Warriors Mark Township developer John Gilliland scored a few small victories at last week’s monthly township meeting regarding several planned residential subdivisions. He came up short, however, on a few requests for concession.
Gilliland’s attorney, Thomas Scott, was in attendance last Tuesday to field questions about and to discuss some problems with certain developments, all of which were presented to the supervisors for consideration close to a year ago.
“Mr. Gilliland is seeking waivers for certain stipulations of the township code for various subdivisions,” explained township engineer Mark Haefner.
Gilliland wants forgiven of the requirement to include street lights, sidewalks and street curbing. He also wants some breathing room dealing with a minimum length stipulation for “cul-de-sacs,” which are circular turnaround areas at the end of dead end streets. Attorney Scott argued that the township’s desire to maintain a “rural feel” within the municipality should influence them to rule in his client’s favor.
“It’s our position that if you do not grant these waivers, it is inconsistent with the township’s comprehensive plan,” Scott commented. “It also constitutes selective enforcement of your ordinance, as other developments in the township have not been held to these same requirements.”
The board noted that cul-de-sacs — along with other streets built within developments — are generally turned over to the township for maintenance, which is why a length restriction has been placed on them. With regard to street lights, the board indicated that they felt it would be best to include them, noting safety issues.
However, the board did grant waivers for sidewalks and street curbing, stating that the lot size and landscape in many instances would not accommodate either. Additionally, the supervisors requested that buffer yards for the planned developments be defined.
At one point, the board entertained the idea of rejecting two of Gilliland’s subdivisions for lack of compliance. The developer was granted several time extensions for both the “Arbutus” and “Gillbrook III” subdivisions, which are set to expire. Gilliland did not submit certain requested data to the township board by a Jan. 24 deadline.
“We’ve made some changes to the plans for those two subdivisions,” Scott said. “A lot of this delay has to do with DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) permits which have not been issued.”
“But we asked for these revisions by Jan. 24,” said township solicitor Larry Clapper. “We’ve heard nothing in response to our comment letters sent out in October.
“We’ve only received revisions on these plans this afternoon. We haven’t had the chance to look at them.”
Ultimately, the board granted an extension until the March meeting, with the understanding that any corrections must be made seven days prior to that meeting. Otherwise, serious consideration would be given to rejecting the plans altogether.
