PLANNING COMMISSION
Minutes of the July 16, 2007 Meeting
Meeting
#835 of the Hanover Township Northampton County Planning Commission was held at
the
Planning Commission members in attendance:
Mark
Tanczos Susan
Lawless
Paul
Kuehne James
Narlesky
Jim
Sterner
Hanover Engineering Associates, Inc. represented by Charles M.
Schmalzer, P.L.S.
Motion was made by Kuehne, seconded by Narlesky, to approve the minutes
of the
Lawless, yes; Kuehne, yes; Sterner, yes; Narlesky, yes; Tanczos, yes
Scheduling of July 16 meeting was duly advertised.
CONDITIONAL USE APPLICATION
Terry DeGroot (
Holly Parkinson (
Leon Kislowski (
Outstanding issues had been addressed and were reviewed at this
meeting. The only expansion will be for
the High School level, grades 9 through 12.
They will occupy 11,634 square feet in Building 1640. Potential future Academy space, consisting of
6,874 square feet, is also shown in this building (1640). This may be utilized in 2010. Parking calculations accommodate potential
future expansion.
There will be no changes to existing Academy in grades 2 through 5,
occupying Building 1560, along with Guardian Insurance.
K through 1 occupies 9,300 square feet in Building 1550. 6 through 8 occupies 17,622 square feet,
also in Building 1550. These schools eat
at their individual locations.
Chesterbrook, a day care center, is located in the rear of 1550. Bioscience, located between K through 1 and 6
through 8, will vacate the end of October.
Liberty Property Trust intends to find a new occupant for this space.
CONDITIONAL USE APPLICATION Continued
There are four schools …. Primary …. Elementary …. Middle …. High School. There is very little student interaction
between the schools. Any movement
between schools would be by the
Faculty.
School hours are
Busing –
Buses stop at three locations …. Middle school door …. Primary school door …. Elementary
school door. Bus stops with parallel lane
must be provided and marked at the Primary school door.
Planner Kuehne has concern for students exiting their bus and going
between cars. Bus should pull up to the
curb so that children can enter school safely.
Parkinson stated there are no cars parked where students are dropped
off.
Classes begin at
Pick up is from
At dismissal, buses enter area between Buildings 1550 and 1560 and
park. K through 1 is dismissed first so
that they are safely on board their bus.
Dismissal is then conducted by bus number.
There are approximately 21 buses …. 8 large with the remaining small or
mid-size.
Ordinance requires bus drop off/pick up zones be located immediately in
front of school front door, which must be signed and painted. This is needed for both Primary and Middle
School in Building 1550. Sign must note
school bus drop off/pick up. Parking
spaces must be marked.
Students in grades 9 through 12 are dropped off at the Elementary door
(grades 2-5) at Building 1560. They wait
in the gym with a staff member and then are escorted to crosswalk to go to
their school in Building 1640.
Academy Charter stipulates 75 students at each grade level. Board of Trustees set their policy. With 11 grades this year, there will be no
student drivers. With a 12th
grade next year, 25 students, meeting specified criteria, will be allowed to
drive. Their parking is in front of
Building 1640, which is away from bus and parent drop off locations.
Legend Code
– LR refers to pick up and drop off spaces.
These should be signed as parent pick up and drop off and shown on
plan. Parent drop off locales are east
of Building 1550 and west of Building 1560.
If there are several children in different school levels, all are
dropped off at the Elementary school (2-5) at Building 1560. Staff will escort children to proper school.
Legend Code L is shown for some parking. Existing loading dock at Bioscience will
remain and cannot be label “L” as reserved for LVA. Parking designated with L (LVA) cannot be
reserved and should be removed from the plan.
Security –
Each front door has a buzzer system which is released by the receptionist. Doors are key locked and cannot be left
unlocked. Identification must be given
and reason for visit. There is no camera
security. Doors are clear glass for
visibility. All four buildings are keyed
to the same key (front and rear exits).
Emergency exits require a different key.
CONDITIONAL USE APPLICATION Continued
Emergency plan, as required for all public schools, is in place. Fire/emergency drills are held. Teachers have emergency/search manuals. Liberty Property Trust, Fire Department and
Colonial Police have pertinent information.
In an emergency they would call 911.
There is a phone in each classroom.
There is no emergency/panic button.
School has a full-time certified school nurse, a full-time staff nurse
and a part-time nurse. All three are on
duty over the lunch period.
Academy’s Charter requires parental involvement (escorts, monitors,
filing). This is regulated with staff
aware of scheduling.
Science –
Ductless ventilated hoods, which meet State requirements, will be used in
science class. Lab will also contain Bunsen burners. Chemicals used are from a listing suggested
for high school experiments. Fire
extinguishers, blankets, eye wash will be in the room. Staff will be trained in handling
emergencies.
Traffic Control
– Planner Kuehne discussed speed control and safety at schools. DeGroot advised the geometry of the roadway
between Buildings 1550 and 1560 is such that negates any speed beyond 15
mph. Although driveway between Buildings
1560 and 1640 dead ends, nothing prevents speeding. Planners recommend that a prefabricated ramp
type speed bump be put at the crosswalk.
This should be a condition for approval and should be added to the plan.
All stop signs must be shown on the plan.
Chain gate shown at driveway entrance between Buildings 1550 and 1560
is not preferred by Academy. Upon
discussion, there is no advantage for this gate and it should be removed.
Playground –
Use is between
Required Standards –
(a) Must be subject to a real estate tax pursuant
to 53 P.S. 68205(a) et seq.
OK
(b) Must be located outside of the “No
Residential District”, as shown on the Zoning Map
OK
(c) Must not have stadium or playing field
outside of the school building(s).
There aren’t
any.
(d) Must have school bus pick up/drop off zones
immediately in front of school front door.
These zones must be
signed and painted.
Will add at
K-1 and 6-8
CONDITIONAL USE APPLICATION Continued
(e) Must have an adequate number of reserved
parking spaces for parent pick up/ drop off
adjacent to an
access sidewalk immediately adjacent to the school. These spaces must
be signed and
painted.
LR designation
to the East of Building 1550 and the West of Building 1560 are not
immediately
adjacent to a sidewalk, nor at Building 1640.
Sidewalks must be added.
(f) Bus routes within a parking lot must be
approved by the Township Board of Supervisors
and clearly marked
by signage and painting of the pavement.
There are
existing signs but painting is also required.
(g) Any school located within a building
containing uses other than the school must be self-
contained and have
security measures in place to prevent intermingling of students with
the other occupants
or the general public.
This should be
put into writing.
(h) A school shall not be permitted to
co-occupy a building which also contains a research
laboratory or other
similar type of facility.
The fact that
Bioscience will vacate at the end of October should be put into writing.
Courtesy of the floor --- Joan Rosenthal questioned why a school is in
the PORR District. Also being proposed
is a medical facility. These uses were
not the original intent for the PORR Zone.
Motion was made by Tanczos, seconded by Sterner, to send a letter to
the Board of Supervisors recommending conditional approval of the Conditional
Use Application for the
Lawless, yes; Kuehne, yes; Sterner, yes; Narlesky, yes; Tanczos, yes
Sylvia
McLaughlin
Clerk – Planning Commission