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Planners table Schlemmer wedding‑venue land development after identifying major plan and permitting gaps
Summary
The Planning Commission accepted the Schlemmer land development application for a proposed 250‑person wedding venue as complete but tabled it after finding required site, parking, stormwater, and utility details missing and noting the parking appears to encroach across parcel lines; Solicitor Ryan Thomas said Agricultural Security Area designation alone does not prohibit development.
Property owner Bob Schlemmer and Cenkner Engineering presented plans for a wedding‑venue land development spanning parcels off Hornock Drive and U.S. Route 22. The application, accepted as complete by the Commission, proposes a facility with a stated capacity of 250 people; the applicant’s engineer estimated parking needs at roughly 133 spaces plus four ADA spaces.
Commissioners raised multiple compliance and technical concerns and recommended substantial plan revisions before the project could advance. The Commission noted that the proposed parking area appears to extend across a parcel line, which would require either lot consolidation, a side‑lot addition, or an exception to avoid placing parking within required setbacks. "No part of the parking lot is allowed into the 15‑foot setback," Chair Mattei said.
The board listed specific plan revisions: a revised title sheet with the professional engineer’s certification and license number; clear exterior tract boundaries prepared by a professional land surveyor; explicit identification of the water line as public; a driveway permit; and detailed on‑site parking and loading calculations consistent with SALDO (parking spaces at least 9×20 feet, aisle widths, number and size of loading spaces). The Commission also required Township Engineer approval of the Stormwater Management Plan, Westmoreland County Conservation District approval of erosion controls and any required NPDES permit, Sewage Facilities Planning Component 2 approval, and a municipal water authority (MAWC) verification letter of public water availability and tap.
Solicitor Ryan Thomas advised the Commission that the parcel’s inclusion in an Agricultural Security Area does not automatically prohibit development under the Agricultural Area Security Law (3 P.S. §§ 901–915); however, Thomas said that participation in programs such as Clean and Green or a conservation easement could impose additional restrictions. The Commission voted unanimously to table the Schlemmer plan pending required revisions and approvals.
