and that most review comments would be addressed by plan revisions or, if necessary, by returning to the Zoning Hearing Board for relief.
Commission discussion centered on multiple consultant comments and two waiver types: technical (stormwater, pipe covers, steep slope disturbance) and substantive (private road width and landscaping waivers). Commissioners and members of the public debated a developer request to use private, 26‑foot‑wide roads in lieu of the subdivision’s 30‑foot standard. Opponents said narrower roads reduce livability and recreation space and could create safety or circulation problems; the applicant said similar projects have been built at 26 feet and that the fire marshal had reviewed turning templates.
The commission’s recommendation included the following conditions: the applicant must provide either on‑site or off‑site active playground space for children; show and label an adequate pupil pickup area with appropriate lighting; widen the road between Road A and Road C (Road B) to 30 feet; comply with consultant review letters from Riley McGrath (zoning), Richard Collier (landscape), Tom Fallon (engineering), Jack Smythe (traffic) and the fire marshal; and return to the planning commission for review and reapproval of any material layout changes that result from zoning relief or other alterations.
Public comment included testimony from Hank Palgar, who identified himself as a certified Pennsylvania real estate appraiser and said he had observed similar townhouse projects with 24–26‑foot roads in other communities.
The commission explicitly excluded one waiver related to residential street tape/segment from its favorable recommendation and asked the applicant to work further with the township traffic and engineering consultants. Staff warned that if subsequent zoning relief or layout changes occur, any preliminary approval would become null and require a new submission.
