Clarion County Planning Commission Approves New Knox United Methodist Project

Ron Wilshire

Ron Wilshire

Published May 6, 2016 4:45 am
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CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — The Clarion County Planning Commission approved nine projects and various stages of development at its April meeting, including what County Engineer Kevin Reichard described as “a quite large project that has been considered for many years” by the Knox United Methodist Church.

The Knox United Methodist Church proposed to construct a new 22,583 square-foot church building and softball field on its 13.4-acre parcel in Beaver Township with impervious gravel access, driveways, and parking area with 174 total parking spaces, 10’ x 20’ foot by twenty foot in size.

Access will be made from the State Route 338 and also from Township Route T–811, Darby Road. Municipal water and sewage will serve the development. The Clarion County Conservation District has completed processing the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit application for stormwater discharges associated with construction activities for this project and has sent a letter of recommendation for application approval to the Department of Environmental Protection in Meadville. The copies were forwarded to the Beaver Township Supervisors.

Preliminary approval was granted for the land development application.

Other projects approved included:

• Final approval for a land development application by New Bethlehem Super Subways was approved. The new store is on Route 28 across from the Redbank Valley High School.

• Final approval of the land development application for Francis T. and Nancy J. Mellish was approved for the East Brady Subway. The approvals are part of the Planning Commission process, but the business is now closed and out of business.  Planning Vice-Chairwoman Angela Burtner from Brady Township said she was hopeful that the business would reopen with new owners sometime in the future.

• The Commission gave final approval for the Dr. Ben Carrico Dental Office in Strattanville Borough. The actions included approval of modification request regarding the 40-foot side yard and setback distance requirement. Original approval occurred on October 20, 2010, but April’s approval followed the five-year deadline. Ben and Amanda Carrico made the request for the modifications and final approval of the 2,023 square foot project.

• Preliminary approval for a land development application by Craig Zacherl in Washington Township was approved. The project includes a 3,024 ft. building for his business near Fryburg.

• Pennsylvania American Water received preliminary approval of the land development application and modification of the minimum 40-foot front yard for a building connected with the Sewage Interconnect Project.  Located near the Shippen Inn, the project replaces an existing building.

• Two separate requests for final approval related to Communication towers in Clarion County were approved. Both requests involved adding two new dishes to each of the existing towers. The towers are Crown Cable, in Beaver Township, and Mobile Communications Services Inc., in Monroe Township.

No Comment Approval and Support Letter

The Clarion County Planning Commission approved a letter of “no comment” at its April meeting following a request by the Department of Environmental Protection to the US Department of the Interior for a $30 million Economic Development Pilot Grant.

The DEP requested review and comment from Clarion County.

A letter of support was also approved for the Allegheny Trails Association in its efforts to develop a recreational trail connecting the Allegheny River Trail to the Armstrong Trail.

Matt Lehman, from the Allegheny Valley Trails Association, previously addressed a meeting of the Clarion County Commissioners and said the letter of support was needed to help with a grant application to DCNR to help explore connecting the two trails.

“This is a letter of support for a grant we are writing to the DCNR (Department of Conservation and Natural Resource) to help fund some preliminary work for a six-mile section,” said Lehman.

“I think it goes through both Perry and Toby Townships.  The grant we’re writing is for title work to see who owns what along there, also some appraisals of properties as needed, and some preliminary engineering studies as to what would be needed putting a trail in through there.  As part of the grant process, the state likes us to have letters of support from the municipalities and counties that are involved. I have a letter of support coming from Perry Township, but I will be getting in touch with Toby Township.”

Planning Director Kristi Ditz reported that the Clarion County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance was still undergoing reviews and will likely be released shortly.

Wilson resigns

A letter of resignation from Kevin Wilson from Perry Township was approved with regret.

“Because of the travel requirements of my company, I will be unable to continue as a member of the Clarion County Planning Commission,” wrote Wilson.  “It has been a pleasure to serve with all the current and former members of the Planning Commission.  The knowledge and experience of the members have been and will continue to be a valuable assist to Clarion County. It has also been a great experience working with the Clarion County Planning Department.  You and all the personnel were fantastic to work with, and the Department is very professional and efficient. In my career as a professional engineer, I have worked with planning offices and commissions throughout the country, and Clarion County is one of the best.”

Attending the meeting were Chairman Keith Decker, Vice-Chairwoman Angela Burtner, Hugh Henry, Fred Anderson, Joe Burns, Jr., Eugene Metcalf, Roger Nulph, and Kevin Wilson.

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