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Hazle planning department accepts HASD K–5 elementary school plan as complete
Summary
Hazle Township planning officials accepted the Hazle Area School District's preliminary/final land‑development application for a new K–5 elementary school as complete; the 321,840 sq ft proposal would house about 1,200 students and now moves to engineering review.
Hazle Township’s planning department voted March 17 to accept as complete a preliminary/final land‑development submission from the Hazle Area School District for a new K–5 elementary school north of the existing high school. The application was accepted for review in a motion by John Synoski, seconded by Terry Daley; the roll call recorded Synoski and Daley voting aye and Joseph Marchese not present.
The application describes a 321,840‑square‑foot school designed to serve roughly 1,200 students, with an additional 88 parking spaces, a new driveway on 23rd Street, and a private access road connecting to Hazle Township Boulevard. The submission includes a PCSM report, regulated‑waters delineation, transportation impact study, EV wetland anti‑degradation analysis, and agency transmittals; federal and state natural‑resource checks returned “no impact” findings for bats and other resources cited in the cover letters.
Kevin Markle, who spoke during the item, said the applicant made submissions to outside agencies and that Sewage Planning was determined not to be required for this project. “We made all of the submissions to outside agencies. We received a letter: Sewage Planning is not required,” Markle said. The commission also noted that utilities (UGI natural gas and new three‑phase PPL service) and other agency reviews are recorded in the project file.
Why it matters: a school of this scale will affect traffic patterns, stormwater management and utility capacity in the area immediately north of the district high school. The commission’s completeness finding allows technical reviews (including detailed engineering by Alfred Benesch, the consultant identified by staff) to proceed; any required permit conditions or plan revisions will be reported in subsequent meetings.
Next steps: staff will route the plans for engineering review and agency comment before the commission takes any recommendation to the board of supervisors or approves construction‑level plans. The planning department scheduled its next regular meeting for April 21, 2026.
