The West Rockhill Board of Supervisors Wednesday, March 19 granted conditional preliminary and final approval for a Derstine Foodservice cold storage facility.
Located at 3115 Old State Road, the 104,430-square-foot warehouse will be accompanied by associated parking and site improvements, including an access driveway on Meetinghouse Road and curbing on Old State Road. The existing access driveway on Old State Road will be removed.
The project also includes proposals for future building additions, such as a 10,550-square-foot addition along Meetinghouse Road and a 50,390-square-foot addition along Route 309.
Following concerns from township officials, the proposal was revised to include additional screening along the property line and the widening of the Meetinghouse Road and the access driveway to ease truck traffic. The approval is additionally conditioned upon the installation of a four-way stop sign at the intersection of Meetinghouse Road and Old State Road if warranted.
Public meeting set on sewer line project
The board informed the public that the Telford Borough Authority (TBA) will hold a public meeting on March 31 at 7 p.m at the West Rockhill Municipal Office to discuss the County Line Road sewer line extension project with affected residents. The $3.2 million project aims to extend a low-pressure sewer line along the township’s side of County Line Road.
While TBA has secured at least $268,000 in grant funding, the remaining costs will be borne by the property owners, with a current projection of $33,000 per hookup. The connection, stressed board members, is not mandatory but will be effective upon sale or transfer of the property.
Planning Commission Chair Chris Derstine informed the board that the commission recommended approval of a special study for a TBA public sewer line extension on Almont Road between Lawn Avenue and Route 309, which will provide the necessary planning for the project. Derstine noted that the road is already under construction for the North Penn Water Authority water transmission line.
The project’s estimated cost is $300,000, said Derstine, which will be funded by the property owners as well as future connections on the western side of Route 309.
New excavation shop
Derstine reported on a recent proposal for a 10,000-square-foot excavation business shop and office on the western side of Bethlehem Pike, north of Forrest Road, with future plans for an additional 4,000-square-foot building. The building will be used to store and deliver business materials. The planning commission took no action on the proposal as members await further details.
The board authorized the drafting of a resolution to rescind an existing resolution prohibiting the replacement of one-lane bridges with two-lane bridges, with a long-term goal of building a two-lane bridge on Allentown Road to improve road safety. Supervisor David Collingwood cast the sole vote against the motion due to concerns about traffic congestion and speeding.
The board approved the purchase of a conservation easement on the Holiday House pool property. The move protects the 14.4-acre property from future development and provides the Joint Recreation Authority, which oversees the pool, a lump-sum payment for capital and operational expenses.
The board approved the advertisement of an ordinance to raise the supervisors’ compensation cap from $2,500 to $4,190. The ordinance follows a new state law permitting local governments to raise the maximum compensation for second-class township supervisors by approximately 67%, effective next term of office. A hearing and potential adoption are slated for the next board meeting.
The next West Rockhill Board of Supervisors meeting is on April 16 at 7 p.m. For more information, visit westrockhilltownship.org.
