Clarion County Planning Commission Approves Requests for Two Major Industries in Knox & Strattanville

Ron Wilshire

Ron Wilshire

Published January 24, 2022 12:30 pm
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CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — The Clarion County Planning Commission granted preliminary approval of land development plans for two new industries at its January meeting.

(Pictured above: Modern Living Solutions in Knox.)

Clarion County Engineer Kevin Reichard outlined the applications for the two companies and explained the changes that are planned for the properties.

Lewis Lumber Milling

Lewis Lumber Milling, Inc. of Dickson, Tennessee, plans to produce high-quality wood flooring products at the site of the former Sealy plant in Strattanville Borough and Clarion Township purchased in 2021.

87CBE94F-4FD7-4D53-8A9C-F20CDEC25D29_1_201_a(Pictured above: Lewis Lumber Milling, Inc.)

The company plans to replicate its plank flooring and molding plant from Tennessee as the firm expands and hopes to hire 100. The company also manufactures linear cabinet moldings used in the manufacturing of hardwood cabinets.

Reichard explained that “the applicant has purchased the existing 47.22-acre parcel that was previously the Sealy Mattress Manufacturing Company, Inc.The applicant is now proposing the construction of a nut lumber dry kiln operation to dry wood to produce wood flooring products at this site.”

The three new buildings are proposed for construction at the site. They are 17,600 sq. ft., 13,280 sq. ft., and 3000 sq ft. The previous existing Sealy mattress building will also be used for the facility.

There will be improvements and expansion made for the existing parking lot area at the southerly end of the development with gravel and asphalt construction to be made. The stormwater management plan was approved on January 3, 2022, by Geo Tech Engineering Inc. Clarion Conservation District has approved the NPDES permit for the proposed construction. Existing municipal water and sewage will serve the development. A total of 72 new parking spaces 10 ft. x 20 ft. and size are proposed for construction, which exceeds the required number of new parking spaces needed.

Fort Knox, LLC – proposed 2,520 square-foot prototype apartment modular

“The applicant is proposing to construct a new 2,520 sq. ft. model modular home on a portion of their existing gravel parking lot area. The proposed home would be used to showcase and display the modular construction units that the company manufactures. The stormwater management plan for the proposed construction was reviewed and approved on December 30, 2021,” Reichard said.

“The Municipal water service and sewage service already exist at the factory site and both will serve the proposed home. No modification applications were submitted and do not appear needed.”

Modern Living Solutions, a fully integrated modular construction company offering expertise in the design, development, and delivery of modular construction residential products, purchased a 256,000 square foot industrial factory site on over 40 acres of land in Knox. The company said it plans to create over 50 jobs in its first year of full operations, ultimately creating over 130 permanent jobs in total with future planned phases of expansion.

The site has been repurposed to execute the preconstruction and assembling of luxury modular bathrooms to fast-track the costly traditional construction sequences the industry has become accustomed to with outdated construction methods.

Bathroom modules are factory-made turnkey bathrooms sized, designed, and accessorized to specific architectural plans delivered to the site, fully tested, and ready for immediate connection. The interspersion of Bathroom Modules into traditional construction consolidates more than ten trades into one prefabricated product.

Planning Commission members Keith Decker, Eugene Metcalf, Joe Burns, Matt Johnson, and Hugh Henry voted for the two preliminary approvals.

Dry Camp Planned

“I’m proposing a dry camp in Highland Township, and I’m here to explain a dry camp and I would like to hear your suggestions,” said Henry Troese as he spoke to the commission.

“A dry camp is a campground for Recreational Vehicles that provides no hookups for electric, water, or sewage. It’s a fully self-contained RV and they have everything inside the camper itself and the camp is just a place to park.”

Troese said he has four sites ready, but if it is successful, he has room for 20.

Troese is also affiliated with hipcamp.com, an online marketplace company that offers outdoor stays and camping experiences via a website and mobile app.

“Everything goes through hipcamp.com. They collect the money. They view the camper and make the arrangements. They prefer two sites per acre for privacy.”

Commission members welcomed Troese’s comments and suggested he also check with Highland Township regarding their regulations for sewage before he makes a formal application to the planning commission. Arrangements may need to be made for a dump location for the RV sewage.

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Clarion County Comprehensive Plan Update

Laura Ludwig, a senior community planner with HRG (Herbert, Rowland, and Grubic) of Cranberry Township in Butler County, discussed the final comprehensive plan for Clarion County, based on interviews a survey on needs in Clarion County.

“We received 450 responses to the survey, said Ludwig earlier.

“We would have liked to see more responses but certainly got a good amount of feedback from the 450 responses received.”

The Planning Commission approved moving the plan on to the Clarion County Commissioners.

Ludwig is presenting the plan on Tuesday, January 25, at the 10:00 a.m. meeting.

Copies of the plan are online at https://www.co.clarion.pa.us/government/departments/planning/comprehensive_plan.php#outer-967(NOTE: Scroll down on the page and there are two folders at the bottom, the 2021 Plan and the 2004 Plan. The 2021 folder includes the draft plan and the appendices.)

The 45-day public comment period started on December 21, 2021, and formal approval by the commissioners must be made on or after February 4, 2022.

RELATED:

Luxury Bathroom Manufacturer to Bring Over 130 Jobs to Knox

Expanding Tennessee Manufacturing Company Purchases Former Sealy Plant

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