LOWER POTTSGROVE >> The project looking to put more than 500 housing units, office space and a 100-room hotel on more than 50 acres near the Limerick outlets took another step forward Tuesday night.
After a brief closed-door executive session, the three members of the board returned to the empty meeting room and voted unanimously for all five variances still being sought by the developers, Castle-Caldecott, LLC.
With the zoning approvals in hand, and the re-zoning of a little over seven acres approved by the board of commissioners earlier this month, the project is steadily making its way through the process.
Another potential obstacle – PennDOT’s reluctance to allow any more development adjacent to the Route 422 Sanatoga interchange without increasing the capacity – may also have dissolve with the news of a $2.1 million grant to help pay for the improvements.
At Thursday night’s commissioners’ meeting, starting at 6:30 p.m., a hearing is scheduled during which Castle-Cadecott will seek permission to build on steeper slopes than township ordinances currently allow.
Should that “conditional use” be approved, the project must still go through the land development process before the planning commission and earn final approval from the board of commissioners, before the first shovel can be put into the ground.
Originally, Sanatoga Green had sought seven variances, but the developers withdrew the request to build fewer parking spaces than required; as well as a variance from open space requirements, satisfied with a $100,000 donation to the township.
That left five.Most of the evidence for the case was presented in May, when testimony from both the developer and residents was heard by the board.
The first two variances will allow the project to have a 15-foot side yard and back yard rather than the 75-feet required in the zoning ordinance, adopted in 2014.
The three other, perhaps more significant variances, have to do with the number and size of the apartments and townhouses to be allowed.
The first variance allows for the construction of 166 townhomes among the 508 dwelling units. The ordinance would only have allowed 152.
The second variance allows all 166 townhomes to have three bedrooms. The ordinance only allows 50 percent to be three bedrooms.
The final variance is from a requirement that of the 342 apartment units, 137 be studio or one-bedroom apartments. The variance allows none of the apartment units to be smaller than three-bedroom.
Testimony in May had indicated that national builders had informed the developers they will not build units that small because they will not sell.
