1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,919 To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it 2 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:13,400 stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,400 for all. 4 00:00:14,639 --> 00:00:20,480 » Okay. Before we get started, I'd like to announce that after our work session 5 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:25,920 last week, council met in executive sk session to discuss ongoing litigation. 6 00:00:23,359 --> 00:00:29,519 I would also like to welcome members of Troop Scout 29 who are here with us 7 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:35,600 tonight to observe their local government uh to get their citizenship 8 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:39,360 in the community merit badge. Welcome. >> Okay, moving on to public to be heard. 9 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:44,200 Does anyone have any uh public to be heard for items not listed on tonight's 10 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,200 agenda? 11 00:00:46,079 --> 00:00:53,399 » Please enter the conference pin number. >> Sorry, we have someone joining us 12 00:00:50,399 --> 00:00:53,399 remotely. 13 00:00:54,960 --> 00:01:02,120 That pin is invalid for this conference. Please enter the conference pin number. 14 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:12,720 » That pin is invalid for this conference. Please enter the conference pin. 15 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:16,720 » Judy, can you go see if there's anything we can do to at least turn the volume 16 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:21,119 down a little bit so we can keep going? Thank you. 17 00:01:18,799 --> 00:01:25,759 Um, so I see no public to be heard for items not on the agenda. 18 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:30,880 Okay. Then before we move on to our presentations, I'd just like to ask, is 19 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:35,880 there anyone here um on behalf of their certificate of appropriateness being 20 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:35,880 heard tonight? 21 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:41,840 Okay. Well, then I was going to move those forward if we had someone uh here 22 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:48,119 present, but since we don't, we'll move on and we'll start with the EAC Bowman's 23 00:01:44,159 --> 00:01:48,119 Hill plant grant presentation. 24 00:02:00,079 --> 00:02:05,680 I think by way of introduction this is the reason for this presentation or are 25 00:02:03,759 --> 00:02:09,759 you going to be saying that some >> you can 26 00:02:06,159 --> 00:02:17,680 » you'll let me do it. Okay. Um, okay. The New Town received a grant from um 27 00:02:12,239 --> 00:02:23,360 Bowman's um Hill Wildflower uh um for planting native plants in three 28 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:28,640 locations in the burrow, one being Patriots Park, one being the New Town 29 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:34,800 Common Park, and the other being um along a drainage swale off of Chancellor 30 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:40,239 Street. The two parks have signs in them that have educational information in 31 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:44,000 them regarding native plants, but the swale does not have that and we are 32 00:02:42,640 --> 00:02:49,680 required to have an educational component to receive this grant and 33 00:02:46,319 --> 00:02:53,760 summer u bound from the uh EAC has kindly offered to make that presentation 34 00:02:51,920 --> 00:02:58,400 to us. >> All right. Well, good evening. My name 35 00:02:56,959 --> 00:03:03,120 is Summer and I'm a member of the environmental advisory council here in 36 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:06,400 New Town Burough. Um, as Julia said, I'm here to, uh, present the educational 37 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:10,720 component of the Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve Grant that was 38 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:15,360 awarded to the burrow last fall. Uh, this presentation will focus on New 39 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:20,640 Town Burrow's beloved storm water discharge system named Old Skunky. We 40 00:03:18,959 --> 00:03:25,599 will go over fun information about Old Skunky, Old Skunky's role in storm water 41 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:30,480 management, and how native plants are helping to maintain New Town Burough's 42 00:03:27,519 --> 00:03:36,680 storm water systems. What we won't talk about is how Old Skunky got its name. 43 00:03:32,959 --> 00:03:36,680 I'll leave that for interpretation. 44 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:43,920 Before we get into the thick of Old Skunky's history, here's a map of where 45 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:48,799 Old Skunkkey flows through the burrow. It starts at the northeast corner of 46 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:52,720 Washington Avenue and flows southwest towards South Street or South State 47 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:56,280 Street and eventually discharges into the New Town Creek. 48 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:02,640 Now, here's some history about ye old skunky. 49 00:04:00,799 --> 00:04:06,959 Old skunky was originally considered a tributary of the New Town Creek. A 50 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:12,159 tributary is a stream or river that flows into a larger river or body of 51 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:16,880 water. Now, a fun fact, New Town Creek is a tributary of the Namin Creek, which 52 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:21,759 flows into the Delaware River drainage basin. The Delaware River Basin provides 53 00:04:19,359 --> 00:04:26,560 fresh drinking water to over 15 million people spanning four states and includes 54 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:30,320 major cities like Philadelphia and New York City. 55 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:34,560 Old Skunky is one of two surface water resources in the burrow and is 56 00:04:31,919 --> 00:04:39,759 considered an open storm water sewer system. So for reference, the EPA 57 00:04:37,759 --> 00:04:44,960 defines storm water as rainwater or melted snow that runs off streets, 58 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:49,600 lawns, and other sites. When storm water is absorbed into soil, it is filtered 59 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:54,880 and ultimately replenishes aquafers or flows into streams and rivers. 60 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:58,800 Storm water runoff has also been identified as a number one cause of 61 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:03,360 pollution to rivers and streams, which is the source of our drinking water. As 62 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:07,680 New Town became more developed, Old Skunky's channel was diverted. There is 63 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:12,960 a section of Old Skunky between Chancellor Street and Lincoln A where 64 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:17,280 the stream was enclosed. The enclosure causes the intersection of Penn and 65 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:21,680 Chancellor Streets to flood due to its incapacity to handle excess storm water. 66 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:26,080 More development in the burrow meant more issues for our dear old Skunky. You 67 00:05:24,479 --> 00:05:30,560 might even say Skunky was having a stinky time. 68 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:34,160 In the 1960s, when Washington Village was being developed, stormwater 69 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:38,880 management was not typically a consideration in cons in construction 70 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:44,479 planning. More development means more impervious pave surfaces. This was bad 71 00:05:41,759 --> 00:05:48,400 news for Old Skunky. Since there was no storm water management plan, poor old 72 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:52,880 Skunky experienced more runoff, flooding, and erosion. The flooding was 73 00:05:51,039 --> 00:05:57,960 so severe that eventually the burrow had to replace the inlets and piping under 74 00:05:54,479 --> 00:05:57,960 South State Street. 75 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:04,400 Excessive runoff from flooding and waste disposal may give you a hint to what 76 00:06:01,919 --> 00:06:09,120 earned Old Skunky its endearing name, but that's just a guess. After decades 77 00:06:07,199 --> 00:06:16,160 of what old skunky may have called the H2O no years, restoration projects were 78 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:21,039 underway. For example, the retention basin at New Town Station alleviates 79 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:26,000 some of Old Skunky's water load. The basin can carry approximately 600,000 80 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:30,080 gallons of water. That's about 5 million pounds. 81 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:34,400 Recent projects have studied New Town Burough storm water management and the 82 00:06:31,759 --> 00:06:38,800 importance of Old Skunky's role. These projects have helped with slope 83 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:43,440 regrading, bank stabilization, and the installment of native plants. 84 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:48,560 For a burrow with a population of about 2,300 people, Old Skunky is a vital 85 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:53,199 system for storm water management. It is responsible for 23 of the burough storm 86 00:06:51,199 --> 00:07:00,039 water discharge. Despite its wary and sometimes stinky 87 00:06:55,280 --> 00:07:00,039 past, Old Skunky continues to flow. 88 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:08,479 So, now that you know about Old Skunky, let's learn about Old Skunky's swale. 89 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:13,280 Old Skunky's swale is a vegetative area where Old Skunky runs through Chancellor 90 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:19,360 Street. The swale is about 300 ft long and 20 to 30 feet wide. A swale is 91 00:07:16,639 --> 00:07:24,560 simply defined as a lowlying space or depression between ridges. If you make a 92 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:29,120 fist and look at the indented space between your knuckles, that is what a 93 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:34,000 swell looks like. A swell's main purpose is to collect and manage storm water. 94 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:37,120 Storm water can be thought of as water looking for a safe place to go. When it 95 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:41,759 doesn't have when it doesn't have somewhere to go, it causes flooding. 96 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:46,080 During its search, storm water picks up pollutants along the way. A swale 97 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:50,800 provides storm water a place to flow into and to gradually seep into the 98 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:55,680 ground. This is how a swale slows the storm water's infiltration rate. 99 00:07:53,199 --> 00:08:00,960 Infiltration rate is a measure of how fast water enters soil. As the storm 100 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:05,280 water seeps into the ground, the soil also filters a storm water of its 101 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:09,840 pollutants. So instead of the storm water flooding and polluting the New 102 00:08:07,039 --> 00:08:14,319 Town Creek, Old Skunky Swale offers storm water a chance to collect, slow 103 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:18,280 down, get filter through the soil, and infiltrate our water table. 104 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:26,319 Swells can also be a hospitable landscape for diverse ecosystems. 105 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:30,479 A soil with native plants creates habitat and food for animals and 106 00:08:27,919 --> 00:08:35,120 pollinators, which in turn benefits our community as a whole. The generous grant 107 00:08:33,039 --> 00:08:38,399 from Bowman Hill Wildflower Preserve has given us the opportunity to add 108 00:08:36,959 --> 00:08:41,959 additional native plants to the swale's embankment areas. 109 00:08:42,560 --> 00:08:48,399 So, here's some pictures of the swale during the drought last summer. A cool 110 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:51,760 thing about swailes is that they have an amazing ability to retain moisture, 111 00:08:50,560 --> 00:08:56,160 especially with the help of native plants and their root systems. You can 112 00:08:54,000 --> 00:09:00,920 see the vegetation around the soil is still pretty green despite how dry it 113 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:00,920 was. 114 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:10,560 Old skunky and it swale playing an essential row role in the burrow's MS4 115 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:16,000 program. MS4 stands for municipal separate storm sewer system. You can try 116 00:09:13,519 --> 00:09:21,120 saying that 10 times fast. As defined by the PA, 117 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:26,080 MS4s are conveyances or systems of conveyances, including roads with 118 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:32,240 drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, 119 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:37,600 man-made channels, or storm drains that are owned or operated by a public 120 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:41,760 entity. They are designed or used for collecting or conveying storm water and 121 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:46,800 are not a combined sewer or part of a publicly owned treatment works. MS4 is a 122 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:52,080 required program/permit that is regulated by the DP, the Department of 123 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:56,800 Environmental Protection. MS4 program's main goal is to regulate 124 00:09:54,560 --> 00:10:02,240 storm water, how it is discharged, and the associated pollutants. 125 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:06,160 Every MS4 permittee establishes a storm water management program. The program 126 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:12,320 addresses the impacts of stormwater runoff and solution plans. 127 00:10:09,680 --> 00:10:16,480 The S SWMP requires a focus on six minimum control measures. Some of these 128 00:10:14,959 --> 00:10:23,720 include construction site runoff control, pollution prevention, 129 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:23,720 education, and outreach amongst others. 130 00:10:26,079 --> 00:10:33,760 Now, after all this talk about Old Skunky and storm water management, what 131 00:10:30,959 --> 00:10:38,959 is storm water management? How do native plants help with storm water management? 132 00:10:35,839 --> 00:10:44,240 Well, I'm so glad you all asked. By definition, storm water management is 133 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:49,120 the use of practices to reduce, detain, slow down, or remove pollutants from 134 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:54,079 surface water runoff and can be used to restore natural processes previously 135 00:10:51,519 --> 00:10:57,680 provided by nature. Old skunky and its swale have the ability to do all these 136 00:10:55,920 --> 00:11:03,200 things, especially with the help from native plants. 137 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:07,600 So, what are native plants? Native plants are defined as a species that 138 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:11,680 occurs naturally in a given location either because it evolved there or 139 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:15,920 dispersed to that location without benefit of human activity. 140 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:20,640 Native plants have a plethora of benefits for the environment, animals 141 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:24,560 and humans. So next we will see how native plants contribute to storm water 142 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:27,560 management, erosion control and biodiversity. 143 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:38,079 Native plants have remarkable abilities to fix many man-made problems. To quote 144 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:43,200 the infamous Io Wilson, "There can be no purpose more inspiring than to begin the 145 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:47,519 age of restoration, reweaving the wondrous diversity of life that still 146 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:53,760 surrounds us." End quote. As opposed to non-native or 147 00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:59,279 exotic exotic plants, native plants have an extensive root system that can hold 148 00:11:55,600 --> 00:12:02,640 on to soil. Their roots prevent erosion, increase storm water retention, and 149 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:05,600 slows down the infiltration rate of groundwater while filtering out 150 00:12:04,079 --> 00:12:09,680 pollutants. Native plants provide necessities like 151 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:14,800 food and habitat for local fauna and flora. This is also how native plants 152 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:20,320 increase biodiversity. For example, echynasia, the common name 153 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:25,440 is cone flower, feeds our pollinators and animals with its nectar and seeds. 154 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:29,920 When the seasons change, burrowing bees will overwinter in the woody stems. 155 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:35,680 Echanasia also has medicinal properties for humans as a remedy for colds and 156 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:39,839 immune support. As an extra bonus, native plants minimize maintenance 157 00:12:37,279 --> 00:12:43,760 costs. They require less mowing, less watering, and no chemical or fertilizer 158 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:49,839 applications. Sounds like a pretty good deal. 159 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:55,040 So, this is a list of the plants that we planted uh around the soil at Old Skunky 160 00:12:52,160 --> 00:13:00,959 from Bowman's Hill. Here are some of the plants being 161 00:12:57,279 --> 00:13:05,760 installed. They don't look like much in these photos, but once they're 162 00:13:02,079 --> 00:13:09,360 established, they will fill out nicely. So to wrap up this presentation, I'd 163 00:13:07,839 --> 00:13:13,120 like to showcase a couple of the native plants we received from Bowman Hill 164 00:13:10,959 --> 00:13:17,120 Wildflower Preserve. This one's called Clethral on a also 165 00:13:15,519 --> 00:13:21,760 known as summer sweet or sweet pepper bush. It has fragrant and very 166 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:26,000 attractive flowers. Excellent food source for pollinators and it's also 167 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:31,360 deer resistant. It tolerates wet landscapes and does well in sandy soils. 168 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:35,680 In fact, it's often used for erosion control along bodies of water. The next 169 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:40,160 time you go down the shore, notice how erosion has affected the shoreline. You 170 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:44,639 might notice that these areas with dunes and plants are much more stable than 171 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:48,320 those without. So for those of you with shore houses and experiencing the 172 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:52,200 effects of erosion, this native is a great plant to keep in mind. 173 00:13:52,560 --> 00:14:00,800 This is picntheum, also known as mountain mint. Oh, the picture didn't 174 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:04,320 show up. Well, it's not an aggressive spreader like other mints you might find 175 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:08,160 at a garden center. It's fragrant and can act as a natural repellent for 176 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:12,399 mosquitoes and ticks. It's also deer and rabbit resistant. It enjoys moist areas, 177 00:14:10,959 --> 00:14:17,839 so it's a great plant choice for old skunky. Is also fairly drought tolerant. 178 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:21,920 It's a wonderful food source for pollinators. If you plant this, your 179 00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:25,920 yard will also be humming with honeybees, hummingbirds, and 180 00:14:23,279 --> 00:14:31,680 butterflies. The leaves have culinary uses as a seasoning or a tea to treat 181 00:14:28,399 --> 00:14:36,480 colds, help with anxiety, insomnia, tummy aches, and so many other ailments. 182 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:41,120 Because it's a native plant, it doesn't require fertilizer or pesticides, so it 183 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:44,440 also reduces landscaping costs and will save you money. 184 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:53,360 There's the picture. There we are. Uh on behalf of the New Town Bureau and 185 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:58,160 the EAC, I'd like to extend a ginormous thank you to Bowman's Hill Wildflower 186 00:14:55,120 --> 00:15:01,120 Preserve for awarding us this grant uh making our community a more 187 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:05,440 environmentally sound and wonderful place to live. I thank you all for 188 00:15:03,199 --> 00:15:09,519 listening and being here today. I hope you enjoyed this presentation and maybe 189 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:13,360 learned something. If you're feeling inspired, reach out to your local 190 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:16,880 environmental advisory council or township about how you can get involved 191 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:21,920 in projects that make a difference. Because without a thriving environment, 192 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:24,959 where would we be? Uh, you can stay tuned to New Town Burrow's new 193 00:15:23,279 --> 00:15:30,880 newsletters and the environmental advisory council's new web page for more 194 00:15:27,519 --> 00:15:34,360 updates about upcoming projects. And uh, I thank you. 195 00:15:55,839 --> 00:16:00,759 are currently the only person in this conference. 196 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:14,880 So now we'll move on to our next presentation which is about the Liberty 197 00:16:11,519 --> 00:16:18,320 Center development proposal. Are you all using the technology as 198 00:16:16,959 --> 00:16:21,199 well? Okay, great. >> I'm not, but we are. 199 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:28,079 » Okay. [laughter] >> Uh, I'm Ed Murphy. Um, I'm here tonight 200 00:16:24,399 --> 00:16:32,880 with Jim Worthington and a host of other project consultants to 201 00:16:30,639 --> 00:16:37,720 uh discuss about the Liberty Development proposal. 202 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:58,000 Please continue. Sorry. >> Okay. Um, I'm here tonight with Jim 203 00:16:55,199 --> 00:17:03,759 Worththington and uh multiple of the project consultants to discuss a project 204 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:09,919 that has probably been one of the most discussed publicly um in the history of 205 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:14,799 the burrow. It used to be known for many years as the steeple view project that 206 00:17:13,039 --> 00:17:19,120 went on seemingly for almost a generation and resulted in various 207 00:17:16,959 --> 00:17:25,360 levels of approval. Uh Jim Worthington purchased the 208 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:32,320 property almost 14 months ago in uh early 2025 209 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:40,320 and uh we had our first informal workshop session with um a handful of 210 00:17:36,559 --> 00:17:46,559 burough administration staff and several council people last mid July when we 211 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:52,000 made everyone aware of Jim's acquisition and also some tenative plans he had for 212 00:17:49,039 --> 00:17:58,320 how he would uh look to modify the previously approved plan. Uh we spent 213 00:17:55,280 --> 00:18:08,480 the balance of the summer and early fall um doing um due diligence on the plan 214 00:18:03,120 --> 00:18:13,919 various uh reached out to some u local stakeholders to get their sense of it. 215 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:17,840 And then we met for the first time in early November last year with your 216 00:18:15,679 --> 00:18:24,799 planning commission and we presented at that time a a sketch plan. Uh we did 217 00:18:21,919 --> 00:18:30,720 have the benefit of a review uh from Michelle Fountain's office when 218 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:34,480 we did have that first meeting. And much like the first staff meeting in mid July 219 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:41,760 where we got a fair amount of feedback of issues to be uh thinking about as we 220 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:47,200 embarked on any revision to the plan. We had that same kind of feedback from your 221 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:53,919 planning commission last November 3rd and we've since that meeting have 222 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:58,799 followed up again with um different um groups stakeholders if you will within 223 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:02,240 the burrow. Uh Jim's had a number of listening sessions which I'm sure you're 224 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:10,000 familiar with because some of you attended those and uh more recently we 225 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:17,120 made u a more formal submission of the revised sketch plan and a companion 226 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:22,880 uh overlay ordinance that we call the green rate greenway redevelopment 227 00:19:19,360 --> 00:19:26,480 ordinance or the grow ordinance. that would be a vehicle that would allow the 228 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:32,400 plan that we're going to present to you tonight if everybody thinks it makes 229 00:19:28,799 --> 00:19:38,240 sense uh to move forward. So, uh, this opportunity tonight is to allow Jim 230 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:44,000 briefly and then the project architects and then, um, the project planner to 231 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:49,200 talk about the design elements that we've incorporated into the plans since 232 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:54,640 some of you saw it last July and hopefully the uh, benefit of that we see 233 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:59,919 in considering this amendment as opposed to relying on the prior most recent 234 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:04,559 amended final approval for the steeple view project. So, uh, with that as 235 00:20:02,559 --> 00:20:08,880 background, Jim wants to make only a very brief commentary and then we'll 236 00:20:07,039 --> 00:20:14,240 turn it over to the project architects who will have a more visual presentation 237 00:20:11,679 --> 00:20:17,720 of uh, the work product we've developed since last July. 238 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:32,080 My name is Jim Worthington and thanks [clears throat] for having us tonight. I 239 00:20:30,799 --> 00:20:38,320 just want to give you a little brief history. Uh very brief. Um two years uh 240 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:42,080 prior to purchasing the uh project from Allan Smith, who I admire dearly. I 241 00:20:40,559 --> 00:20:48,799 think he's done tremendous things for the burrow and the township. uh myself 242 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:52,799 and a friend of mine spent uh virtually dozens of meetings with Allen 243 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:57,039 trying to get familiar with the project and I was very excited about it in terms 244 00:20:55,280 --> 00:21:02,559 of because he's he's a visionary and he does really good things. Um during that 245 00:20:59,679 --> 00:21:07,200 two-year project, we also were talking to different stakeholders, residents 246 00:21:04,799 --> 00:21:12,960 around the site, which was then Steeple View, uh business owners on State Street 247 00:21:10,559 --> 00:21:19,360 and surrounding areas. And we found out that the what Allen's vision was did not 248 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:24,159 coincide with what the folks around there thought. And I came in with very 249 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:28,480 excited about, hey, I'm going to buy this plane. I'm going to just do it. But 250 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:32,559 that wasn't the feeling. and sense we got from the people there, they were 251 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:39,280 concerned about a number of things uh that that that I wasn't aware of. And 252 00:21:35,919 --> 00:21:45,760 then after I purchased it in January of uh of that year, uh we dug further into 253 00:21:42,799 --> 00:21:50,799 it with my experts and people that were working on my project to find out that 254 00:21:47,919 --> 00:21:55,120 all the fears of the people that were um not thrilled with the the plan and were 255 00:21:53,280 --> 00:22:02,320 looking for something different came true. So, for instance, the plan that 256 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:09,520 Allen had uh versus the plan we have had 1,700 more cars per week per week than 257 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:13,280 our plan that we developed, which is 85,000 cars more a year. That was a 258 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:17,360 problem. People were concerned about traffic. That's what we were repeatedly 259 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:22,720 told. People were concerned about off-site parking that was in Allen's 260 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:25,440 plan down at the stocking works saying, you know, this doesn't make sense 261 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:31,200 because people aren't going to go down there and park. We realized that was 262 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:36,080 true, too. So, we came up with a plan that basically park right on site. 263 00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:41,840 People were concerned about the fact that there was going to be limited 264 00:22:38,559 --> 00:22:49,360 public parking. We provided much more public parking in our new plan. Um there 265 00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:54,559 was a a plaza space that was uh very much needed and wanted. It was something 266 00:22:51,919 --> 00:23:01,360 that the burrow I think insisted upon. We saw that uh plaza space which was 267 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:07,200 nice but it was 5,000 square feet. We said hey there's room to do much better. 268 00:23:03,679 --> 00:23:12,480 We made it 15,000 square feet. We tripled the size of it. Every place we 269 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:18,000 looked at where we could improve Allen's plan. We did. Um, and the biggest thing 270 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:22,000 was the business community was definitely afraid of more competition. 271 00:23:20,559 --> 00:23:26,640 They didn't want another restaurant. They wanted no more coffee shops. They 272 00:23:24,559 --> 00:23:30,559 said it's hard enough to to now business-wise to compete. And here we 273 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:34,960 are going to bring in more people, which is going to cause more traffic and 274 00:23:32,799 --> 00:23:39,200 decimate the people there. What they wanted was people that lived in the 275 00:23:37,039 --> 00:23:44,159 community. So, what I originally thought I was going to do, which would have been 276 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:48,960 really easy, we scrapped because it wasn't right for the community. And I've 277 00:23:47,039 --> 00:23:54,480 done business in New Town now in two years, 50 years. Some of you have been 278 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:58,080 members of my club. And we try to do things that are exemplary. And we try to 279 00:23:56,320 --> 00:24:01,840 do things that give back to the community. People may not like some of 280 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:06,240 the things I do outside of my business, but the fact of the matter, I've always 281 00:24:03,919 --> 00:24:11,840 have thought that what I could do best for our community, whether it's raising 282 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:16,640 money for charities or uh supporting different businesses or whatever the 283 00:24:13,279 --> 00:24:21,279 case may be. Um, so the plan we're going to present tonight, I think you'll get 284 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:24,640 the facts from our our experts here, is a far better plan than Allen. And that 285 00:24:23,039 --> 00:24:30,400 doesn't mean that Allen didn't have a great vision. He did. But at the time he 286 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:35,600 came up with that many many years ago, New Town has burrow has changed quite 287 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:41,679 quite a bit. And I think this plan on its merits uh really really adds to the 288 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:47,039 community. Really I think it's it's a wonderful community. I you may or may 289 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:52,000 not have heard I've most recently um uh I will be buying the Burden Hand 290 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:56,400 Building uh on April 15th. I have two or three other uh sites right on State 291 00:24:53,919 --> 00:25:00,640 Street that I own. I have a vested interest in making sure we do a plan 292 00:24:58,159 --> 00:25:04,400 that really really contributes to the community. So, that's all I really 293 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:08,720 wanted to tell you. I'm I'm honored to be able to stand here and say I have an 294 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:13,039 opportunity, I think, to do something that's a really gamecher for the burrow 295 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:17,760 and I think the surrounding community. And I'm very proud and blessed to say I 296 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:23,840 will do everything I can to make that a huge success. And I think um we do have 297 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:28,320 information that we and I do want to tell you we did we did go around and uh 298 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:34,240 one of my employees, Linda Mitchell, who will be celebrating our 45th uh work 299 00:25:31,360 --> 00:25:38,320 anniversary this May, uh basically went on foot, which is pretty good for 300 00:25:35,919 --> 00:25:46,480 somebody 75 years old, and went door to door every every surrounding business, 301 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:49,600 every resident she could with unbiased asking, "How do you feel about this 302 00:25:48,159 --> 00:25:53,840 project?" not asking them for their support, just playing it right down the 303 00:25:51,919 --> 00:25:58,720 middle. And I think if we get a chance to show you the results of that, it was 304 00:25:55,679 --> 00:26:02,000 pretty overwhelming that people uh people really want to see this happen. 305 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:10,880 So anyway, thank you very much for listening to me and I appreciate it. 306 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:15,440 So, what you're going to see next is um a visual 307 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:22,559 uh and a descriptive presentation from David Mow and Michael Lawson. Uh both uh 308 00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:27,440 members of Minnow and Wasco, which is a regional architectural firm 309 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:32,240 headquartered in Lambertville. Uh Dave and Michael have been working with us 310 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:39,679 from the get-go since um Jim's acquisition of the property last year 311 00:26:34,799 --> 00:26:45,600 and um I think uh hopefully you'll feel as we do that the changes that um they 312 00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:52,240 will visually review with you and Jim's overview description of that are 313 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:57,840 I think provide real municipal benefits to um the burrow and to a greater area 314 00:26:55,679 --> 00:27:03,120 outside the burrow when you see the changes that hopefully uh you'll think 315 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:06,640 are worthy of incorporating into any new revised plan. So with that as 316 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:09,799 background, I'll turn it over to David and Mike. 317 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:16,960 » Good evening. I'm David Mow um with Minnow and Wasco Architects and 318 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:23,440 Planners. And I have a big smile on my face tonight. I'm a New Town burrow 319 00:27:19,679 --> 00:27:29,520 resident and this plan I think is going to be uh what New Town needs in this 320 00:27:26,559 --> 00:27:35,440 location. We've had an eyesore in this location for years and years and we'd 321 00:27:32,159 --> 00:27:39,679 like that to end and do something beyond just be a development project uh for a 322 00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:46,240 developer to make money. This is something very special that uh the 323 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:53,760 community needs and will benefit from. Uh Do you advance? Go ahead. 324 00:27:50,799 --> 00:28:00,159 So, uh, this is our development team, Jim and his partner Bob Weller, myself, 325 00:27:57,279 --> 00:28:05,200 Michael Lawson, Lynn Yahaya, who's a landscape architect, 326 00:28:02,399 --> 00:28:11,679 our civil engineer, Ron Monree, Ed who you know, Jeff Manard who works with 327 00:28:08,159 --> 00:28:14,679 Jim, and John Kennedy who's a who's a planner. 328 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:20,799 Why don't you move on? I think Jim has covered some of these main points. So, 329 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:29,840 I'm going to reiterate a little bit of what Jim said, not much, but um we have 330 00:28:25,919 --> 00:28:35,679 created a 14 to 15,000 square foot uh town square on the property. And this 331 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:40,559 is a place that can be activated by New Town Burrow to do various things whether 332 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:46,320 it's a Christmas tree lighting or bull market carts. Uh any kind of festival 333 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:53,120 that we want to have. It can have entertainment. Uh we have a a covered 334 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:56,559 pavilion where groups can perform and it's a space that New Town really 335 00:28:54,960 --> 00:29:01,440 doesn't have and it does happen to be right in the center of town. 336 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:06,720 We've enhanced the greenway trail. It was always contemplated 337 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:11,840 uh in the plan uh that was approved prior to this, but we've made some very 338 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:16,080 special changes to it and it's going to be a great walkway for the community. 339 00:29:14,159 --> 00:29:21,679 It's open to the public. It's not a private amenity all along New Town Creek 340 00:29:19,039 --> 00:29:27,600 in this section of the property. the um 341 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:34,880 public parking spaces. We've got 55 u public parking spaces. 342 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:40,080 We have 20 parking spaces set aside for phase one residential. The building uh 343 00:29:38,159 --> 00:29:45,360 the residents who live over the liquor store off of State Street are just 344 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:51,039 parking with everyone else in that beat up parking lot. So we've got reserved 345 00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:55,200 now 20 specific spaces for those residents. 346 00:29:52,559 --> 00:30:00,640 We've got 20 spaces for the existing retailers, the liquor store and our 347 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:06,320 favorite croissant store. So we've provided the parking that we 348 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:11,600 need not only for the commercial and for public, but we've also got the required 349 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:14,960 number of parking spaces for our residents. 350 00:30:13,279 --> 00:30:20,399 Um, one of the things you'll see about our parking that's quite different from 351 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:26,000 the prior approved plan by Alan Smith is that our parking u, much of it for the 352 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:31,919 residential portion is underneath the buildings and out of sight. And this is 353 00:30:29,279 --> 00:30:35,760 something that makes it a higher quality project all around. It's a elegant way 354 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:40,960 to live. You can park under your building and take an elevator up uh, and 355 00:30:39,279 --> 00:30:45,440 avoid the inclement weather when you're bringing groceries in. And so it's a 356 00:30:42,399 --> 00:30:53,760 very very nice way to live. We've uh the project now includes 125 357 00:30:49,440 --> 00:31:00,000 rental uh apartments and we expect our renters here to be in two basic groups. 358 00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:06,240 We and we see this all over in downtown redevelopment. The first group would be 359 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:11,840 young uh professional type people who are just starting out and running an 360 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:16,399 apartment uh employed in the area. And the second group which we see in 361 00:31:14,159 --> 00:31:23,360 particularly important in the New Town project is an empty neester market. Um 362 00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:27,919 we have many people who have lived in New Town and the surrounding communities 363 00:31:25,679 --> 00:31:33,200 for a long time who may be at a point where they're selling their home and 364 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:38,159 want to keep a a residence in New Town. Maybe they're buying a home in Florida 365 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:42,159 or the Carolas, but they want to keep a residence here because this is where 366 00:31:40,559 --> 00:31:46,960 their relationships are. This is where their families are. This is where they 367 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:52,399 worship. This is their home, and they want to stay here in a in a very, very 368 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:59,039 nice building. So, that's that's kind of who we seek coming to this project. 369 00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:06,240 The other thing that Jim mentioned was that we have 85,000 fewer 370 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:10,159 annual car trips to this project than the prior approval. 371 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:15,279 And a lot of that is based on the fact that we have removed the retail 372 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:20,320 component that was in the prior approved plan. And as Jim mentioned, the retail 373 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:25,600 that was contemplated here was competitive with our good merchants on 374 00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:31,200 State Street and other locations within town on Sycamore. 375 00:32:27,679 --> 00:32:37,679 And uh there was really not the proper parking to support it. And it created 376 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:41,519 this uh influx of parking even in the evening which would have been in a 377 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:45,440 little bit of a competition with the residents and a nuisance for the 378 00:32:43,039 --> 00:32:51,840 residents to have cars coming in throughout the evening for retail uses. 379 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:56,720 So we think that this is a benefit to reduce the amount of traffic that's 380 00:32:53,840 --> 00:33:01,600 coming in and out of this site. Um the architecture that we're going to 381 00:32:59,679 --> 00:33:07,039 be presenting tonight is a high quality architecture that really works well with 382 00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:11,600 the phase one architecture. We did meet with Harb and we got comments from them 383 00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:16,559 that they wanted to see an interpretation of 384 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:22,720 uh what was done in phase one and the idea there I think is that it's a 385 00:33:19,919 --> 00:33:27,440 it's a site that did hold industrial uses back in the day. We actually 386 00:33:24,799 --> 00:33:33,039 consulted with Jeff Marshall who helped us figure out what existed on this site 387 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:38,480 way back in the day. And as you may know, larger businesses tended to locate 388 00:33:36,399 --> 00:33:45,200 in two places historically. One was along rail railroad tracks and the other 389 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:50,080 was along streams or waterways. And on this site in particular, there was a 390 00:33:47,279 --> 00:33:54,799 very large millwork company that was located right there along the New Town 391 00:33:51,840 --> 00:34:00,320 Creek. There was also a a huge complex of green houses in that location. So, 392 00:33:58,399 --> 00:34:05,120 architecturally, you know, we can play off of that idea of older industrial 393 00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:09,440 buildings that have been renovated into newer residences. And that's what we've 394 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:15,839 done. And I'll let Michael, my partner, u describe that in a little bit more 395 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:23,760 detail. Next slide. Uh this is just an area that I think 396 00:34:18,639 --> 00:34:28,560 points out the uh supporters and solicitation of people to comment on 397 00:34:26,159 --> 00:34:37,000 this on this project. This is where we handed out um uh you know leaflets and 398 00:34:32,879 --> 00:34:37,000 gave information. Next, 399 00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:46,240 so this slide is a portion of the approved Allen Smith slide. This is the 400 00:34:42,639 --> 00:34:52,240 northern end. Center Avenue is on the right hand side of the sheet. And this 401 00:34:49,679 --> 00:34:59,119 was the approved plan. And he had a great deal of retail on this end of the 402 00:34:55,040 --> 00:35:04,160 site in buildings two and three. And the small plaza area that he had next to the 403 00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:08,560 creek was located right there adjacent to Center Street. 404 00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:16,720 But he has very very little parking there for that retail. Um and as you uh 405 00:35:14,720 --> 00:35:22,000 the park the public parking which is sort of in the center of the site was 406 00:35:19,119 --> 00:35:28,240 too far away for the state street merchants uh to be effective for them. 407 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:34,400 Next slide. This is more of the um southern end of 408 00:35:31,359 --> 00:35:40,400 the site where he had uh small residential buildings perpendicular to 409 00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:45,040 the creek sort of lined up. um no parking under the building, all surface 410 00:35:42,320 --> 00:35:50,640 parking. And in fact, he didn't make the parking work on site. I think 50 spaces 411 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:55,599 to support this project where at the stocking works, which I think was a 412 00:35:53,280 --> 00:36:00,160 difficult thing for the boards here to approve, even though they did, but I 413 00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:05,680 don't think personally I don't think it worked. People really weren't going to 414 00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:11,040 walk that far to either uh park for the residents or park for retail. 415 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:16,880 Also, this uh big circle in the center of the site ate up a lot of land and 416 00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:21,839 really didn't do much u for the site at all. So, that's one thing that we we saw 417 00:36:19,599 --> 00:36:29,520 as a as a big problem right from the get-go. Next, 418 00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:35,680 so here is a a portion of or this is our site plan. Uh we have three residential 419 00:36:33,359 --> 00:36:42,079 buildings. one, two, one on the left, two in the middle, three on the right. 420 00:36:38,480 --> 00:36:48,400 And these buildings have 43 units in the first building, 49 in the second, and 33 421 00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:52,720 in the third. And as you look on the right hand 422 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:58,320 portion of the plan, we've got a greatly enlarged town park and pavilion 423 00:36:56,720 --> 00:37:02,960 building. and you'll see renderings of what this looks like, but we've taken 424 00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:07,760 the entry that's uh sort of behind Starbucks and the hardware store and 425 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:13,440 we've made that a a special paving street as you come in that ties right 426 00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:19,520 into the plaza itself. And on days when you'd be having 427 00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:25,040 functions there, music or performance or whatever, we can close off that portion 428 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:31,119 of the street and have it be an even larger uh plaza that would include the 429 00:37:28,079 --> 00:37:36,480 street area itself. So that that's something that I've seen done 430 00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:41,359 successfully in in several towns uh in downtown areas. 431 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:46,960 um our parking and I'll I'll let Michael go through it but much of it is 432 00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:55,599 underneath the building. We have 241 residential spaces for 125 units and we 433 00:37:51,680 --> 00:38:02,400 have 133 of those as garage spaces. So there are more than one to one spaces uh 434 00:37:58,640 --> 00:38:05,440 garage spaces for the residents. And I'm going to let Michael take over 435 00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:12,480 and show you some beautiful architecture. I must say that our client 436 00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:19,520 Jim has said, "I want to make this a legacy project." Um, and he said that in 437 00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:24,160 relation to the quality of all the materials to be used in this project and 438 00:38:22,240 --> 00:38:29,119 the design of the buildings. He wants it to be something that will look good on 439 00:38:27,280 --> 00:38:34,079 all four sides. It's not going to have a beautiful front and vinyl siding on the 440 00:38:31,599 --> 00:38:40,240 back. It's going to be a wonderful four-sided project. And um I'll let 441 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:43,520 Michael describe the architecture. Thank you. 442 00:38:41,359 --> 00:38:47,119 » Thank you, Dave. >> Perfect. 443 00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:51,520 » Thank you so much. As Dave alluded to, my name is Michael Loss. I'm a partner 444 00:38:49,119 --> 00:38:55,760 uh with Dave at Mano and Wasco and we specialize in these kinds of 445 00:38:52,960 --> 00:39:01,839 developments in downtown areas where we try to rehabilitate areas that are not 446 00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:07,760 succeeding. Um, and I think Dave really illustrated how the vision now for 447 00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:12,720 Liberty Center as well as ownership um, really looked and saw what different 448 00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:17,839 components needed to be enhanced. Dave alluded to the fact that we have this 449 00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:22,800 beautiful now retail or uh, events plaza located here with the pavilion. We also 450 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:28,000 have located the public parking closest to the Starbucks and closest to State 451 00:39:25,520 --> 00:39:33,440 Street so that those people that are using that public parking can have an 452 00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:38,480 easy and accessible uh walk back up to where all the businesses are located. As 453 00:39:36,079 --> 00:39:46,240 we come down into the site, we've really taken a uh view that we have to minimize 454 00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:50,640 the the size of the buildings through shaping them and creating view 455 00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:56,320 corridors. And one of the things that we did here was you can see on each of 456 00:39:53,280 --> 00:40:00,880 these corridors heading down towards uh the inner side of the site, that is 457 00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:05,280 where we've located our main entry, our architectural feature. You can also see 458 00:40:03,599 --> 00:40:10,560 that we've done that here in this location. We've in we've included even a 459 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:15,839 park uh next to this area for green space. And you can see this kind of 460 00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:20,800 working through the whole site plan. There are different nodes that occur as 461 00:40:18,079 --> 00:40:25,680 you walk through and you experience the site. And that's really what we wanted 462 00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:31,800 to do. That's how it integrates into the burrow and the downtown here uh in New 463 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:31,800 Town. 464 00:40:32,320 --> 00:40:40,640 Yes. So, as you look at at the at the plan that you have here, this is a 465 00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:44,720 ground floor plan. The gray areas are that parking those parking uh spaces 466 00:40:43,040 --> 00:40:49,839 that are on the ground floor. They are the garage parking spaces. They're these 467 00:40:46,720 --> 00:40:54,560 light gray areas here and here. This building actually has them in a basement 468 00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:59,440 level underneath it. So, there's even parking underneath this this uh building 469 00:40:57,599 --> 00:41:06,240 here in building one. So each of these buildings has that level of parking. The 470 00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:10,800 pink areas is where we have those nodes and that's where we have that lobby 471 00:41:08,160 --> 00:41:15,119 space and amenity space. That's going to include a few different things and I 472 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:20,160 have uh some imagery of that as we get further along. But in there you'll have 473 00:41:17,599 --> 00:41:25,440 an elegant lobby space. You'll have a club room, fitness areas, co-working 474 00:41:22,880 --> 00:41:30,079 spaces, all the amenities that come and are expected now in these kinds of 475 00:41:27,440 --> 00:41:34,960 communities throughout the Northeast. And then um as you see these plans as we 476 00:41:32,960 --> 00:41:39,200 progress further, you'll see that the yellow components are the residential 477 00:41:36,880 --> 00:41:43,520 units, how they stack in the building and how they step back in different 478 00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:46,520 locations as we move up the the plan here. 479 00:41:47,520 --> 00:41:53,599 some of the areas that we're looking to enhance. Um, and these are some theme 480 00:41:51,680 --> 00:41:58,960 imagery of the public spaces that we're we're hoping to create, the public 481 00:41:55,839 --> 00:42:03,520 plazas, the entertainment areas. Um, areas that you can have a Christmas tree 482 00:42:01,119 --> 00:42:09,200 lighting or manora lighting or an event for your holidays. Um, as well as like 483 00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:14,720 Dave mentioned, you could have uh areas for food trucks and festivals and those 484 00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:19,280 kinds of things, but also for leisure. the the walkway along the creek is an 485 00:42:17,119 --> 00:42:24,400 very important piece of this development, but also of the the entire 486 00:42:22,079 --> 00:42:29,440 downtown New Town Burough. And that really allows us to connect both the 487 00:42:26,720 --> 00:42:34,400 residential to that natural perspective that you see into the creek um but also 488 00:42:32,240 --> 00:42:38,400 to the downtown and the walkability of downtown. 489 00:42:36,640 --> 00:42:42,400 These are some of the images that I just alluded to for the interior amenities. 490 00:42:40,480 --> 00:42:47,200 These are this is the level of amenity that is expected at these kinds of of 491 00:42:45,119 --> 00:42:52,319 projects and and these types of new residences. So you can see the the the 492 00:42:50,240 --> 00:42:56,880 private dining areas for the residents of the community, the club rooms, the 493 00:42:54,480 --> 00:43:02,160 fitness areas, as well as the level of design that's brought into each of the 494 00:42:58,720 --> 00:43:06,720 residential units. As Dave said, the the people that we expect to be living here 495 00:43:04,319 --> 00:43:10,640 and renting here are people that have a high quality of living. They want to see 496 00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:15,359 these kinds of amenities and they want to see wood floors. They want to see a 497 00:43:13,520 --> 00:43:22,240 beautiful kitchen. Those are the things that make this community that much 498 00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:26,800 special for uh New Town Burough. As we go up to the next floor plan, this 499 00:43:24,400 --> 00:43:30,960 is actually a typical floor plan. And this this shows that on the upper floors 500 00:43:29,040 --> 00:43:35,920 of the building, you have all residential units. This is where we have 501 00:43:33,119 --> 00:43:42,960 a mix of one uh bedrooms, two bedrooms, and three-bedroom units that really 502 00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:47,280 enhance and create different uh size of units for the different income levels, 503 00:43:45,359 --> 00:43:52,079 but also for what people are looking for. We think that we have the correct 504 00:43:49,280 --> 00:43:56,640 mix uh that's warranted for this uh downtown environment. And as Dave 505 00:43:54,319 --> 00:44:01,200 alluded to, we do have the correct amount of parking to park these uh uh 506 00:43:59,359 --> 00:44:05,920 these residences both in the surface parking as well as the garage parking 507 00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:10,400 underneath the buildings. This is then the roof plan. And you can 508 00:44:07,760 --> 00:44:15,040 see that on the roof plan, this is where we hide our mechanical units, but also 509 00:44:12,880 --> 00:44:19,760 we have an amenity up here as well. And on buildings two and three in this 510 00:44:17,920 --> 00:44:24,560 location and this location, we're providing for rooftop amenity decks. 511 00:44:22,240 --> 00:44:28,880 This was really important for Jim and his and his development team that we 512 00:44:26,319 --> 00:44:32,720 created an an area that you could go up to the top of the building and you could 513 00:44:31,040 --> 00:44:37,920 look over the creek, look over the natural environment, as well as look 514 00:44:34,160 --> 00:44:43,599 over downtown uh the downtown area. In these areas, you'll see that you have 515 00:44:40,640 --> 00:44:49,119 fire pits, you have areas for lounging, you have areas to uh allow you to 516 00:44:46,240 --> 00:44:53,520 sunbathe in in certain areas, um as well as barbecue grills and areas uh so that 517 00:44:51,760 --> 00:44:56,240 you can actually cook um and bring those things back down to your 518 00:44:55,040 --> 00:45:00,480 » Wi-Fi >> as well as work outside and Wi-Fi, which 519 00:44:58,640 --> 00:45:08,000 is very important nowadays in in our technology communities. 520 00:45:03,839 --> 00:45:13,680 So that leads us into the vision of what this is going to look like. And I bring 521 00:45:10,560 --> 00:45:19,599 up this is um the an image looking from our our central street um at building 2 522 00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:24,240 at the entry to building 2 where the park is um that we've created at the 523 00:45:21,760 --> 00:45:28,240 center of the site. And as Dave had said, we met with Harb and we worked 524 00:45:26,400 --> 00:45:33,760 with them um through a pallet of materials that includes an elegant gray 525 00:45:31,040 --> 00:45:38,960 brick um as well as traditional brick detailing um with modern accents. And 526 00:45:36,880 --> 00:45:46,000 you can see those modern accents at the center uh entry area where we have uh a 527 00:45:42,880 --> 00:45:51,040 a larger glazing area on that on the building that denotes where we believe 528 00:45:48,720 --> 00:45:55,440 the node is on the building. the important piece where people are drawn 529 00:45:52,880 --> 00:46:01,520 to, but it also has a contextual element. Even on this building, as you 530 00:45:57,839 --> 00:46:05,839 as you came in, it has a large glass entryway. On several other buildings 531 00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:10,720 throughout the burrow, it has this vernacular. We wanted to use that as 532 00:46:08,160 --> 00:46:14,800 well here to bring in some context in terms of how buildings have been 533 00:46:12,160 --> 00:46:19,520 rehabilitated in the burrow. You can also see that on um several of the 534 00:46:17,760 --> 00:46:24,240 different architectural elements, we've created a residential feel. And you can 535 00:46:21,920 --> 00:46:28,400 see that in the gable pitched roofs that we're creating, the bay windows that we 536 00:46:26,560 --> 00:46:33,440 have on the on the building, the balconies that we've incorporated into 537 00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:39,520 the language of the ins and outs, as well as the [clears throat] 538 00:46:36,560 --> 00:46:43,760 the divided lights in each of the windows on the lower portion of the 539 00:46:41,359 --> 00:46:48,000 building. This breaks down the scale of the building and allows for a more 540 00:46:45,520 --> 00:46:53,257 residential typology that we think merges well uh with the the aesthetic 541 00:46:50,800 --> 00:46:55,277 that we were trying to create on site. [clears throat] 542 00:46:55,280 --> 00:47:02,319 The next image just takes you slightly around is looking at the same building 543 00:46:59,440 --> 00:47:06,640 at a different perspective here. Um you can see how we're pushing in the 544 00:47:04,640 --> 00:47:11,280 building in different locations. That's where we have several of our balconies 545 00:47:08,319 --> 00:47:15,599 as well as our um stepbacks in the building. On the top floor of the 546 00:47:13,440 --> 00:47:20,800 building for a lot of the proportion of it, we do have a pretty considerable 547 00:47:17,839 --> 00:47:25,839 step back. A step back is a push back of the building on the top floor. This 548 00:47:22,960 --> 00:47:30,240 allows for the eye to be stopped at that one story below where we have that 549 00:47:27,520 --> 00:47:34,560 cornis line and that glass railing as you walk past it. It's another way that 550 00:47:32,880 --> 00:47:39,200 we're breaking down the scale of those buildings. 551 00:47:37,040 --> 00:47:44,079 This is now a view of the same building on the walkway side. And here you can 552 00:47:42,160 --> 00:47:48,880 see that on the one side we have the creek, we have the walkway, and then we 553 00:47:46,800 --> 00:47:53,200 have our parking on the ground floor and three stories of residential above. 554 00:47:51,119 --> 00:47:57,760 We've changed the materials as we get higher in the building to a panel 555 00:47:55,280 --> 00:48:02,880 material rather than a masonry material. It allows for a softness as we go up the 556 00:48:00,240 --> 00:48:06,960 building, but also allows for us to step back the building here above the 557 00:48:04,480 --> 00:48:12,280 parking. That allows for larger private terraces for those first floor of 558 00:48:08,720 --> 00:48:12,280 residential units. 559 00:48:12,319 --> 00:48:19,280 This is an image looking at the entry of building one. This is that L-shaped 560 00:48:16,880 --> 00:48:23,520 building that we looked at on the plan. You can see here we have a slightly 561 00:48:20,960 --> 00:48:28,000 different um style. We have the two gable roofs on either side. We've really 562 00:48:26,079 --> 00:48:34,559 minimized the height in this location, bringing those uh top gables down into 563 00:48:31,040 --> 00:48:40,000 that top floor. Um, as well as creating that entry node that we talked about um 564 00:48:37,760 --> 00:48:44,559 as well throughout the presentation. Here on this side of the building, we 565 00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:50,400 have a much larger at uh right above the parking podium uh amenity area that can 566 00:48:47,680 --> 00:48:56,960 be used for public or private events as well as barbecue grills, lounge areas 567 00:48:53,119 --> 00:49:00,800 for the residents of the community. >> And you can see the entry of the parking 568 00:48:58,800 --> 00:49:05,200 going down underneath the building using the grading of the site to our benefit. 569 00:49:03,680 --> 00:49:09,920 That's another thing that I did want to bring up. As you can see, we're sitting 570 00:49:07,839 --> 00:49:15,680 at the lowest point of the site in a lot of these areas. South State Street is 571 00:49:12,240 --> 00:49:20,160 actually almost a story higher um at that level. So, the buildings, even 572 00:49:17,760 --> 00:49:25,280 though they are four stories tall, do sit much lower in the site. As you as 573 00:49:23,520 --> 00:49:29,040 you kind of know if you've ever been to the liquor store, which I'm sure you all 574 00:49:26,640 --> 00:49:33,280 have, that liquor store actually sits a story lower for its entry. from South 575 00:49:31,440 --> 00:49:37,680 State Street, you go down the hill and you enter in on the lower level. That 576 00:49:35,760 --> 00:49:42,319 allows for these buildings to minimize the height and we think that it's still 577 00:49:39,680 --> 00:49:47,680 very much appropriate uh to then add this height in this location. As Dave 578 00:49:45,040 --> 00:49:51,440 said, historically this site has had larger buildings on it, more 579 00:49:49,520 --> 00:49:56,880 manufacturing buildings, those kinds of things. This is now what makes sense for 580 00:49:54,240 --> 00:50:02,240 downtown areas. Manufacturing doesn't make sense. residential walking wallets, 581 00:49:59,920 --> 00:50:06,960 people who are going to activate your downtown. Really makes a lot of sense 582 00:50:04,079 --> 00:50:11,599 here. This is uh as we now progress towards 583 00:50:09,680 --> 00:50:16,480 the public plaza. This is building three. This is a a smaller building. You 584 00:50:14,319 --> 00:50:20,640 can see the same kind of architectural details that we've added to the 585 00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:24,400 building. You might say, "Okay, so it looks a little bit the same from 586 00:50:22,400 --> 00:50:31,040 building to building." That was actually a comment from Harb. They wanted a a 587 00:50:27,119 --> 00:50:35,200 harmonious and a similar contextual feeling on each of the different 588 00:50:33,040 --> 00:50:39,599 buildings. Originally, we had proposed several different brick varieties, some 589 00:50:37,200 --> 00:50:43,520 different materials. The guidance that we received back from them is that they 590 00:50:41,599 --> 00:50:46,960 wanted it to be more streamlined. We heard that and we prepared a 591 00:50:45,280 --> 00:50:53,839 presentation and designed the buildings appropriately in that manner. 592 00:50:50,800 --> 00:50:59,599 This is now a view as we progress closer to that public plaza on the walkway 593 00:50:56,720 --> 00:51:04,240 side. On this side, we actually are able to put our fitness center and some of 594 00:51:01,200 --> 00:51:09,920 our amenities activating that walkway uh at that level here. So, we have large uh 595 00:51:07,359 --> 00:51:15,480 open windows um areas that you can see the activity on the inside as you're 596 00:51:11,599 --> 00:51:15,480 walking by on the walkway. 597 00:51:16,400 --> 00:51:23,440 And you can see in the back right there that we have the First National Bank. 598 00:51:20,640 --> 00:51:28,960 We've imported that into our models. And you can see that in relationship to the 599 00:51:25,599 --> 00:51:33,599 Heights, it is very similar. Um, and that's right across the street from our 600 00:51:30,720 --> 00:51:39,200 public plaza as well as, you know, this building fronts on that public plaza as 601 00:51:35,839 --> 00:51:44,000 well. So now this is now turned around and and this is an image from that that 602 00:51:41,440 --> 00:51:49,359 that bank and from Center Street. And you can see the the road that we've 603 00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:54,559 created here that really uses the same materiality. We use ballards and and 604 00:51:52,079 --> 00:51:59,839 different color treatments to to denote where the driving area is and where the 605 00:51:57,280 --> 00:52:04,240 pedestrian realm is. But during festival times, during public events, you can 606 00:52:02,079 --> 00:52:08,720 close that street down and it becomes an extension of that. That's how you get an 607 00:52:06,640 --> 00:52:14,640 even larger area for those kinds of events. on a on a weekend, you could 608 00:52:11,520 --> 00:52:19,440 have um a line of uh food trucks sitting there activating that public plaza, 609 00:52:16,800 --> 00:52:24,079 which a lot of downtowns have. You can also see that we've added a pavilion 610 00:52:21,920 --> 00:52:32,400 located at the end. We think that this is a great opportunity uh for music, for 611 00:52:27,839 --> 00:52:35,839 sound to really enthral and activate not only Liberty Center, but the whole 612 00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:40,400 downtown area with that kind of activity. 613 00:52:38,480 --> 00:52:45,280 And then you can also see the walkway on the right. This actually creates that 614 00:52:42,640 --> 00:52:50,480 conclusion in some ways or that center area that activates that walkway. It 615 00:52:48,160 --> 00:52:53,599 allows for an area that somebody could walk to the public plaza and then walk 616 00:52:52,960 --> 00:52:57,440 back. >> I think this is phase one. 617 00:52:55,359 --> 00:53:02,160 » And then you can also see phase one located there um in the rendering which 618 00:52:59,839 --> 00:53:07,119 is where the liquor store and uh and the bakery is. So you can see that does sit 619 00:53:04,880 --> 00:53:11,280 higher on the site because it is one story higher along South State Street 620 00:53:09,119 --> 00:53:15,599 and you can see the heights of that are relative to the heights that we have 621 00:53:13,520 --> 00:53:21,440 proposed for for our new buildings in the rear of the site. 622 00:53:18,720 --> 00:53:26,240 So that concludes our presentation for tonight. It gives you a great overview 623 00:53:23,599 --> 00:53:31,760 of what we are proposing, the vision that we are proposing here. And we 624 00:53:28,720 --> 00:53:36,800 really are very excited to bring this to an area of your downtown that needs a 625 00:53:34,720 --> 00:53:40,400 little inspiration. And we believe that this is the correct inspiration for the 626 00:53:38,559 --> 00:53:45,119 right time and the architecture that that follows. So we really welcome you 627 00:53:43,280 --> 00:53:50,520 to downtown living in New Town Burough and we think that this vision is that. 628 00:53:46,880 --> 00:53:50,520 Thank you so much. 629 00:53:51,807 --> 00:53:53,827 » [applause] 630 00:53:54,400 --> 00:54:07,440 » Um the next and uh final presenter would be uh our planner, John Kennedy. Uh John 631 00:54:02,960 --> 00:54:13,760 is a longtime municipal planner. Uh he represents many municipalities in Bucks 632 00:54:09,599 --> 00:54:19,520 and Montgomery counties and um he and I have collaborated on multiple projects 633 00:54:15,839 --> 00:54:25,440 on the private side as well. And I thought this particular assignment was 634 00:54:22,240 --> 00:54:31,440 tailor made for John because um he does a lot of work with other uh developing 635 00:54:28,240 --> 00:54:38,000 or redeveloping burrows such as Hatboro. Um we're also working on another project 636 00:54:34,079 --> 00:54:44,480 in in Doylestown. And uh the task that John had was to try to develop a 637 00:54:41,200 --> 00:54:49,520 framework for which um a municipality could consider a project that uh David 638 00:54:46,960 --> 00:54:53,920 and Mike just described uh and recognizing the inherent limitations of 639 00:54:51,920 --> 00:54:58,240 the split zoning that exists today on the site. part of the site. It's, as we 640 00:54:56,319 --> 00:55:07,040 all know, it's almost nine acres, but it's owned town center and VR2, village 641 00:55:03,200 --> 00:55:13,280 village center, too. Um, and neither of those individually uh are zoning 642 00:55:09,839 --> 00:55:20,000 districts that are easily accommodated by a project like this. So John's task 643 00:55:16,000 --> 00:55:25,760 was to identify a overlay that we've called, as I indicated a few minutes 644 00:55:22,240 --> 00:55:30,960 ago, uh the uh greenway uh redevelopment overlay as a possible 645 00:55:29,040 --> 00:55:35,520 vehicle for to consider something like this. So I'd like John to talk about the 646 00:55:33,760 --> 00:55:40,000 ordinance. We submitted that draft ordinance with the sketch that u we made 647 00:55:38,319 --> 00:55:44,559 the formal submission of a couple weeks back. So like John to provide some 648 00:55:42,319 --> 00:55:49,359 planning concepts why he considered it, what values and benefits we think it 649 00:55:46,559 --> 00:55:54,119 serves. Uh so you can consider that as you consider the other elements of the 650 00:55:51,119 --> 00:55:54,119 project. 651 00:55:55,440 --> 00:56:02,640 Thank you. Uh my name is John Kennedy. I'm the principal of Kennedy Associates 652 00:56:00,079 --> 00:56:06,720 Planners and Landes Consultants. Uh just to briefly give you a little bit 653 00:56:05,040 --> 00:56:11,119 of my background, I have been a professional planner for 46 years. I 654 00:56:09,280 --> 00:56:17,200 have had my own consulting firm for the last 36 years. Uh we work for a wide 655 00:56:14,720 --> 00:56:24,240 variety of private developers, nonprofits, and also we have municipal 656 00:56:20,160 --> 00:56:29,599 clients. Um currently I am the planning consultant for Lansdale Burough. Uh also 657 00:56:26,799 --> 00:56:34,880 the planning consultant for Hatboro. In the past I've I also worked with uh 658 00:56:31,920 --> 00:56:40,799 Amler Burough, with Richland Township, Abington Township. uh typically in those 659 00:56:37,680 --> 00:56:48,000 cases on special projects when um in and in addition to that uh I 660 00:56:45,359 --> 00:56:52,319 have also spent 26 years serving on two planning commissions, one in Lansdale 661 00:56:50,400 --> 00:56:58,559 Burough and one in Lower Southford Township. Um 12 years in in Lansdale, 14 662 00:56:56,480 --> 00:57:03,920 years in Lower Salford. So I have a pretty good understanding of both sides 663 00:57:00,319 --> 00:57:09,440 of the table and how things work. uh Jim brought me in and Ed brought me 664 00:57:06,160 --> 00:57:14,640 in to uh take a look at the plan and review the existing ordinance and some 665 00:57:11,760 --> 00:57:20,960 of the existing planning documents uh of the bureau. So we started as we often do 666 00:57:18,640 --> 00:57:26,319 by looking at the existing districts and then we go on to the comprehensive plan 667 00:57:24,000 --> 00:57:31,760 and I am glad to see that you have recently updated your comprehensive plan 668 00:57:28,880 --> 00:57:37,680 in uh 22. uh not all townships and burrows are 669 00:57:34,400 --> 00:57:44,640 that uh prompt at renewing their comprehensive plan. So kudos for that. 670 00:57:41,520 --> 00:57:50,640 Um when I started looking at this, I I in talking to the whole team, I realized 671 00:57:46,720 --> 00:57:57,359 that uh there had been quite a bit of of input and thought put into this this 672 00:57:53,200 --> 00:58:05,760 plan. and and Jim uh does care very much about uh the way New Town looks and the 673 00:58:01,359 --> 00:58:11,440 downtown area. And so um we started looking at different ways that we might 674 00:58:08,240 --> 00:58:16,799 be able to implement this proposed plan. And like most things, there's more than 675 00:58:13,119 --> 00:58:21,680 one way to do that. Um, probably the the typical way that most people might 676 00:58:19,200 --> 00:58:27,440 approach this would be to provoke uh, excuse me, propose uh, some kind of text 677 00:58:24,400 --> 00:58:32,799 amendment on the underlying zoning. Unfortunately, in this case, we have two 678 00:58:29,760 --> 00:58:38,400 zoning districts, the TC and the B2. And the downside to that would be it starts 679 00:58:35,680 --> 00:58:42,720 to then affect other properties in the bureau that have that same zoning 680 00:58:39,920 --> 00:58:49,760 district. So that may not be the best way to approach it. Uh another thing we 681 00:58:46,960 --> 00:58:53,680 could do way we could uh implement the proposed plan would be to make an 682 00:58:51,680 --> 00:58:59,839 application to the zoning hearing board and we would have a long list of 683 00:58:56,079 --> 00:59:03,520 variances that we would need. Uh however, my own opinion, I'm not an 684 00:59:02,079 --> 00:59:09,119 attorney, but I don't think that that would be successful in this case because 685 00:59:05,920 --> 00:59:14,880 of the high legal bar that we need to uh overcome for variances and and obviously 686 00:59:12,640 --> 00:59:20,799 the use does have the property does have a a use due to the fact that it has an 687 00:59:18,079 --> 00:59:27,440 approved plan on it. So, I don't know that that would be the best path either. 688 00:59:24,240 --> 00:59:33,839 So, we started to talk about an overlay uh district, which I know that you do 689 00:59:31,119 --> 00:59:37,760 not have many overlays. I believe only one, just a flood plane overlay 690 00:59:35,440 --> 00:59:42,720 district, which is actually very common. Uh many municipalities use overlays for 691 00:59:40,640 --> 00:59:49,280 flood planes, deep slopes, and riparian corridors. Um but I actually utilize 692 00:59:47,040 --> 00:59:55,760 overlays for many, many different types of projects. Uh we utilize them in 693 00:59:51,920 --> 01:00:02,880 Lansdale Burrow. We utilize them uh in Hatboro quite a bit. Uh and in many of 694 00:59:59,520 --> 01:00:08,319 the other projects that uh I work on uh we do use overlays. One of the 695 01:00:05,119 --> 01:00:12,960 advantages of it in um in my opinion is that we're not changing the underlying 696 01:00:10,240 --> 01:00:18,480 zoning map. It all stays the same. The regulations stay the same. All you're 697 01:00:15,520 --> 01:00:23,359 really doing is you're applying uh you're you're giving the land owner 698 01:00:21,440 --> 01:00:29,040 another development option on that piece of land. So, it sits on top of the 699 01:00:25,680 --> 01:00:33,599 existing zoning and you could develop it either under the existing zoning or you 700 01:00:31,440 --> 01:00:37,440 could develop it under the overlay. One thing you don't get to do is pick and 701 01:00:35,359 --> 01:00:41,520 choose which regulations you want to do. We get people doing that occasionally in 702 01:00:39,520 --> 01:00:45,440 Landdale where they'll they'll say I'll take this from the business district and 703 01:00:42,960 --> 01:00:52,400 this from the downtown overlay district. Um but you cannot do that. Um, so 704 01:00:49,760 --> 01:00:57,599 looking at the the work that uh Dave and Michael have produced and going and and 705 01:00:55,520 --> 01:01:04,240 visiting the site and walking around the town, uh, I really think that this is 706 01:01:00,160 --> 01:01:09,119 probably the the best way to be able to solve this this little bit of a puzzle 707 01:01:06,960 --> 01:01:14,480 in being able to implement a project such as this uh, on a site like this 708 01:01:11,920 --> 01:01:18,720 where you have two different uh, zoning districts. uh but we need to be able to 709 01:01:17,200 --> 01:01:25,040 bring them together so that we can have one coherent project. 710 01:01:21,440 --> 01:01:30,160 So while there are uh two different zoning districts, that said, 711 01:01:28,480 --> 01:01:35,839 those two zoning districts are not really that far apart. They they may be 712 01:01:32,640 --> 01:01:39,200 far apart in your minds. I I get that. But I've worked on sites where, you 713 01:01:37,839 --> 01:01:45,440 know, half of it's R3 and the other half's industrial. So we don't have that 714 01:01:42,160 --> 01:01:51,359 here. If you examine the the TC district and then you examine the um the gateway 715 01:01:49,280 --> 01:01:55,920 district, the B2, many of the same uses are still allowed. 716 01:01:53,839 --> 01:01:59,520 It's just it there's the allowance for residential uses and the allowance for 717 01:01:57,599 --> 01:02:03,359 non-residential uses. They're just regulated in different ways, which was 718 01:02:01,839 --> 01:02:08,559 one of the main reasons why I thought that an overlay is ideal for this 719 01:02:05,839 --> 01:02:14,160 particular site. I became even more convinced after I 720 01:02:11,119 --> 01:02:17,839 dove into the comprehensive plan because what 721 01:02:15,680 --> 01:02:23,920 jumped out at me and rather surprised me is the fact that uh this project has the 722 01:02:21,920 --> 01:02:29,119 ability to uh align with many many of the goal 723 01:02:26,799 --> 01:02:33,599 statements in your comprehensive plan which I was a little bit surprised at 724 01:02:31,040 --> 01:02:40,960 that one project could kind of check so many boxes in a comp plan. 725 01:02:36,559 --> 01:02:44,799 Um, and many of those are uh laid out in the intent statement. I'm not going to 726 01:02:43,119 --> 01:02:48,640 go through this line by line because I know you have a a large agenda, but I'm 727 01:02:47,119 --> 01:02:53,520 just going to briefly go through it and then I will more than happy to answer 728 01:02:50,720 --> 01:02:57,760 any questions you have. Uh, but in the intent district, I do want to just spend 729 01:02:55,200 --> 01:03:03,760 a moment there. The intent statement, uh, we we have five um, eight different 730 01:03:00,319 --> 01:03:07,599 intent statements. Many of these are are taken directly from your comprehensive 731 01:03:05,920 --> 01:03:13,520 plan or they reference to the comprehensive plan. They also um many of 732 01:03:11,119 --> 01:03:19,920 these are taken from another document which is a little bit older uh 2011, 733 01:03:17,520 --> 01:03:23,599 the New Town Creek Wershed Conservation Plan prepared by the Heritage 734 01:03:21,839 --> 01:03:28,079 Conservancy. And that was a really interesting plan 735 01:03:25,440 --> 01:03:34,079 because it gets into um many other topics other than just the 736 01:03:31,760 --> 01:03:38,240 creek itself and the watershed and the hydraology of it all. It actually does 737 01:03:36,319 --> 01:03:43,839 get into um things like parking, land uses, 738 01:03:41,520 --> 01:03:50,640 housing. uh I was actually quite surprised and once again many of these 739 01:03:47,359 --> 01:03:56,799 goals or recommendations in that case uh in that study uh also do align with this 740 01:03:54,640 --> 01:04:01,920 particular project and I think there's the uh ability to maybe check some of 741 01:03:59,200 --> 01:04:07,680 those boxes off too. So um basically I will go through and at 742 01:04:04,640 --> 01:04:10,880 least read these. Um the first one is to implement the recommendations of the new 743 01:04:09,359 --> 01:04:16,079 town bureau comprehensive plan specifically core recommendations for 744 01:04:13,200 --> 01:04:20,480 sustainability, mobility, resilience and balance. 745 01:04:18,400 --> 01:04:24,160 Also to establish and preserve a greenway ribbon along the New Town 746 01:04:22,400 --> 01:04:30,640 Creek, to redevelop underutilized 747 01:04:27,440 --> 01:04:37,039 sites along the New Town Creek, to establish a greater variety of uses 748 01:04:33,280 --> 01:04:41,920 to complement local burrow businesses. to provide a greater variety of housing 749 01:04:39,119 --> 01:04:46,400 types within the burrow to provide additional community 750 01:04:43,599 --> 01:04:52,480 gathering areas in the burrow to create pedestrian connections with 751 01:04:49,280 --> 01:04:56,000 nearby recreational facilities which was one thing that actually was not 752 01:04:53,680 --> 01:05:00,319 mentioned and that is the uh bridge connection to the park over in New 753 01:04:58,160 --> 01:05:04,880 Township. Uh and then finally to provide access 754 01:05:02,720 --> 01:05:10,559 from the burough's commercial core to burrow recreation facilities, both the 755 01:05:07,200 --> 01:05:16,000 the greenway itself and then the park uh further south. 756 01:05:12,559 --> 01:05:20,319 Um the way the overlay is structured is what we call a mapped overlay. There's 757 01:05:18,240 --> 01:05:25,520 actually a couple of different types. Uh you can either define an area on your 758 01:05:23,039 --> 01:05:31,520 zoning map just like you have for other district uh districts. 759 01:05:27,839 --> 01:05:37,359 uh or they also sometimes overlays are done uh where it would apply on an 760 01:05:34,960 --> 01:05:42,640 entire district say on the whole R3 district or something. In this case 761 01:05:40,079 --> 01:05:45,880 we're talking about specific area that is mapped. 762 01:05:46,880 --> 01:05:58,880 Um in order to qualify for this um there must be a minimum gross tract area of 8 763 01:05:54,880 --> 01:06:04,720 acres. There must be a minimum of 1,000 feet of frontage along the new town 764 01:06:00,720 --> 01:06:09,920 creek and the track must have 300 feet of frontage on State Street. So that's 765 01:06:07,760 --> 01:06:14,000 what you use to really tighten it down and 766 01:06:11,520 --> 01:06:19,920 really just apply it to this one area. If any of those 767 01:06:16,480 --> 01:06:23,280 uh standards were tweaked, it may apply to other properties, but when I looked 768 01:06:21,680 --> 01:06:28,240 around, I could not find any that it would apply to. the standards would have 769 01:06:25,280 --> 01:06:31,599 to be radically reduced uh like going from a thousand feet of frontage on the 770 01:06:29,839 --> 01:06:36,640 creek to 300 feet of frontage on the creek. And I don't I don't know that uh 771 01:06:34,880 --> 01:06:41,920 certainly we are not interested in that and I'm not sure that the burrow is but 772 01:06:38,559 --> 01:06:48,000 you could do that at your own uh leisure if you wanted to in the future. 773 01:06:44,880 --> 01:06:54,079 Um in terms of uses uh they're laid out here. It's a a variety of residential 774 01:06:51,760 --> 01:06:59,280 which are multif family uh dwellings, apartment style units and then a wide 775 01:06:56,000 --> 01:07:03,520 variety of uh non-residential. The reason for that is that as some of the 776 01:07:01,920 --> 01:07:08,079 spaces may come up, we want to make sure that there are a lot of different uses 777 01:07:04,880 --> 01:07:11,599 that could go in those spaces. Uh we then get into the development 778 01:07:10,079 --> 01:07:19,440 regulations uh on page two which provide once again 779 01:07:14,960 --> 01:07:24,400 the tracked area. It regulates mix uh gets into the mixture of non-residential 780 01:07:21,839 --> 01:07:33,599 and residential. Also uh there is an open space requirement. 781 01:07:26,640 --> 01:07:38,426 Uh 25% of a GRRO tract uh must be uh remain in open space. In addition to the 782 01:07:36,640 --> 01:07:42,480 open space regulations just [clears throat] the simple percentage, 783 01:07:40,480 --> 01:07:48,160 there's also further refinement of the open space standards. For instance, 70% 784 01:07:45,599 --> 01:07:52,880 of the minimum required open space must be designated as a public greenway along 785 01:07:50,240 --> 01:07:59,119 the creek. We we want to make sure that you get the the the walkway along the 786 01:07:56,480 --> 01:08:01,839 creek as opposed to any kind of bait and switch. That's why they're all 787 01:08:00,400 --> 01:08:07,039 specifically written into this ordinance. 788 01:08:03,599 --> 01:08:11,440 Uh in addition, 10% of the minimum required open space shall be improved 789 01:08:09,359 --> 01:08:17,040 community open space. This is something that I'm very big on. Um, I know in 790 01:08:14,640 --> 01:08:20,880 Bucks County it's very popular to say we're going to take 50% or 60% of the 791 01:08:19,359 --> 01:08:26,159 land and preserve it as open space. And you got yourself a nice feel, but this 792 01:08:23,839 --> 01:08:31,440 is a burrow. You have people who use the streets. It's active. You want to have 793 01:08:28,480 --> 01:08:36,159 improved open space. Uh, it doesn't need to be huge because improved open space 794 01:08:33,359 --> 01:08:42,400 is much more expensive than natural open space. But once again, we want it in the 795 01:08:39,199 --> 01:08:46,000 ordinance which is why it's here. Uh and then we also have limitations on the 796 01:08:44,239 --> 01:08:50,960 amount of impervious surface that can be within the open space. 797 01:08:48,560 --> 01:08:56,960 Uh below that we have some standards for the greenway in terms of the uh width 798 01:08:54,000 --> 01:09:04,040 standards accessibility. Uh and then at the bottom of page three 799 01:08:59,520 --> 01:09:04,040 we get into dimensional regulations. 800 01:09:06,960 --> 01:09:14,880 We uh dimensional uh standards are on page 801 01:09:12,000 --> 01:09:20,480 four. Uh and then at the bottom are design standards. Uh and then we have 802 01:09:17,520 --> 01:09:24,880 design standards for buildings, street access drives, 803 01:09:22,799 --> 01:09:29,199 uh parking, off- streetet loading and trash, streetscape and streetscape 804 01:09:27,520 --> 01:09:34,560 amenities. And then there are uh at the very end of 805 01:09:31,679 --> 01:09:38,159 it there is the uh statement that the the site is also in the historic 806 01:09:36,400 --> 01:09:43,920 district which I'm sure many of you are aware of and those regulations do have 807 01:09:40,960 --> 01:09:49,520 to be followed. So in kind of a quick nutshell that's the ordinance that we 808 01:09:45,839 --> 01:09:54,480 have proposed. I think that uh it's a way that you could 809 01:09:52,319 --> 01:09:58,480 uh implement this development. Personally, from a planning standpoint, 810 01:09:56,400 --> 01:10:03,120 I think it's a wonderful opportunity. When I go out there and look at the 811 01:09:59,840 --> 01:10:07,840 site, I look at the creek and quite frankly, it needs some love. It really 812 01:10:05,120 --> 01:10:13,679 does. Not just fixed up, but also people that will use it. People that will walk 813 01:10:09,840 --> 01:10:18,719 down the the the walkway and will cross over the creek into the the park in New 814 01:10:17,040 --> 01:10:23,760 Township. And I think it's something that also 815 01:10:20,560 --> 01:10:29,679 would provide some uh additional um positive impact for the 816 01:10:26,960 --> 01:10:34,320 local businesses. I was especially struck by the uh the one comment I think 817 01:10:32,719 --> 01:10:38,880 it was in the comprehensive plan where they 818 01:10:36,159 --> 01:10:42,640 you want open space in the downtown, but you want it to be accessible to the main 819 01:10:41,120 --> 01:10:47,360 commercial areas. And I think that that's actually a great idea. It's sort 820 01:10:44,960 --> 01:10:52,800 of unusual, but part of it is because you've got this unusual uh landscape. 821 01:10:50,960 --> 01:10:59,840 The fact that you have this creek that is right smack up against your downtown. 822 01:10:56,400 --> 01:11:05,280 And uh my own personal feeling is it is a real opportunity. Uh this is our first 823 01:11:03,199 --> 01:11:09,199 presentation. Obviously, some of these things are going to get tweaked and 824 01:11:06,480 --> 01:11:14,239 changed a little bit, but uh we welcome your input and welcome your questions. 825 01:11:12,400 --> 01:11:17,239 And that that concludes our presentation. 826 01:11:18,000 --> 01:11:27,840 » Uh John's right. Um that's the extent tonight of the formal uh presentation. 827 01:11:24,320 --> 01:11:32,560 Obviously, we would solicit any comments uh that anyone would have about anything 828 01:11:30,960 --> 01:11:39,360 you saw or heard this evening. recognizing it's a lot to digest in one 829 01:11:35,199 --> 01:11:44,640 meeting but um it's a important first step for us and I'm sure u as well for 830 01:11:42,320 --> 01:11:49,360 council as well as the other stakeholders um in terms of the process 831 01:11:47,520 --> 01:11:54,000 that we at least the way I think about it um 832 01:11:52,080 --> 01:11:58,480 our thought would be our next step would be to return to the planning commission 833 01:11:56,320 --> 01:12:04,320 to continue the conversation we started in November 834 01:12:00,320 --> 01:12:08,000 um and to continue to flesh out the information that we presented to you 835 01:12:05,920 --> 01:12:11,760 this evening, which uh planning commission hasn't seen anything since 836 01:12:09,679 --> 01:12:17,280 November. So, some of what we presented tonight might be somewhat new or 837 01:12:13,920 --> 01:12:21,440 different to them. Um, one of the, uh, encouragements we did receive from your 838 01:12:19,120 --> 01:12:26,960 planning commission in November was to reach out to the community, make sure 839 01:12:23,920 --> 01:12:32,640 others uh, are consulted that have both in a direct and maybe a less direct 840 01:12:29,040 --> 01:12:38,719 impact, which we have, I think, done a better job than we did pre-Nvember 841 01:12:36,159 --> 01:12:44,480 uh, when, uh, some of the planning commission folks thought we had not done 842 01:12:40,719 --> 01:12:49,440 enough uh, listening to other community segments. So I think we've done much 843 01:12:46,320 --> 01:12:53,920 better since November to do that. Um and we will continue to do that with any 844 01:12:51,280 --> 01:12:59,120 feedback you provide us and as we go through the process any other feedback 845 01:12:55,520 --> 01:13:03,920 we receive. So um I know there are people here in the audience that may or 846 01:13:00,719 --> 01:13:09,360 may not want to speak. One unrepresented group uh that's not here tonight that 847 01:13:06,640 --> 01:13:16,159 I'm authorized to report to you is the phase one condominium unit owners with 848 01:13:12,640 --> 01:13:21,679 whom we've had a lot of engagement uh over multiple issues not just uh what 849 01:13:19,440 --> 01:13:29,120 would phase two look like but also addressing lingering issues they had as 850 01:13:25,840 --> 01:13:35,280 residents there today which Jim in large measure has addressed But none of the 851 01:13:32,400 --> 01:13:40,800 residents that reside there today could attend tonight. But I am authorized to 852 01:13:37,760 --> 01:13:46,000 tell you that there is unanimous support for what you've seen and heard this 853 01:13:42,880 --> 01:13:49,360 evening by that small group. Now, I'm sure they will be able to come at 854 01:13:47,360 --> 01:13:54,640 subsequent meetings to comment as well, but wanted you to they wanted me to 855 01:13:51,679 --> 01:14:00,159 share that with you tonight as you think about what you've seen and heard. So, 856 01:13:56,880 --> 01:14:04,719 uh, David and and Michael and John, uh, can answer any other questions and Jim 857 01:14:02,800 --> 01:14:09,679 answer any other questions you may have tonight. Uh, and hopefully you would 858 01:14:07,760 --> 01:14:14,080 offer folks in the audience if they choose to to speak good or positively or 859 01:14:12,560 --> 01:14:18,360 otherwise about what they've seen and heard tonight. Thanks. 860 01:14:38,960 --> 01:14:45,360 Thank you. Um, first of all, uh, to Jim Worthington and the whole team, thank 861 01:14:43,760 --> 01:14:49,120 you. It was a very wellorganized presentation and we appreciate the 862 01:14:47,040 --> 01:14:54,640 thoughtfulness in terms of how you put it together and the thoughtfulness in 863 01:14:51,520 --> 01:15:00,080 which uh that you um have have shown in terms of developing the plan. Um I have 864 01:14:57,280 --> 01:15:04,960 a question I think maybe best addressed to the architects with respect to um 865 01:15:03,040 --> 01:15:10,480 maybe if you could summarize what the differences are between this plan and 866 01:15:08,480 --> 01:15:14,560 the plan that you had presented previously to the planning commission. 867 01:15:12,400 --> 01:15:21,120 Was that's mostly architectural or were there site plan changes as well? 868 01:15:19,520 --> 01:15:25,280 » You know, it's funny. I just asked Ed if I could just kind of simplify this and 869 01:15:23,520 --> 01:15:29,600 you just asked the question I was going to answer, but he'll give you more 870 01:15:27,199 --> 01:15:34,640 detail. If you really want to simplify this plan, [clears throat] 871 01:15:32,080 --> 01:15:41,120 the Staple View planet, just so we're clear, had 88 apartments, but they also 872 01:15:37,679 --> 01:15:49,600 had a restaurant pad and other retail. Our our plan is 125 apartments. So, it's 873 01:15:45,679 --> 01:15:52,400 really 37 apartments different, but not all the mess that creates all the 874 01:15:51,440 --> 01:15:54,000 traffic. >> Yeah. 875 01:15:52,800 --> 01:15:55,520 » All the parking problems. >> Can I just interrupt you for a sec? 876 01:15:55,120 --> 01:16:01,600 Sure. >> Because uh I def I definitely appreciate 877 01:15:57,920 --> 01:16:07,760 that difference. Um and I I'm familiar with that plan. I was more focusing on 878 01:16:04,800 --> 01:16:11,840 the previous concept plan that you guys had presented to the planning commission 879 01:16:10,400 --> 01:16:13,760 that you had presented to the planning commission. 880 01:16:12,239 --> 01:16:15,760 » Our concept that we presented to the commission. 881 01:16:14,159 --> 01:16:20,560 » Okay. Well, can I just finish my thought and then he'll answer that. So I'm sorry 882 01:16:18,000 --> 01:16:23,840 I misre but I I think for the audience I because you see hear all this stuff you 883 01:16:22,159 --> 01:16:29,760 think wow what's the difference between the two? It was what that I had said 884 01:16:26,239 --> 01:16:33,199 earlier that it it's a it's really just getting rid of all the retail and the 885 01:16:31,760 --> 01:16:37,760 restaurant pads and everything that creates all the traffic and it just you 886 01:16:35,760 --> 01:16:43,280 know it Allan had a lot of apartments 88. We have 125. We don't have that many 887 01:16:40,880 --> 01:16:49,679 more than him but we eliminate all the problems with the off-site parking the 888 01:16:46,239 --> 01:16:56,080 1,700 cars per week, 85,000 cars per year. We uh eliminate the uh we we have 889 01:16:53,360 --> 01:17:00,560 um more private uh public parking for all the people right on center ABS so 890 01:16:58,239 --> 01:17:05,280 they can walk right into town. And you know, of course, we've expanded the uh 891 01:17:02,719 --> 01:17:10,159 the the uh plaza space three times bigger. We've enhanced the the walkway 892 01:17:07,760 --> 01:17:14,080 trails. We have a lot of public uh things like the street lights and things 893 01:17:12,320 --> 01:17:19,120 like that that are surrounding that area that we're going to be fixing. But I 894 01:17:16,640 --> 01:17:23,360 will tell you I believe pretty strongly there isn't a whole lot of change from 895 01:17:20,640 --> 01:17:27,760 what we originally came with to what we get because one of the the f things I 896 01:17:25,520 --> 01:17:32,719 directed the architect I said we're not coming in with a plan where we're saying 897 01:17:30,480 --> 01:17:37,679 hey let's ask for the moon and let's negotiate down. I'm not into that. I 898 01:17:35,520 --> 01:17:44,000 wanted to come in with a plan that we can make it work for everybody but is 899 01:17:40,159 --> 01:17:50,480 not over the top that that doesn't need to be, you know, negotiated from this 900 01:17:47,840 --> 01:17:54,880 number down. I I'm that's not my style. We came in with the minimum we could do 901 01:17:52,320 --> 01:17:59,120 to make this plan work, not just for us, but more so for the for the town. I 902 01:17:57,120 --> 01:18:02,239 think you're going to see we haven't we haven't changed much of anything. I 903 01:18:00,800 --> 01:18:06,000 mean, people told me come in for with 200 apartments. I I'm not doing that. 904 01:18:04,320 --> 01:18:09,199 We're just not playing those games. We're going to come in with what we 905 01:18:07,520 --> 01:18:15,360 think and it isn't a heck of a lot more than what Allan had ironically. Yet, 906 01:18:12,400 --> 01:18:18,239 it's and God bless him. I love him. It's a far greater plan for this community. 907 01:18:17,280 --> 01:18:24,880 So, go ahead. >> Thank you. So, as Jim alluded to, that's 908 01:18:21,679 --> 01:18:28,800 my favorite word tonight. Um, we uh did not change too much. It's more 909 01:18:26,480 --> 01:18:32,880 advancement of the architecture. um advancement of some of the details that 910 01:18:30,480 --> 01:18:36,640 you see in the renderings as well as some of the balconies and those kinds of 911 01:18:35,120 --> 01:18:40,640 architectural elements on the architecture. Those are the advancements 912 01:18:38,800 --> 01:18:46,159 that we've made in terms of the locations of the buildings um where we 913 01:18:43,600 --> 01:18:49,520 have the main components of the plan that has all remained consistent with 914 01:18:48,000 --> 01:18:53,679 what we presented to the planning commission in November. There has been 915 01:18:51,840 --> 01:18:58,239 some advancements in the overall landscaping design. So certain things 916 01:18:56,080 --> 01:19:02,480 have been advanced further as we work through the design process but 917 01:19:00,480 --> 01:19:07,640 everything in terms of the components the locations of those components have 918 01:19:04,320 --> 01:19:07,640 remained consistent. 919 01:19:07,920 --> 01:19:15,440 » Thanks that that that was my question. Now one really sort of simple really 920 01:19:12,480 --> 01:19:19,920 basic question in the uh the illustrations the brick look brown and 921 01:19:17,280 --> 01:19:23,600 you had mentioned gray. So, um, is it just a matter of how it comes out on the 922 01:19:21,679 --> 01:19:27,520 screen or what is it that you're using? >> So, we're proposing a beige brick. Um, 923 01:19:25,760 --> 01:19:32,640 so I I thought that I had said beige. If I had if I'm mistaken, I'm sorry, but um 924 01:19:31,040 --> 01:19:38,800 it's it's going to be a beige brick, which I think is very elegant um for for 925 01:19:35,600 --> 01:19:42,159 the for the building. It's brownish. It has some hues of different things. And 926 01:19:40,560 --> 01:19:45,280 during the planning commission process, we can bring in some samples to show 927 01:19:43,920 --> 01:19:50,159 kind of the selection that we're choosing. We think it works well with a 928 01:19:47,360 --> 01:19:55,040 lot of the downtown uh buildings along South State Street um that have the the 929 01:19:52,719 --> 01:19:59,120 variety of brick color in terms of some yellows, some browns, some grays. We 930 01:19:57,360 --> 01:20:05,199 think that this matches rather well. When we were at Harb, we had proposed 931 01:20:01,679 --> 01:20:09,679 several red or uh burgundy uh colored bricks and we advised that they would 932 01:20:07,120 --> 01:20:13,040 rather see uh the beige palette as something that we do consistent on all 933 01:20:11,600 --> 01:20:18,400 of the buildings. >> Thank you. Any 934 01:20:16,640 --> 01:20:23,120 other questions or comments from council? 935 01:20:19,520 --> 01:20:28,159 » I do. I have one. Um, so the uh your your sketch plan indicates that you are 936 01:20:25,440 --> 01:20:33,239 developing a TND. Are you still anticipating that you're following our 937 01:20:29,760 --> 01:20:33,239 TND ordinance? 938 01:20:39,520 --> 01:20:47,440 Thi this would take some elements from the TND ordinance uh but primarily we 939 01:20:45,280 --> 01:20:51,040 are drawing everything from the proposed GRO overlay district. 940 01:20:50,080 --> 01:20:55,280 » Right. >> So that that leads me to my second 941 01:20:52,800 --> 01:21:00,400 question. What are the major differences between the GRRO and the TND ordinance 942 01:20:58,640 --> 01:21:04,480 knowing that the majority of your project is actually in the V2 district 943 01:21:02,719 --> 01:21:09,679 that there's very little building most of the building is on that side which 944 01:21:07,120 --> 01:21:15,280 does permit the TND >> there there's uh differences in terms of 945 01:21:12,000 --> 01:21:19,199 the types of units and the mixture uh if I recall I'd actually have to have my 946 01:21:17,040 --> 01:21:24,719 full notes because we did look at that carefully um there's there's not 947 01:21:22,480 --> 01:21:30,880 necessar necessarily big differences between these two districts. Um, 948 01:21:28,960 --> 01:21:35,600 so I'm I'm >> so my I took a quick look at your o your 949 01:21:34,320 --> 01:21:40,239 overlay >> and it appears to me that it is very 950 01:21:37,360 --> 01:21:45,040 similar to our TND with the exception of the sizes of the buildings that they are 951 01:21:42,560 --> 01:21:49,679 taller, they are longer and they have more units than our TND ordinance and 952 01:21:47,199 --> 01:21:54,320 our regular ordinance would permit. and that the the mixeduse element which was 953 01:21:52,560 --> 01:21:58,639 very important when the TND ordinance was put together seems to be lost in 954 01:21:57,040 --> 01:22:05,440 this development. >> Well, I I think one of the things is 955 01:22:01,280 --> 01:22:09,520 that this is uh the the the one of the differences between the 956 01:22:07,040 --> 01:22:15,840 proposed ordinance and uh the previous plan and and the existing zoning is it's 957 01:22:12,560 --> 01:22:21,360 encouraging more commercial than might be able to be leased or sold. Uh that's 958 01:22:19,440 --> 01:22:26,719 that's just a trend that we're seeing everywhere uh across this state and 959 01:22:23,920 --> 01:22:32,480 actually across the country. Um so it's pulling back on some of the commercial 960 01:22:29,520 --> 01:22:38,400 uh what is more important um and we actually see this a lot in um well 961 01:22:35,679 --> 01:22:43,040 really in both Lansdale and Hapo uh where the business owners they just want 962 01:22:40,800 --> 01:22:48,960 more households. It's as simple as that. They want more households to support the 963 01:22:45,280 --> 01:22:53,280 local businesses. you can add uh just a a little bit of commercial. Even then, 964 01:22:51,360 --> 01:22:58,000 it's going to depend on its actual location because right now we're seeing 965 01:22:55,679 --> 01:23:01,239 a lot of empty commercial spaces of all different varieties. 966 01:23:01,360 --> 01:23:04,360 » Thanks. 967 01:23:05,440 --> 01:23:14,320 » I do want to comment on the hype briefly. Um, 968 01:23:12,159 --> 01:23:18,960 one of the things that uh I think it might have been Dave mentioned this 969 01:23:16,320 --> 01:23:24,080 which is very important and a lot of people cavalerely throw this around and 970 01:23:22,080 --> 01:23:29,840 that is the idea of why don't you put all the parking spaces underneath the 971 01:23:26,080 --> 01:23:34,719 building. That is incredibly expensive to do. And so in order to accomplish 972 01:23:32,719 --> 01:23:38,560 that the developer see needs to make it 973 01:23:36,719 --> 01:23:43,920 worthwhile. I mean, just to be completely honest about it, this plan 974 01:23:41,120 --> 01:23:48,480 would look completely different. Even if it had less units, but you put 975 01:23:45,840 --> 01:23:53,040 all the parking on the surface, would not be nearly as attractive. 976 01:23:51,280 --> 01:23:57,440 And so, you do have to accommodate that within 977 01:23:55,040 --> 01:24:01,360 the architecture. And I think that's a very important point to make. 978 01:23:59,679 --> 01:24:05,600 Well, I'm certainly sympathetic to that and and I appreciate that a lot of the 979 01:24:03,120 --> 01:24:08,320 parking is being hidden because we are trying to get away from seas of asphalt. 980 01:24:08,000 --> 01:24:13,760 Yeah. >> Um and I understand that and I know that 981 01:24:10,159 --> 01:24:19,600 you have to balance the obviously the economics of building something. 982 01:24:16,159 --> 01:24:23,920 » Um and as been told to us for years as this property has been out there to be 983 01:24:21,679 --> 01:24:27,679 developed that you're trying to figure out how you can afford to do it by doing 984 01:24:25,600 --> 01:24:31,679 this or that or something else. And I I certainly understand that. I guess the 985 01:24:29,199 --> 01:24:35,840 end product though is what the town will have and so that that's important. So I 986 01:24:34,800 --> 01:24:38,080 don't want to go into a lengthy discussion about it now. I was just 987 01:24:37,120 --> 01:24:41,920 curious to get your feedback. >> Just want to make sure that that the 988 01:24:40,000 --> 01:24:44,960 point was made because it is very very important. 989 01:24:42,719 --> 01:24:49,639 » Sure. >> Any additional comments or questions 990 01:24:46,400 --> 01:24:49,639 from council? 991 01:24:50,159 --> 01:24:59,040 I just want to say it's it's very encouraging and um I look forward to 992 01:24:55,520 --> 01:25:02,880 working with this through and there's been debates back and forth on a lot of 993 01:25:00,800 --> 01:25:08,080 issues and I don't know I think we can come to an agreement and really make 994 01:25:04,880 --> 01:25:12,480 this thing work. >> Thanks Gail. So, um, Greg and I talked 995 01:25:10,719 --> 01:25:16,719 about, you know, you brought up process. So, we're going to take, um, the rest of 996 01:25:14,960 --> 01:25:20,639 the next few weeks of March for council to review not only the proposed text 997 01:25:18,400 --> 01:25:25,360 amendments you said sent, but also our engineers review of those. Um, and then 998 01:25:23,199 --> 01:25:29,440 we plan on, uh, discussing in our April cycle at our work session. Um, moving 999 01:25:28,080 --> 01:25:34,400 forward to sending this to planning commission for additional re review or, 1000 01:25:32,000 --> 01:25:38,239 uh, going back to you um, with, you know, our thoughts on on the proposal 1001 01:25:36,000 --> 01:25:42,320 and what needs to change, etc., etc., before we send anything forward. So, we 1002 01:25:40,639 --> 01:25:46,760 plan on having that on our next cycle in April. 1003 01:25:43,760 --> 01:25:46,760 » Okay. 1004 01:25:46,880 --> 01:25:52,400 » You have any other questions or comments for us? 1005 01:25:49,920 --> 01:25:55,440 » Unless you're going to not solicit public comment. I think there are people 1006 01:25:53,840 --> 01:25:58,080 came tonight wanting to speak. So, I don't know if that's appropriate now or 1007 01:25:57,040 --> 01:26:02,480 do you want to wait? But >> I mean, we typically don't um unless 1008 01:26:00,320 --> 01:26:07,480 we're making a motion, but I I'm okay with that if anyone would like to speak. 1009 01:26:14,560 --> 01:26:20,159 Good evening. I'll keep this uh brief and first of all, thank you for your 1010 01:26:18,239 --> 01:26:24,159 service. I know that um these late nights are are not something for 1011 01:26:22,400 --> 01:26:29,360 everyone, so appreciate that. I'm Dave Marcola. Uh I own three uh businesses 1012 01:26:27,360 --> 01:26:34,239 here in the burrow uh in the real estate industry, commercial, residential, and 1013 01:26:31,440 --> 01:26:38,560 uh estate sales. and I also serve as the president of the New Town Business 1014 01:26:35,520 --> 01:26:42,800 Association for the past six years. Um, I just wanted to give a few comments. 1015 01:26:41,040 --> 01:26:48,080 You know, over the years I've been involved in New Town, lived or worked in 1016 01:26:45,199 --> 01:26:51,920 the community for the past 26 years. Um, I uh had the opportunity to run First 1017 01:26:50,639 --> 01:26:55,760 Night New Town for anybody that remembers that back in the day on New 1018 01:26:53,360 --> 01:27:02,000 Year's Eve. Uh, currently our parade, our holiday parade and uh our car show 1019 01:26:59,120 --> 01:27:05,760 and welcome day. And so I can say that there's a lot of excitement from the 1020 01:27:03,840 --> 01:27:10,800 folks who put those events on to have space like a plaza, to have space that 1021 01:27:07,920 --> 01:27:14,400 doesn't require costly inconveniences of closing roads. And so we're excited 1022 01:27:12,320 --> 01:27:18,400 about that. I also wanted to share that we gave uh Jim and his team the 1023 01:27:16,480 --> 01:27:24,560 opportunity to share this plan with our members. We're over 300 business members 1024 01:27:20,880 --> 01:27:28,400 strong at our January member meeting and uh it was very wellreceived. I know 1025 01:27:26,560 --> 01:27:31,440 Linda, as you heard, spent a lot of time on the streets, uh, talking to 1026 01:27:30,159 --> 01:27:36,080 businesses as well, hundreds of businesses. And so, I've reviewed all of 1027 01:27:33,520 --> 01:27:40,480 that. I've reviewed the original plans, and I reviewed the plan that you saw 1028 01:27:37,760 --> 01:27:45,040 here tonight. And I do think that, you know, over the 26ome years that I've 1029 01:27:42,400 --> 01:27:49,600 been here, we've all seen change, right? We've all seen a lot of progress. And, 1030 01:27:47,679 --> 01:27:53,760 uh, we've also seen a lot of things done really well. On the residential front, I 1031 01:27:52,000 --> 01:27:57,679 can't tell you how many times a week I tell people, unfortunately, no, there's 1032 01:27:55,199 --> 01:28:00,800 just nowhere here to live. On the commercial front, I can't tell you how 1033 01:27:59,199 --> 01:28:04,960 many times I tell people, you probably can't afford that commercial rent in New 1034 01:28:02,719 --> 01:28:09,520 Town. All of that means we're doing something really well. We're a desirable 1035 01:28:07,840 --> 01:28:13,600 community that people want to be in. They want to be a part of. I live right 1036 01:28:11,600 --> 01:28:18,080 now, um, sad to admit, in Pennington, New Jersey, as I'm rehabbing a a 200-y 1037 01:28:16,480 --> 01:28:22,880 old farmhouse and look forward to coming back to New Town. But every day my car 1038 01:28:20,719 --> 01:28:29,280 is in New Town. Everything I do is in New Town. Work to gym to eat to you name 1039 01:28:25,840 --> 01:28:32,400 it. So, um, and that's because it's the perfect balance. And I think that's 1040 01:28:31,040 --> 01:28:37,360 something Julia you mentioned about striking the balance. I think the time 1041 01:28:35,280 --> 01:28:41,440 that's been spent reviewing and the the efforts of the experts. Um, I think you 1042 01:28:39,840 --> 01:28:44,560 guys know your job obviously, but I think I feel like myself as well that I 1043 01:28:43,360 --> 01:28:48,960 would agree that I think we're in a place where a lot of those things that 1044 01:28:46,960 --> 01:28:54,480 come with progress that are unfortunately challenges um have been 1045 01:28:51,520 --> 01:28:57,440 met headon with this current plan. Um, I don't think we'll ever have perfect. 1046 01:28:55,760 --> 01:29:02,000 There is no such thing, but I like what I see and I wanted to just share my 1047 01:29:00,000 --> 01:29:05,520 support from my community here in New Town. Thank you. 1048 01:29:03,520 --> 01:29:10,000 » Thank you very much. >> Is there anyone else who'd like to 1049 01:29:06,800 --> 01:29:10,000 speak, please? 1050 01:29:15,199 --> 01:29:22,159 Good evening. I'm Lisa Flmer. I'm the executive director of Lower Bucks County 1051 01:29:19,760 --> 01:29:27,760 Chamber of Commerce and we recently moved into the stocking works um this 1052 01:29:24,880 --> 01:29:32,000 past year and um we're very excited to be a part of New Town Burrow uh not just 1053 01:29:30,320 --> 01:29:39,520 for our membership but also for the businesses that we represent and the 1054 01:29:35,280 --> 01:29:45,920 burrow itself is well known for so many various cultural activities in addition 1055 01:29:42,960 --> 01:29:53,199 to the niche that you have of feeling like a hometown town and what Jim has 1056 01:29:51,040 --> 01:29:57,360 done and I've I've worked with Jim when I served on the Middletown Township 1057 01:29:54,880 --> 01:30:04,639 Board of Supervisors so in the early 2000s and he ran our Middletown Country 1058 01:30:00,480 --> 01:30:10,639 Club. He doesn't do anything halfway. He also ensures that he takes into 1059 01:30:07,760 --> 01:30:17,360 consideration all of the stakeholders and their needs and their requirements. 1060 01:30:14,000 --> 01:30:21,520 Um so not just the municipalities but also the businesses. You could see that 1061 01:30:19,199 --> 01:30:27,360 from every single aspect of this plan completely ditching the former plan to 1062 01:30:24,400 --> 01:30:32,400 what he has created now. Taking into account the hindrances um that would 1063 01:30:29,600 --> 01:30:39,360 have you know befell the community but also ensuring that what he is building 1064 01:30:36,719 --> 01:30:45,280 what he is presenting to this community blends with this community. It is 1065 01:30:42,000 --> 01:30:50,719 aesthetically pleasing. It takes care of your walkway along the creek to provide 1066 01:30:47,679 --> 01:30:55,760 not only access to nature for the residents there, but for those that come 1067 01:30:53,199 --> 01:30:59,600 and have business in the community who decide that they want to dine in the 1068 01:30:57,600 --> 01:31:04,000 community in addition to the entertainment that could reside at the 1069 01:31:02,159 --> 01:31:10,480 pavilion. I think one of the things that I enjoy 1070 01:31:06,159 --> 01:31:15,760 most in my capacity is the number of residents that will now be a part of 1071 01:31:13,040 --> 01:31:21,199 your community that will then frequent the commercial sector of your community. 1072 01:31:18,960 --> 01:31:26,639 That only bodess well for the businesses along State Street and throughout the 1073 01:31:23,440 --> 01:31:32,480 burrow, but it also bodess well for their future and their success, which 1074 01:31:29,199 --> 01:31:38,000 then also adds to the value of this community. this beautiful community that 1075 01:31:34,719 --> 01:31:43,280 you continue to create, foster, and ensure that for generations to come, 1076 01:31:41,280 --> 01:31:48,400 they will know exactly the history and legacy of New Town Burough, not only 1077 01:31:46,080 --> 01:31:52,880 maintain it, but sustain it for its legacy. So, thank you for your time this 1078 01:31:50,800 --> 01:31:58,239 evening. I really hope that you consider this plan in its entirety and bring this 1079 01:31:55,920 --> 01:32:03,920 forth for not only the burough residents but also the commercial sector and for 1080 01:32:00,480 --> 01:32:08,239 the future of the burough. Thank you. Thank you very much. Would anyone else 1081 01:32:06,320 --> 01:32:11,239 like to speak? Please come up to the podium. 1082 01:32:14,800 --> 01:32:22,320 » Hello, my name is Excuse [clears throat] me. My name is John Monahan. I live at 1083 01:32:18,960 --> 01:32:27,760 202 South State Street, so I would be right across from this building. And I I 1084 01:32:25,120 --> 01:32:33,840 just have to tell the board members how how much better I think this plan is 1085 01:32:30,480 --> 01:32:38,239 than the the plan that was in effect when I purchased. 1086 01:32:36,080 --> 01:32:46,000 I think the the buildings architecturally the buff brick m u 1087 01:32:42,320 --> 01:32:51,840 doesn't imitate but echoes the building directly across state street on the 1088 01:32:48,080 --> 01:32:58,000 corner of pen and also the first uh national bank of new town building which 1089 01:32:54,560 --> 01:33:05,120 you would see from these buildings and I think the mixeduse idea sounded good 15 1090 01:33:02,000 --> 01:33:10,560 or 20 years ago but really it would not work in this location. And also, if I 1091 01:33:08,239 --> 01:33:17,760 were a business, if I had a business on on State or or Sycamore Street, I would 1092 01:33:14,719 --> 01:33:23,040 just like, do I need the competition? The answer to me would be no. But do I 1093 01:33:20,239 --> 01:33:31,520 need customers? The answer would be yes. And one reason I moved from Pipersville 1094 01:33:26,800 --> 01:33:36,400 to this building was I wanted to be in a place where I could walk to to the 1095 01:33:34,480 --> 01:33:43,840 restaurants and the other businesses that are right here. And I think you 1096 01:33:39,120 --> 01:33:48,080 will find that uh as one of the uh people stated, you're going to find a 1097 01:33:46,000 --> 01:33:53,040 lot of people who are downsizing who live in New Town or nearby and they go, 1098 01:33:50,639 --> 01:33:57,840 "Yes, I want to I want this, but I don't want to buy." So the rental, I think, 1099 01:33:55,360 --> 01:34:02,800 also makes a better idea. You may get younger people who are going to be 1100 01:34:00,400 --> 01:34:07,760 renting as well. And there really isn't that much rental in New Town Burrow. I 1101 01:34:05,280 --> 01:34:14,320 go by, I see the Laroo building and a few others in the small small rentals 1102 01:34:10,719 --> 01:34:20,960 down the street down State Street at 440 State Street, but you don't see all that 1103 01:34:16,560 --> 01:34:25,760 much more uh rental space. And also, I think we need to move ahead on this. And 1104 01:34:23,600 --> 01:34:32,080 one more thing is that the speaker who was talking about the wild flowers, 1105 01:34:29,120 --> 01:34:36,719 let's also keep in mind that the bank of the new town creek is going to be 1106 01:34:34,159 --> 01:34:40,960 improved. It's it's one of the few places you'll be able to access. In 1107 01:34:39,199 --> 01:34:47,120 fact, I think it's the only place you'll be able to access uh and walk along New 1108 01:34:44,480 --> 01:34:53,040 Town Creek and it'll be cleaned up. The rusty shopping carts will be out and 1109 01:34:49,360 --> 01:34:58,320 it'll be much nicer. So, I'm also authorized to speak for the people in 1110 01:34:55,440 --> 01:35:05,280 202 who were unable to attend tonight because they're away. And uh without 1111 01:35:01,600 --> 01:35:10,880 exception, everybody is in favor of this and would like to move forward as 1112 01:35:07,199 --> 01:35:17,480 expeditiously as possible. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. 1113 01:35:13,120 --> 01:35:17,480 Anyone else, please? 1114 01:35:25,199 --> 01:35:31,920 Hi, my name is uh Jim Wis, 2011 Penn Street. Um, some of the other people 1115 01:35:31,040 --> 01:35:35,600 already mentioned some of the things that I wanted to talk about, but I've 1116 01:35:34,239 --> 01:35:39,600 been involved with a lot of things in the community, been around town as much 1117 01:35:37,520 --> 01:35:43,840 as anybody doing various things and working in the community way back when. 1118 01:35:42,000 --> 01:35:48,560 We all love Allen and I was on a committee with Allen probably in year 1119 01:35:45,679 --> 01:35:54,000 2000 where we talked about improving the creek and the you know doing a creek 1120 01:35:50,400 --> 01:35:58,080 walk and here we are 25 years later we're still talking about doing 1121 01:35:55,360 --> 01:36:02,320 improvements along the creek and an asset that we have there that we're not 1122 01:35:59,679 --> 01:36:06,800 using. In addition to that, I see five, six empty buildings around town. I agree 1123 01:36:05,040 --> 01:36:10,800 with everybody else that including more retail down there is probably not the 1124 01:36:08,960 --> 01:36:15,040 best opportunity when we already have vacant 1125 01:36:12,719 --> 01:36:18,400 things and and like the guy said before, you need clients if you want to have 1126 01:36:16,719 --> 01:36:21,679 retail and and people using those things. So, I'm also in support of it. 1127 01:36:20,480 --> 01:36:24,880 There's some things that I don't know if it's going to be phased or not. maybe 1128 01:36:23,120 --> 01:36:29,280 this isn't the time to bring it up, but an important part to me also is that 1129 01:36:26,639 --> 01:36:33,120 public space that's down along the creek. And I just would like to ensure 1130 01:36:31,120 --> 01:36:36,480 that that gets built as part of if there is any phasing and I don't know if 1131 01:36:34,480 --> 01:36:41,040 there's any phasing or not that that is one of the first phases that's done 1132 01:36:38,960 --> 01:36:45,360 because I also think that's an big draw to to everybody and importance to 1133 01:36:42,800 --> 01:36:48,239 everybody. So those couple things I'm in support traffic is always going to be an 1134 01:36:47,119 --> 01:36:52,480 issue. You're never going to make everybody happy like somebody else said, 1135 01:36:50,000 --> 01:36:56,480 but we need a spark in this town to get some things rolling in a better 1136 01:36:54,000 --> 01:36:59,679 direction and uh I think this will help. >> Thanks. 1137 01:36:57,360 --> 01:37:04,159 » Thank you very much. Anyone else? 1138 01:37:01,840 --> 01:37:07,400 Okay, thank you gentlemen very much. >> Thank you. 1139 01:37:10,400 --> 01:37:18,320 » Okay, so we're going to move on to certificates of appropriateness. Chris, 1140 01:37:16,159 --> 01:37:22,880 » thank you. If it's okay with uh our solicitor and 1141 01:37:20,800 --> 01:37:29,840 council, I'd like to group the first three together. They're all going to be 1142 01:37:25,760 --> 01:37:32,800 proposed for um approval. >> Is that all right? 1143 01:37:30,639 --> 01:37:36,320 » Y. So I would uh move to follow the 1144 01:37:34,960 --> 01:37:39,679 recommendations of the historical architectural review board and direct 1145 01:37:38,000 --> 01:37:43,119 the president of council to sign the following certificates of 1146 01:37:40,880 --> 01:37:46,800 appropriateness thereby approving the historical appropriateness of the 1147 01:37:45,040 --> 01:37:52,639 applications with final approval by the code enforcement officer. The first 1148 01:37:49,280 --> 01:37:58,080 application is COA 2026-9. It's 159 North State Street and the 1149 01:37:55,760 --> 01:38:01,600 applicant is Mike Hutchinson. The applicant seeks a certificate of 1150 01:37:59,679 --> 01:38:07,199 appropriateness for the demolition of an existing shed addition on the back of 1151 01:38:04,080 --> 01:38:11,360 the house and an early 20th century shed at the rear of the property. 1152 01:38:09,827 --> 01:38:16,239 [snorts] Harb recommended approving the application for demolition, noting that 1153 01:38:13,600 --> 01:38:22,360 neither the shed addition nor the rear shed has architectural nor historic 1154 01:38:19,360 --> 01:38:22,360 significance. 1155 01:38:22,880 --> 01:38:34,320 Our second application is COA 2026-6 and 20267. 1156 01:38:30,639 --> 01:38:39,840 This is for 105 and 107 North Chancellor Street. Our applicants are Christopher 1157 01:38:36,639 --> 01:38:43,600 Grimes and Charles and Barbara Lewis. The applicant seeks a certificate of 1158 01:38:41,840 --> 01:38:48,880 appropriateness for repairs to the shared front porch of this twin house. 1159 01:38:47,440 --> 01:38:54,639 Again, that's both halves of the twin house. Harb recommended approving both 1160 01:38:51,520 --> 01:38:57,920 applications for 105 and 107 North Chancellor Street with the following 1161 01:38:56,159 --> 01:39:04,000 changes. The main three posts will be repaired 1162 01:39:00,560 --> 01:39:10,719 using Dutchman or epoxy. The railing will be salvaged if possible or replaced 1163 01:39:07,440 --> 01:39:15,360 in exact kind in terms of proportion and detailing. The ballusters will be 1164 01:39:13,040 --> 01:39:23,280 salvaged. Necessary new ballasters will be turned to match the existing. 1165 01:39:18,960 --> 01:39:28,880 And third, we have COA 2026-8. This is 110 East Center Avenue. And this 1166 01:39:26,159 --> 01:39:32,639 applicant is Peggy and Doug Levvin. The applicant seeks to seeks a certificate 1167 01:39:30,960 --> 01:39:38,000 of appropriateness for alterations to the rear porch. Harb recommended 1168 01:39:35,040 --> 01:39:41,520 approving the application as presented. >> Thank you. I have a motion. Do I have a 1169 01:39:39,440 --> 01:39:43,760 second? >> Second. 1170 01:39:42,239 --> 01:39:47,639 » Thank you. Any comments or questions from council on these COAs? 1171 01:39:48,239 --> 01:39:56,639 Okay. I know I asked this earlier, but are any of the applicants present? 1172 01:39:53,520 --> 01:39:58,560 Any public comment on these COAs? All those in favor? 1173 01:39:58,080 --> 01:40:00,639 » I >> I 1174 01:39:59,360 --> 01:40:07,520 » I. >> Any nays? Motion passes. 1175 01:40:04,239 --> 01:40:12,080 » Okay. Now, uh I move to follow the recommendation of the historic 1176 01:40:09,199 --> 01:40:19,159 architecture review board and deny the following certific certificate of 1177 01:40:13,920 --> 01:40:19,159 appropriateness. This is COA 2026-00005 1178 01:40:19,360 --> 01:40:28,400 for 17 North State Street. The applicants are Caroline and Janine El 1179 01:40:26,320 --> 01:40:32,400 Classen Trust. The applicants seek a certificate of 1180 01:40:30,400 --> 01:40:38,880 appropriateness for installation of a fence. Harb recommended denying the 1181 01:40:35,440 --> 01:40:44,960 application, emphasizing that if the PVC fence had become had come before HARB 1182 01:40:42,639 --> 01:40:48,800 before its construction, it would have been denied. 1183 01:40:47,440 --> 01:40:51,040 » Thank you. I have a motion. Do I have a second? 1184 01:40:50,320 --> 01:40:55,440 » Second. >> Thank you. Any comments or questions 1185 01:40:52,400 --> 01:41:01,440 from council on this motion? >> Is the applicant present? 1186 01:40:57,920 --> 01:41:03,360 Any public comment? All those in favor? I 1187 01:41:01,760 --> 01:41:09,280 » I any >> any nays? Motion passes. 1188 01:41:07,199 --> 01:41:13,199 » Okay. Seeing as we are missing our dear Chief Sabbath, um we'll move on to the 1189 01:41:10,960 --> 01:41:18,159 mayor's report who we are also missing. Um so I would just uh say that we have 1190 01:41:16,400 --> 01:41:23,760 two events on here that we will make motions for tonight to um approve. Um so 1191 01:41:22,000 --> 01:41:29,280 I would entertain a motion for Arbor Day. 1192 01:41:26,639 --> 01:41:34,960 I'll make a motion to approve Arbor Day sponsored by the recreation board on 1193 01:41:31,199 --> 01:41:40,960 Friday, April 17, 2026 from 9:00 am to 11:30 a.m. at Brian S. Greg Park. Rain 1194 01:41:38,080 --> 01:41:43,440 date is April 24th, 2026. >> Thank you. I have a motion. Do I have a 1195 01:41:42,400 --> 01:41:45,440 second? >> Second. 1196 01:41:44,080 --> 01:41:50,000 » Thank you. Any comments or questions from councel? 1197 01:41:47,520 --> 01:41:53,199 Any public comment? All those in favor? 1198 01:41:51,840 --> 01:41:57,520 » I. >> Any nays? Motion passes. Uh, I'd 1199 01:41:56,000 --> 01:42:00,560 entertain a motion for the Memorial Day parade. 1200 01:41:59,199 --> 01:42:06,159 » I'll make a motion to approve the Memorial Day parade sponsored by the 1201 01:42:02,400 --> 01:42:12,639 American Legion Morell Smith Post 440 on Monday, May 25th, 2026, 9:00 a.m. to 1202 01:42:09,920 --> 01:42:15,679 11:30 a.m. along a designated parade route. No rain date. 1203 01:42:14,239 --> 01:42:17,199 » Thank you. I have a motion. Do I have a second? 1204 01:42:16,560 --> 01:42:21,280 » Second. >> Thank you. Any comments or questions 1205 01:42:18,639 --> 01:42:25,119 from councel? Any public comment? 1206 01:42:23,600 --> 01:42:26,000 All those in favor? >> I 1207 01:42:25,440 --> 01:42:29,600 » I >> I 1208 01:42:26,880 --> 01:42:34,480 » Any nays? Motion passes. Now, there's an additional uh item under uh the mayor's 1209 01:42:32,480 --> 01:42:38,400 report. Uh but I don't know what Tara was planning on saying about it. It's 1210 01:42:36,080 --> 01:42:43,040 just about uh that Saturday, August 8th will be New Town celebrates America's 1211 01:42:40,239 --> 01:42:48,520 250th. Um we'll add this to the next agenda so she can give us more detail 1212 01:42:45,360 --> 01:42:48,520 about that. 1213 01:42:49,040 --> 01:42:53,119 » Okay, Greg. Moving on to the solicitor's report. 1214 01:42:51,600 --> 01:42:56,239 » Great. Uh the first thing I'm going to take up under the solicitor's report are 1215 01:42:54,400 --> 01:42:59,199 actually moving from the president's report up to the solicitor's report 1216 01:42:57,600 --> 01:43:06,960 which is an update on the fire services agreement. As council may be aware um 1217 01:43:02,000 --> 01:43:13,119 the township did approve on their end a uh I guess our offer uh for the amount 1218 01:43:10,400 --> 01:43:16,719 to enter back into a fire services agreement with the township at their 1219 01:43:14,719 --> 01:43:21,600 previous meeting. We received a draft agreement after the work session uh last 1220 01:43:19,360 --> 01:43:23,520 week. Um and so that's in review. We're asking for a little bit more 1221 01:43:22,560 --> 01:43:27,040 information. There was some documentation missing from the 1222 01:43:25,520 --> 01:43:30,480 transmission that we got. And so that's under review and we'll be bringing that 1223 01:43:28,400 --> 01:43:35,760 to council for review and discussion during the April and and and hopeful 1224 01:43:33,520 --> 01:43:41,040 approval uh during the April session. So that's just an update on that. Um then 1225 01:43:38,880 --> 01:43:45,280 next item on the solicitor's report is the continued appeal hearing for 239 1226 01:43:43,679 --> 01:43:50,639 Court Street, which is a Harve appeal. Are the deacons present? You want to 1227 01:43:47,920 --> 01:43:55,199 come up? We'll we'll continue where we left off. As a reminder for the board, 1228 01:43:52,880 --> 01:44:01,119 we looked at this um at a previous meeting. Um this is regarding a 1229 01:43:57,040 --> 01:44:08,400 retaining wall at 239 Court Street um that uh was erected prior to receiving 1230 01:44:04,800 --> 01:44:15,600 any approvals. Um at the last meeting, council elected to remand uh the 1231 01:44:13,040 --> 01:44:22,159 application to HARB uh for a recommendation on uh what they would 1232 01:44:18,719 --> 01:44:26,400 recommend to be placed there uh had uh it gone through the normal review 1233 01:44:23,679 --> 01:44:31,679 process to inform council's decision in this appeal. Um so HARB did take it up 1234 01:44:29,760 --> 01:44:37,520 at their meeting on the 25th of February. Uh, and the minutes reflect 1235 01:44:34,239 --> 01:44:45,280 the um following statement. And I'll just read that in as we as we um 1236 01:44:42,320 --> 01:44:51,199 did at the last one. Uh Harb recommends a well the it was stated that the if the 1237 01:44:48,639 --> 01:44:55,600 application had come before the wall as built, it would have been denied. Harb 1238 01:44:53,679 --> 01:45:01,280 recommends a simpler, more appropriate stone wall. The stone shouldn't be laid 1239 01:44:58,080 --> 01:45:06,639 in an ashlar pattern uh but rather more closely match the irregular and roughly 1240 01:45:03,920 --> 01:45:11,520 dressed stone of the house's foundation. The cap should be less formal than the 1241 01:45:08,639 --> 01:45:18,480 existing rectangular cut blue stone top. A more appropriate stone cap should be 1242 01:45:14,480 --> 01:45:22,400 of the same stone as the wall. Um and so the ultimate was that they would they 1243 01:45:20,239 --> 01:45:27,920 denied it still but made those recommendations for council's benefit in 1244 01:45:24,960 --> 01:45:32,880 this hearing. So, as we reconvene now, um, as the deacons have come forward, 1245 01:45:30,960 --> 01:45:37,040 um, I don't know if if the deans would have anything, uh, that they would like 1246 01:45:35,040 --> 01:45:41,360 to offer council at this time based on that recommendation made by HARB as to 1247 01:45:39,199 --> 01:45:45,360 where you are in the process or we can open it back up to uh, council's 1248 01:45:44,000 --> 01:45:48,880 discussion, but I would give the first opportunity to begin. 1249 01:45:47,040 --> 01:45:54,400 » No, I mean, I I don't, as I said before, I don't um, you know, first of all, we 1250 01:45:52,719 --> 01:45:58,719 obviously didn't try to do anything sneaky. There's a thousand cars drive by 1251 01:45:56,320 --> 01:46:04,560 our our house every day on on Court Street. So, we didn't get a permit. We 1252 01:46:01,119 --> 01:46:08,560 screwed it up. Um, you know, as I mentioned before, and I don't you know, 1253 01:46:06,000 --> 01:46:13,840 you guys are here long enough, but we've we stole the idea off the house on 1254 01:46:11,040 --> 01:46:18,239 Washington Street. It's a brick house. Um, their stone is very similar to ours. 1255 01:46:16,719 --> 01:46:22,480 I don't pretend to know the names of the stones and all that stuff, but but their 1256 01:46:20,159 --> 01:46:26,000 stone is very, very similar to ours. As I said to you guys before, that's where 1257 01:46:24,080 --> 01:46:32,639 I got the idea or my wife and I got the idea. The other thing is there's it was 1258 01:46:29,520 --> 01:46:39,199 mentioned that the stone doesn't match the stone of the foundation of the 1259 01:46:34,239 --> 01:46:44,080 house, but the home across um from the funeral home has a similar wall. It's 1260 01:46:42,239 --> 01:46:47,920 not it's different. So, I'm not I'm not acting like it's exactly the same, but 1261 01:46:46,320 --> 01:46:52,560 it certainly doesn't match the foundation of theirs. So again, we're 1262 01:46:50,800 --> 01:46:57,040 not, you know, we're not trying to do anything to be sneaky. If we owe money 1263 01:46:55,199 --> 01:47:02,080 for the permit, that's fine. You know, if whatever we're not we're not trying 1264 01:46:59,920 --> 01:47:07,199 to be difficult, but I feel like we got a tennis match going on. I'm going back 1265 01:47:03,760 --> 01:47:12,080 and forth, you know. Um I think it looks nice. We've gotten a lot of compliments, 1266 01:47:09,600 --> 01:47:16,639 you know. Um I mean, I don't know what else to say. I don't, as I said, I I 1267 01:47:14,159 --> 01:47:21,040 don't think we've uh I don't think the top piece looks any different than 1268 01:47:18,639 --> 01:47:25,440 multiple homes in the area. So, I don't really understand that. But again, we're 1269 01:47:23,040 --> 01:47:30,320 not we're not trying to be difficult. We're easy to get along with, but I 1270 01:47:27,920 --> 01:47:33,199 mean, at some point, I mean, I I think we tried to do the right thing. The 1271 01:47:31,520 --> 01:47:37,920 house looks nicer, I think. Again, I'm not totally objective, I guess, but you 1272 01:47:35,199 --> 01:47:40,719 know, it just I feel like we're being a little nitpicky to be truthful with you, 1273 01:47:39,360 --> 01:47:46,000 but and I'm not trying to be difficult. We'll do whatever we got to do. I'm not 1274 01:47:43,440 --> 01:47:49,920 it just as I say I think there's other homes in the area that look exactly the 1275 01:47:47,520 --> 01:47:54,239 same who are very very similar that apparently didn't get get their hands 1276 01:47:52,159 --> 01:47:57,760 slapped. Make a long story short. >> Thank you Mr. Deacon. council, we'll 1277 01:47:56,080 --> 01:48:01,760 open it back up to I mean, we we were already in discussion and certainly you 1278 01:48:00,159 --> 01:48:07,520 can ask any additional questions of the deans related to this in light of the 1279 01:48:04,800 --> 01:48:13,320 recommendation or or I know it's a recommendation the evaluation made by 1280 01:48:10,320 --> 01:48:13,320 HARB. 1281 01:48:13,520 --> 01:48:21,520 » Oh, well I I went to look at your wall again this weekend. Um 1282 01:48:19,760 --> 01:48:24,800 I there are there are a number of things 1283 01:48:22,960 --> 01:48:29,119 going on here. I would agree with you that you know you did it's similar to 1284 01:48:27,119 --> 01:48:32,639 other walls in town and I see where you got the idea actually went and looked at 1285 01:48:30,719 --> 01:48:39,040 those walls and you are correct their walls did not match their foundations at 1286 01:48:34,480 --> 01:48:42,639 all either. Um and har I think Harvest being inconsistent or maybe they're 1287 01:48:41,600 --> 01:48:47,920 being consistent in their inconsistencies because they have 1288 01:48:44,159 --> 01:48:52,800 approved walls. They have told other property owners don't make your wall 1289 01:48:50,400 --> 01:48:56,480 look like your foundation. I've heard multiple times when people have come to 1290 01:48:54,400 --> 01:49:00,639 put walls in their backyard and said, "Oh, we picked this stone to look just 1291 01:48:58,080 --> 01:49:05,600 like our house." And the response from Harb was, "No, make it look different." 1292 01:49:03,520 --> 01:49:09,040 And and then it is true. There are houses on Washington Avenue that have 1293 01:49:07,199 --> 01:49:12,960 stone walls that are recent that were approved that don't reflect the 1294 01:49:11,280 --> 01:49:19,679 foundation at all. They're granite and their houses are are um the brown 1295 01:49:15,840 --> 01:49:24,719 sandstone Bucks County stone. Um, your wall 1296 01:49:21,760 --> 01:49:29,920 has a much has a modern look to it and I'm wondering if you would be willing to 1297 01:49:27,119 --> 01:49:35,760 consider replacing just the blue stone top with a rougher stone that matches 1298 01:49:33,520 --> 01:49:41,040 the stone of the rest of the wall. I think that might soften the look and 1299 01:49:38,000 --> 01:49:44,960 might um, obviously it's not going to match your 1300 01:49:42,320 --> 01:49:49,199 foundation and I don't I don't I wouldn't say that it needs to. I would 1301 01:49:46,239 --> 01:49:53,360 say that it might take away from the more modern aspect of that wall compared 1302 01:49:51,600 --> 01:49:56,480 to the age of your house. >> Yeah. I mean, we'll certainly take a 1303 01:49:54,960 --> 01:49:58,880 look at it. As I said, we're not >> No, I get along with I'm more than happy 1304 01:49:58,239 --> 01:50:02,239 to have >> Do you want I'm wondering if is there 1305 01:50:00,560 --> 01:50:03,840 any kind of photo we could get of what you're talking about because that 1306 01:50:03,280 --> 01:50:08,239 definitely seems >> Well, rather that what you have is a is 1307 01:50:05,520 --> 01:50:10,800 a modern blue stone which is very popular right now. The top the top 1308 01:50:10,159 --> 01:50:15,760 piece. >> Okay. and and Harb actually did say this 1309 01:50:13,760 --> 01:50:19,679 that they were suggesting that a more appropriate stone cap would be of the 1310 01:50:17,360 --> 01:50:24,719 same stone as the wall. So you have uh stone in the the you know your your 1311 01:50:21,600 --> 01:50:29,600 vertical surface is is [snorts] like it was a a concrete block wall that 1312 01:50:27,119 --> 01:50:34,080 had a laminate put on right. So the the kind of stone that the front of the wall 1313 01:50:31,679 --> 01:50:38,400 is, if you could get you can go to a quarry and get some stone pieces to put 1314 01:50:36,400 --> 01:50:42,480 on the top of the wall instead of the blue stone cap that might soften it 1315 01:50:41,360 --> 01:50:46,480 better. And then >> we're happy to we're happy to take a 1316 01:50:44,000 --> 01:50:50,480 look at it and most likely do that. I'm said I'm not recommendation. 1317 01:50:47,520 --> 01:50:55,840 » Yeah. I No, I I I I understand your situation. I I 1318 01:50:52,080 --> 01:50:58,800 » Yeah, I get it. Yeah. [snorts] >> I just don't And we're happy to do it. 1319 01:50:57,600 --> 01:51:01,199 » Yeah. said, "We're going to do whatever you whatever." 1320 01:51:00,080 --> 01:51:04,800 » Right. So, if you were just >> don't understand how there's multiple 1321 01:51:03,119 --> 01:51:07,040 homes that have the same top. And again, I don't I don't even care what it cost 1322 01:51:06,400 --> 01:51:10,320 us. >> We'll do it. Get it done. I just don't 1323 01:51:08,960 --> 01:51:14,239 understand as you're saying earlier, which I appreciate you taking the time 1324 01:51:11,520 --> 01:51:17,840 to go look at the homes. Um, you know, but 1325 01:51:15,920 --> 01:51:21,760 » there's so many others that are the same is that's all I'm confused about. But 1326 01:51:19,920 --> 01:51:23,920 we're happy to do that. No problem at all. 1327 01:51:22,159 --> 01:51:28,320 » I do have a question though. So, we need to get a we probably should go before 1328 01:51:25,840 --> 01:51:33,440 ARB again. No, they would >> um I don't know. In the past, people 1329 01:51:31,040 --> 01:51:36,639 have asked harb to like help them pick the stone, but not necessarily go back 1330 01:51:35,360 --> 01:51:40,159 through the whole process again. >> It would be up for council. There's 1331 01:51:38,080 --> 01:51:45,760 there would since they've appealed from the har. We're in a harb appeal here and 1332 01:51:42,560 --> 01:51:49,760 council ultimately has the the say on what gets installed or not. So, I think 1333 01:51:48,000 --> 01:51:53,599 it would be appropriate if council wants to determine 1334 01:51:51,599 --> 01:51:57,280 » what it wants to do. It doesn't have to. I mean you can certain you can certainly 1335 01:51:55,360 --> 01:52:01,040 send them back to harb like you just did but there is no requirement whatsoever 1336 01:51:59,040 --> 01:52:05,440 that they need to go back to harve where they are in this process. 1337 01:52:03,280 --> 01:52:09,280 » We might be able to get some advice from harb from the consultant to say what 1338 01:52:07,520 --> 01:52:14,159 would be the best stone to do this or what should it look like or how should 1339 01:52:10,560 --> 01:52:18,062 it be but not go through the whole har coa process. I don't we don't want to go 1340 01:52:15,920 --> 01:52:20,082 through another month of this. [laughter] 1341 01:52:22,159 --> 01:52:26,960 Um, hello. Um, may I make a recommendation? 1342 01:52:25,760 --> 01:52:31,199 » Yeah, go ahead, Josh. >> Right. 1343 01:52:28,159 --> 01:52:36,239 » Um, so, uh, in the past we've had folks bring in materials that they were in 1344 01:52:33,280 --> 01:52:41,440 question to our work session and let us take a look at those. Could that be a 1345 01:52:38,400 --> 01:52:48,159 possible solution to go ahead and bring in the material uh for the the cap of 1346 01:52:44,800 --> 01:52:52,239 the wall as Julia suggested suggested and then council can make a decision 1347 01:52:50,080 --> 01:52:56,159 rather than because Harve's recommendation was that it wouldn't be 1348 01:52:54,080 --> 01:53:00,560 approved and then they sent it back to be um uh they would they said that they 1349 01:52:59,280 --> 01:53:03,599 would want it to look like the foundation and we're kind of in 1350 01:53:01,920 --> 01:53:07,520 disagreement over that it sounds like and I appreciate Julia you bringing that 1351 01:53:05,920 --> 01:53:12,719 to all of our attention. about the history of that that really adds a lot 1352 01:53:09,840 --> 01:53:18,159 of context. So I would recommend they select a material that looks that would 1353 01:53:15,679 --> 01:53:21,520 that could be appropriate to match what you were talking about Julia and then 1354 01:53:19,840 --> 01:53:27,520 bring that to a work session where we can evaluate it and approve it. 1355 01:53:24,960 --> 01:53:29,760 » That that's absolutely an option. >> Yeah. 1356 01:53:29,199 --> 01:53:32,159 » Yeah. >> Yes. 1357 01:53:30,639 --> 01:53:35,520 » So first of all, sorry for keeping you in purgatory over this. 1358 01:53:33,280 --> 01:53:38,719 » No, we're all good. This was my biggest problem. the the reason you're in 1359 01:53:36,960 --> 01:53:45,440 purgatory is because we're trying to be thoughtful and and not not jump to 1360 01:53:42,320 --> 01:53:49,760 conclusions uh because of the situation. Um and nobody's sent you a uh violation 1361 01:53:48,400 --> 01:53:52,560 notice or anything like that. We'll get through it. Okay. 1362 01:53:50,560 --> 01:53:57,840 » No, it's all good. I'm not >> um that's the main thing I wanted to say 1363 01:53:54,560 --> 01:54:05,360 with respect to uh Julia's suggestion. Um, I just want to mention that, um, 1364 01:54:01,280 --> 01:54:13,199 having like rough stone on top is may or may not be an easy thing to do to cap a, 1365 01:54:09,840 --> 01:54:18,159 uh, to cap a block wall with. Uh, and to me, the more important piece is that 1366 01:54:15,280 --> 01:54:26,080 these the stone itself in color and texture is able to match um match the uh 1367 01:54:23,119 --> 01:54:30,719 the wall stone. um and not so much that it's that's it's uh fully rough or 1368 01:54:28,880 --> 01:54:35,679 that's there's a whole bunch of different pieces, but um other than 1369 01:54:32,960 --> 01:54:39,920 that, I'm open to I'm open to suggestion. I'm open to a practical 1370 01:54:37,920 --> 01:54:44,400 solution. >> Thank you. Is there is there a home? 1371 01:54:42,560 --> 01:54:47,840 Again, I'm not expecting somebody to give us an address off the top of your 1372 01:54:45,760 --> 01:54:51,440 head, but if there's if there's a home we can go look at for what you're 1373 01:54:50,320 --> 01:54:54,880 requesting, >> you know, I'm happy to do that. Well, 1374 01:54:53,299 --> 01:54:58,880 [laughter] I I I just do want to make the point because you've mentioned it a 1375 01:54:56,239 --> 01:55:03,360 few times when when Harborviews these kinds of things, they're not comparing 1376 01:55:00,400 --> 01:55:09,440 it to any other house. Every house is >> bas is judged by itself. It's not So 1377 01:55:07,280 --> 01:55:14,000 something that could be appropriate for a house on Washington Avenue that was 1378 01:55:11,360 --> 01:55:18,239 built 100 years after yours might not be appropriate for yours. That's how Harb 1379 01:55:16,400 --> 01:55:21,520 reviews things. So, I just wanted to point that out. But that doesn't mean 1380 01:55:20,000 --> 01:55:25,679 there's not another house in town that has the kind of stone uh that Julia is 1381 01:55:24,560 --> 01:55:27,920 referencing. So, >> we're not super creative. We like to 1382 01:55:27,119 --> 01:55:31,679 have >> Well, who did this wall? Did you work 1383 01:55:29,440 --> 01:55:34,560 with the mason? >> Our landscaper that we've used for 25 1384 01:55:33,840 --> 01:55:37,040 years. >> So, he laid the stone and everything. 1385 01:55:36,080 --> 01:55:40,400 » He did everything. [clears throat] >> Yeah. Um you might talk to him if he's 1386 01:55:38,880 --> 01:55:46,400 got some ideas. You might bring this back to them and him and say, "Well, 1387 01:55:42,480 --> 01:55:49,920 what would you suggest that's is not as >> um modern." 1388 01:55:47,760 --> 01:55:52,960 » Okay. and that would blend better and he might be able to say, "Oh, yeah, I did 1389 01:55:51,280 --> 01:55:56,719 this for so and so." and be able to send you that way. If that doesn't work, I'm 1390 01:55:54,560 --> 01:55:58,400 sure we can find some resources for you. >> Okay. 1391 01:55:57,280 --> 01:56:02,560 » Or Harb could actually >> and and and likely like if he has a 1392 01:56:00,880 --> 01:56:06,000 couple suggestions, a couple samples that council could review, um that 1393 01:56:04,639 --> 01:56:10,400 probably be better. >> Who would we reach out to? Is it Anna 1394 01:56:09,199 --> 01:56:12,400 » when we have um >> you can reach out to Craig? 1395 01:56:11,679 --> 01:56:16,159 » Craig. >> Okay. 1396 01:56:12,960 --> 01:56:21,280 » Yeah. Our our April work session is >> the 8th. It's a week later. 1397 01:56:19,280 --> 01:56:26,080 » Wednesday, April 8th is when we'd have the opportunity to review them. 1398 01:56:23,199 --> 01:56:29,199 » Okay. Um, no, that's perfect. And and I do I appreciate you um 1399 01:56:27,920 --> 01:56:33,280 » the suggestions we do >> trying to work with us. I'm not um 1400 01:56:31,440 --> 01:56:36,480 » and we promise we will always get for every other thing we do. 1401 01:56:34,320 --> 01:56:41,280 » I appreciate you working. We'll figure >> if that's if that's the direction of 1402 01:56:38,000 --> 01:56:44,960 council. We don't have to do a any formal motion. I would just say that 1403 01:56:42,800 --> 01:56:50,719 we'll stand we'll we'll recess this hearing until the April 8th meeting and 1404 01:56:47,760 --> 01:56:56,239 that the direction of the deans is to uh source some samples for a cap to the 1405 01:56:53,360 --> 01:57:00,239 wall and if you can share them and if you are able to you can also coordinate 1406 01:56:58,159 --> 01:57:03,760 with Craig to share them in advance but it will be discussed and we'll resume 1407 01:57:02,000 --> 01:57:08,960 this conversation at the April 8th work session with a with an agenda item for 1408 01:57:06,880 --> 01:57:13,280 resolution to this as well >> potentially. That's perfect. Is it is it 1409 01:57:11,520 --> 01:57:18,719 fair to say that that just to keep this in mind that um and picking up on 1410 01:57:15,679 --> 01:57:21,280 Julia's comments, number one, that um uh we don't like the blue stone in the 1411 01:57:20,000 --> 01:57:26,880 modern look, right? So, we're looking for something that's a perhaps more uh 1412 01:57:24,639 --> 01:57:31,040 of a match to the other stone that's on the wall. Is that what you're saying? 1413 01:57:29,040 --> 01:57:36,320 » And secondly, ideally a little bit more rough hune if 1414 01:57:33,760 --> 01:57:38,239 possible. Again, matching matching the wall. That's uh 1415 01:57:37,119 --> 01:57:41,599 » all on the top piece. >> That's what we're suggesting. you you 1416 01:57:40,639 --> 01:57:45,440 take a look at. >> That's perfect. 1417 01:57:43,760 --> 01:57:47,119 » Okay. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Have a good night. 1418 01:57:46,639 --> 01:57:53,159 » Thank you. >> You too. 1419 01:57:48,080 --> 01:57:53,159 » Uh the next item on the 1420 01:57:53,360 --> 01:57:58,199 » No, because there's no motion. It was a hearing. 1421 01:57:59,760 --> 01:58:07,040 The next item on the uh under the solicitor's report is um the 1422 01:58:05,280 --> 01:58:12,320 consideration of a handicap parking space uh with conditions at 446 1423 01:58:09,840 --> 01:58:18,679 Washington Avenue. Um this was provided as a resolution for council uh numbered 1424 01:58:15,679 --> 01:58:18,679 3-10-2026. 1425 01:58:19,360 --> 01:58:27,440 Um this would establish a reserved parking space um with conditions in 1426 01:58:24,560 --> 01:58:33,920 front of 446 Washington Avenue. Um and this is established pursuant to um 1427 01:58:30,560 --> 01:58:42,400 section 535-32E of of the code of burrow of new town. Um 1428 01:58:38,960 --> 01:58:46,560 the resolution re uh I won't read it. Uh the all the whereas clauses but the the 1429 01:58:45,119 --> 01:58:50,400 conditions that the resolution establishes is that the reserved parking 1430 01:58:48,480 --> 01:58:55,119 space is established in front of 446 Washington Avenue. that the reserved 1431 01:58:52,480 --> 01:58:59,440 parking spaces shall be demarcated within the cartway of Washington Avenue 1432 01:58:56,880 --> 01:59:03,280 in front of 446 Washington in an appropriate location determined by the 1433 01:59:01,040 --> 01:59:07,199 burrow. The burough shall issue a permit to Mallerie Newman for her exclusive use 1434 01:59:05,440 --> 01:59:11,599 of the reserved parking space without fee required. The reserve parking space 1435 01:59:09,599 --> 01:59:15,119 shall include a sign with such signage restricting use of the parking space 1436 01:59:13,280 --> 01:59:20,960 solely and exclusively to the permit holder. The Burrow of New Town shall 1437 01:59:17,520 --> 01:59:26,800 delineate the reserve parking space with visible lit linage following the size 1438 01:59:23,199 --> 01:59:30,480 and line spacing of section 486-21E of the code of B burrow of New Town and 1439 01:59:29,119 --> 01:59:34,560 that the reserved parking space and permit shall be available to the permit 1440 01:59:32,320 --> 01:59:39,199 holder for so long as the permit holder resides at 446 Washington Avenue or no 1441 01:59:37,440 --> 01:59:44,000 longer holds a handicap placard or license plate. 1442 01:59:41,599 --> 01:59:48,040 Thank you. So to begin discussion, I would entertain a motion from council. 1443 01:59:52,159 --> 01:59:57,679 » So you want to do the motion >> for the for the parking space? Yes. And 1444 01:59:55,679 --> 02:00:02,639 then we will discuss. Yeah. >> Like to make a motion to approve a 1445 01:59:59,840 --> 02:00:07,520 reserved handicap parking space with conditions for 446 Washington Avenue. 1446 02:00:06,159 --> 02:00:09,119 » Thank you. I have a motion. Do I have a second? 1447 02:00:08,320 --> 02:00:11,840 » Second. >> Thank you. Okay. Okay, now we can open 1448 02:00:10,480 --> 02:00:14,840 it up to comments or questions from council. 1449 02:00:16,080 --> 02:00:22,560 » I have one I actually have two questions. Um I'm in favor of this 1450 02:00:20,960 --> 02:00:28,880 motion, but I just I want to clarify some things. Um Michelle, this is a 1451 02:00:24,800 --> 02:00:35,199 state road. Um are there any special requirements that um is are we able to 1452 02:00:32,400 --> 02:00:39,679 provide this parking space without any um permitting from PENDOT? 1453 02:00:38,080 --> 02:00:45,679 » That's it. That's a good question. You may need to 1454 02:00:42,480 --> 02:00:48,880 um get a permit from Pendot at least for the signage. That's something that we 1455 02:00:47,360 --> 02:00:53,440 could look into for you. >> Okay. So, having the spot is not the 1456 02:00:50,560 --> 02:01:02,040 problem, it's the sign. It may be both. >> Okay. Okay. Um my second question is um 1457 02:00:57,280 --> 02:01:02,040 knowing the um 1458 02:01:02,159 --> 02:01:08,960 I don't know if the word I want to use the the scarcity of parking at that end 1459 02:01:05,760 --> 02:01:11,920 of of the block and given the number of houses that don't have off- streetet 1460 02:01:10,560 --> 02:01:16,400 parking that are in the neighborhood of this particular address. I'm wondering 1461 02:01:14,239 --> 02:01:21,040 if if the Newmans would be willing, although I don't want to put this into a 1462 02:01:18,400 --> 02:01:26,400 motion. I'm just asking since I see that um [snorts] that Matt is at the podium. 1463 02:01:23,599 --> 02:01:31,119 Um if if Mallalerie knows she's going to be away for an extended period of time, 1464 02:01:28,400 --> 02:01:39,000 like a week or a vacation or something, would there be would you be willing to 1465 02:01:34,320 --> 02:01:39,000 um make that spot available to others? 1466 02:01:40,480 --> 02:01:50,400 » I'm not quite sure if I'm being directly addressed because I really being invited 1467 02:01:46,239 --> 02:01:54,400 up here. I just kind of showed up. Um, yes. I mean, if if if we know that we're 1468 02:01:52,239 --> 02:01:57,920 going to be gone for a month for or, you know, a week for a vacation, absolutely 1469 02:01:56,080 --> 02:02:01,920 anybody can use that spot. This is just solely so that Mal has the ability to 1470 02:01:59,760 --> 02:02:07,040 park in front of her spot when it's she's having a bad day and, you know, 1471 02:02:04,560 --> 02:02:11,599 she needs to be close when there's groceries and I'm not home. So yeah, if 1472 02:02:09,520 --> 02:02:17,040 I mean we would absolutely work with the neighbors if if that's something you 1473 02:02:13,599 --> 02:02:20,719 know there's generally oa there have been occasions where you 1474 02:02:19,119 --> 02:02:24,000 know random people will park there but it's generally just our our local 1475 02:02:22,639 --> 02:02:25,920 neighbors and we're happy to work with them. 1476 02:02:24,639 --> 02:02:29,040 » Okay. Thanks. >> And that would also be an enforcement 1477 02:02:27,599 --> 02:02:30,880 issue. So I guess the Newman's could just alert 1478 02:02:30,400 --> 02:02:34,800 » Sabbath >> put a bag over the sign 1479 02:02:32,639 --> 02:02:38,000 » just alert chief Sabbath that this to not enforce the the permit you know. 1480 02:02:37,520 --> 02:02:44,239 Okay. >> During that time, 1481 02:02:40,639 --> 02:02:48,000 » so should we um make this uh subject to uh pendot approval? Is that what we're 1482 02:02:47,199 --> 02:02:51,760 saying? >> If required. If required. 1483 02:02:51,040 --> 02:02:53,520 » Excuse me. >> To the extent required. Yeah. 1484 02:02:52,960 --> 02:02:57,599 » Hi. >> Go ahead, Josh. 1485 02:02:55,119 --> 02:03:01,520 » I have a question. Um so in regards to the signage, one of our conversations 1486 02:02:59,679 --> 02:03:06,239 that we've had as council, will there be any kind of painting of lines or 1487 02:03:03,679 --> 02:03:11,920 anything to mark the location? And if so, and if PINDOT approves that, how do 1488 02:03:08,880 --> 02:03:15,199 you um then I I I hear the question about working with neighbors when 1489 02:03:13,440 --> 02:03:20,159 they're not home, but that seems like a whole another issue of how do you say, 1490 02:03:18,320 --> 02:03:26,480 well, those lines don't matter right now. Just throwing that out there. Any 1491 02:03:22,719 --> 02:03:32,960 comments on that from U Michelle or Greg? I think Josh I I think as I'm u 1492 02:03:30,480 --> 02:03:38,880 mentioned I think it would the lines not mattering would be an enforcement issue 1493 02:03:36,400 --> 02:03:41,360 uh for the for the police department. Um they're they're the ones who are going 1494 02:03:40,000 --> 02:03:45,280 to be going around and saying there's a there's a car without a permit parked in 1495 02:03:43,040 --> 02:03:50,080 a permit spot or or inappropriately parked in half the spot. So if there's a 1496 02:03:47,760 --> 02:03:55,280 if there's a time that the Newmans would not be utilizing the spot and they can 1497 02:03:52,800 --> 02:04:02,719 advise the the police department of such, they could not enforce it at that 1498 02:03:57,599 --> 02:04:06,560 time. Um there there's not there's not a another party that would be enforcing 1499 02:04:04,719 --> 02:04:12,400 that parking regulation other than the police department. And the and the 1500 02:04:08,880 --> 02:04:18,560 resolution does does state that linage will be painted on the on the roadway to 1501 02:04:15,920 --> 02:04:22,320 to allow an appropriate amount of room for a car to park there so that it 1502 02:04:20,239 --> 02:04:28,239 wouldn't be uh impossible for Miss Newman to 1503 02:04:25,599 --> 02:04:34,159 actually utilize the spot based on other cars being parked on the block. 1504 02:04:31,360 --> 02:04:40,320 » Does that answer your question? >> I think I think so. Yes. 1505 02:04:37,440 --> 02:04:43,520 So, um, we want to amend the motion to be contingent upon meeting the 1506 02:04:41,599 --> 02:04:47,199 requirements of PENDOT should there be any. 1507 02:04:46,400 --> 02:04:51,360 » So, >> I think I think we we I think you would 1508 02:04:49,679 --> 02:04:55,199 have to understand that we don't really have a choice in that in that matter 1509 02:04:53,119 --> 02:05:00,000 that PENDOT would have to ultimately approve. 1510 02:04:56,560 --> 02:05:05,731 » Yeah, I I fully understand that we can't skirt the overarching laws that we live 1511 02:05:03,520 --> 02:05:09,119 under. >> [laughter] 1512 02:05:06,560 --> 02:05:12,800 » So, I guess you can just say as amended. >> Uh, as amended. 1513 02:05:12,080 --> 02:05:15,440 » Second. >> Second. 1514 02:05:13,840 --> 02:05:20,800 » Okay. Any additional comments or questions from council on this? 1515 02:05:18,320 --> 02:05:23,360 Any public comment? All those in favor? 1516 02:05:22,560 --> 02:05:28,520 » I >> I. 1517 02:05:24,239 --> 02:05:28,520 » Any nays? Motion passes. 1518 02:05:29,199 --> 02:05:36,639 Um and the last item on the solicitor's report is regarding a pillar agreement 1519 02:05:34,239 --> 02:05:42,320 um with the Newman's for an EV charging post in the right of way in front of 446 1520 02:05:38,719 --> 02:05:48,159 Washington Avenue. Um there was some documentation that was supplied to 1521 02:05:44,480 --> 02:05:56,320 council on the location uh and the uh schematics of the uh um corresponding uh 1522 02:05:53,920 --> 02:05:59,920 electrical work uh to the extent that it was available now um with the 1523 02:05:58,320 --> 02:06:03,679 understanding as I think Mr. Dr. Newman understands that anything that would be 1524 02:06:01,520 --> 02:06:08,239 installed would have to be uh under a permit issued by the burrow, inspected 1525 02:06:06,080 --> 02:06:12,800 and compliant with the the burrow's electrical code and the NEC. Um so that 1526 02:06:11,119 --> 02:06:19,280 that has been presented. We do not have a a draft of any pillar agreement, but I 1527 02:06:16,719 --> 02:06:23,599 think we would we would ask that if council is inclined to approve this 1528 02:06:21,040 --> 02:06:29,599 tonight. It's more so related to whether the pillar can be related there and we 1529 02:06:25,840 --> 02:06:32,719 would then work on uh and with Mr. Newman and his council on getting a 1530 02:06:31,280 --> 02:06:40,000 pillar agreement together that would satisfy any requirements that would be 1531 02:06:36,159 --> 02:06:44,520 uh dictated by council. >> So we're looking for a motion to open 1532 02:06:41,520 --> 02:06:44,520 discussion. 1533 02:06:45,199 --> 02:06:49,760 So, this is just to open the discussion, >> correct? Just like we do every other. 1534 02:06:49,222 --> 02:06:53,599 [laughter] >> Everyone's different. I'd like to make a 1535 02:06:51,520 --> 02:06:58,639 motion to approve a pillar agreement with Matthew Newman for an EV charging 1536 02:06:56,079 --> 02:07:02,079 post in the right of way in the front of 446 Washington Avenue. 1537 02:07:00,639 --> 02:07:03,760 » Thank you. I have a motion. Do I have a second? 1538 02:07:03,040 --> 02:07:08,000 » Second. >> Thank you. Um I'll open it up to 1539 02:07:05,360 --> 02:07:13,679 comments and questions from council. >> Question number one to Michelle. This is 1540 02:07:10,719 --> 02:07:18,239 a state road. Do we have to get a home a highway opening permit or other kinds of 1541 02:07:16,320 --> 02:07:21,440 permits from PENDOT to even consider this 1542 02:07:19,840 --> 02:07:27,867 » because it's in the rightway is >> in the in the rightway of a state road. 1543 02:07:25,760 --> 02:07:32,000 » You may. [laughter] 1544 02:07:29,040 --> 02:07:36,159 » Yes. Yes, you may. >> Um my 1545 02:07:34,159 --> 02:07:39,119 » Would that be the responsibility of of the burrow as it's in the right of way 1546 02:07:37,679 --> 02:07:42,320 or the responsibility of the property owner? 1547 02:07:39,599 --> 02:07:45,920 » Property owner. So my second comment is that there has 1548 02:07:44,400 --> 02:07:51,920 been a tremendous amount of new information that's come within the last 1549 02:07:47,679 --> 02:07:57,199 24 hours. The um proposed design of the post, the the actual charger being 1550 02:07:54,560 --> 02:08:03,360 selected, the way the wiring is done, comments, we just at 3:00 this afternoon 1551 02:08:00,480 --> 02:08:07,520 got a response from um Barry Iset regarding um the electrical code and 1552 02:08:06,079 --> 02:08:12,159 what he would need to be looking for. And it's very complicated. there's a lot 1553 02:08:09,199 --> 02:08:17,360 of stuff. Um so, um I would say we're not ready to consider a pillar agreement 1554 02:08:14,239 --> 02:08:24,239 at this time. Um if it is going to be referencing a particular design or uh or 1555 02:08:22,560 --> 02:08:30,000 whatever. I'm so I'm I'm trying to decide whether 1556 02:08:26,560 --> 02:08:35,760 the ability to consider a pillar agreement, which is 1557 02:08:33,840 --> 02:08:41,280 saying, "Yeah, we're in favor of a pillar agreement." and all of the the um 1558 02:08:38,320 --> 02:08:45,119 who's responsible for what and who's uh and all of the second page of that o 1559 02:08:43,199 --> 02:08:50,560 that other draft that was that you had previously given us Greg whether um but 1560 02:08:48,560 --> 02:08:54,480 eliminating any reference to any particular design or anything because 1561 02:08:52,480 --> 02:08:58,800 that would have to be taken care of separately that would be something that 1562 02:08:56,560 --> 02:09:03,840 I might consider but if it's going to have any kind of direct indication of 1563 02:09:01,679 --> 02:09:08,159 what we are approving we don't have nearly enough time to review the 1564 02:09:05,840 --> 02:09:12,880 information we've received to make sure that we know what's being proposed 1565 02:09:10,079 --> 02:09:17,360 before we actually say okay. >> I I think the the primary purpose of the 1566 02:09:15,119 --> 02:09:22,880 pillar agreement is to approve the location of the the fixture that would 1567 02:09:20,480 --> 02:09:29,360 that would be erected in the right of way. um any any [snorts] 1568 02:09:26,320 --> 02:09:35,119 electrical standards, the the charger, however that would uh comply with the 1569 02:09:32,639 --> 02:09:39,520 burrow's existing code would be subject to the permit that would have to be 1570 02:09:36,480 --> 02:09:46,800 pulled. Um, so whether it's the the cable running under underground, the uh 1571 02:09:42,320 --> 02:09:51,199 charger that's installed, the um how it's wired, uh would all be subject 1572 02:09:49,280 --> 02:09:55,840 to the review of that permit, subject, you know, under our existing uh 1573 02:09:53,760 --> 02:10:00,079 electrical code. Um I think that there are are some things that council could 1574 02:09:58,239 --> 02:10:05,920 consider as part of this that were in that uh original agreement um like uh it 1575 02:10:03,760 --> 02:10:08,480 being locked or not available for public use. The 1576 02:10:07,280 --> 02:10:11,440 And I know that there was some information that this one can't be 1577 02:10:09,920 --> 02:10:16,320 physically locked but not available for public use. That could be a condition of 1578 02:10:13,679 --> 02:10:21,040 the existence of this pillar in the right of way um that could be separated 1579 02:10:18,639 --> 02:10:27,119 off from the uh technical specifications. 1580 02:10:24,159 --> 02:10:33,360 Well, to a certain extent I I disagree because the um the pillar as it's 1581 02:10:30,880 --> 02:10:39,679 currently being depicted in the latest picture that we got is basically a post 1582 02:10:36,400 --> 02:10:45,199 with a charger hanging on it and if I'm interpreting it correctly, a 25 foot 1583 02:10:42,480 --> 02:10:48,955 charging cable wrapped around and hanging off a hook on 1584 02:10:47,360 --> 02:10:51,040 the side of it. >> [snorts] 1585 02:10:49,040 --> 02:10:57,119 » So, if that's what we're looking at right now, then um I'm not in a in a 1586 02:10:54,880 --> 02:11:00,480 position to support that. We were previously told this was something that 1587 02:10:58,880 --> 02:11:03,679 was going to hide something. That's what went to harm. There's too many things 1588 02:11:02,159 --> 02:11:11,760 that are out there and keep changing like hourly. So, um, I would suggest 1589 02:11:07,520 --> 02:11:17,520 that we not we that that we can't have an agreement that in any way, shape, or 1590 02:11:14,800 --> 02:11:21,679 form is approving what's actually going to get put there. But then the second 1591 02:11:19,760 --> 02:11:26,639 half of that is when we've had pillar agreements come before council before, 1592 02:11:23,920 --> 02:11:30,320 it's to say, I want to put this ballard or this pillar in the rightway in front 1593 02:11:28,800 --> 02:11:34,400 of my house. It looks like this. And council says, okay, it looks like that. 1594 02:11:32,719 --> 02:11:38,400 That's what we're going to allow. Therefore, we will write this agreement. 1595 02:11:36,400 --> 02:11:41,520 So, you see where I'm stuck. I do >> in the middle of this. 1596 02:11:39,119 --> 02:11:45,760 » I do. And I think Mr. Newman may be able to answer some of those questions, if 1597 02:11:43,280 --> 02:11:51,840 not all of them. But I I I'm I'm not capable of answering them. I looked at 1598 02:11:48,960 --> 02:11:56,800 the same uh materials that that were forwarded to council. 1599 02:11:52,960 --> 02:12:03,920 » So, I I have too many questions. So, um that that's where I am on this one. 1600 02:12:00,960 --> 02:12:07,920 I I just I guess from a solicitor's perspective in in the eventual 1601 02:12:05,840 --> 02:12:13,679 consideration of a pillar agreement, if that's council's choice for this, then 1602 02:12:10,960 --> 02:12:17,599 uh I guess I would ask for council's 1603 02:12:15,760 --> 02:12:24,880 direction on when we can work on answering those questions so that uh 1604 02:12:22,239 --> 02:12:31,119 we we can move move this forward if council so desires. Um whether that's 1605 02:12:27,440 --> 02:12:36,800 tonight with Mr. Newman or or in some other other form. Uh that's I think that 1606 02:12:35,040 --> 02:12:41,599 direction is necessary so that we're not in uh we're not back here in a meeting 1607 02:12:39,760 --> 02:12:44,960 and still have unanswered questions. That that's my concern 1608 02:12:42,560 --> 02:12:49,199 » for sure. So based on all of this documentation that's gone back and forth 1609 02:12:46,639 --> 02:12:56,800 and and the uh opinions weighed one way or another on all different things, um 1610 02:12:52,079 --> 02:13:02,199 it would seem to me that a more detailed um and I would say quote unquote final 1611 02:13:02,320 --> 02:13:10,880 um design is presented to us. The one we just got was not even 24 hours old and 1612 02:13:08,639 --> 02:13:15,679 it's completely different in terms of components and how things are arranged 1613 02:13:12,639 --> 02:13:22,280 and and and so on. So we don't have that. Um just 1614 02:13:23,760 --> 02:13:31,360 could I I have a question. >> Yeah. 1615 02:13:28,000 --> 02:13:36,639 » Um so would could and and this also is a question for Greg. Could we not um uh 1616 02:13:34,639 --> 02:13:43,199 approve the pillar agreement contingent upon it meeting the electrical code and 1617 02:13:39,679 --> 02:13:48,880 standards that of which I'm not as aware of but our our permitting office and and 1618 02:13:45,920 --> 02:13:52,159 code inspectors are. Um, could we do something like that which would give 1619 02:13:50,159 --> 02:13:57,679 them the ability to move forward in good faith and then also to for the Newmans 1620 02:13:55,679 --> 02:14:02,800 to work probably a little bit more closely with the permitting office and 1621 02:14:00,159 --> 02:14:05,679 um and their recommendations to make sure that this is moving in the right 1622 02:14:04,480 --> 02:14:11,040 direction. >> Josh, I I it's certainly feasible to uh 1623 02:14:09,199 --> 02:14:16,239 approve a pillar agreement subject to the that type of condition. Um, I will I 1624 02:14:13,760 --> 02:14:21,280 will say I agree with with Julia that council needs to um as if you're 1625 02:14:20,000 --> 02:14:25,599 approving the pillar agreement then council has to be comfortable with the 1626 02:14:23,199 --> 02:14:30,639 the fixture that's going to be erected. Uh I don't I I I'm agree that it can be 1627 02:14:28,719 --> 02:14:34,880 contingent whether the the inards and the the electricity of it can be 1628 02:14:33,040 --> 02:14:39,760 conditional based on the approval of a permit by the and working with the code 1629 02:14:36,560 --> 02:14:43,520 office. Um, but the actual fixture and I would venture to say the the charger 1630 02:14:41,440 --> 02:14:46,960 that's mounted there as well is part of what you're con you're considering when 1631 02:14:45,440 --> 02:14:52,079 you're approving the pillar agreement. So I I council does have to feel 1632 02:14:49,679 --> 02:14:55,199 comfortable with that information. Um, I think that there's been over the course 1633 02:14:53,760 --> 02:15:00,000 of this I think there's been three different things that council has seen. 1634 02:14:57,840 --> 02:15:05,440 We started with a a post I think with a charger on it. There was a secondary 1635 02:15:02,159 --> 02:15:09,760 scheme uh from uh that you saw recently that that it appeared to be hidden. The 1636 02:15:08,079 --> 02:15:15,599 most recent one, as Julia mentioned, shows a a mounted charging box. Again, I 1637 02:15:13,040 --> 02:15:19,199 think albeit smaller in size than any one that than the previous version of a 1638 02:15:17,520 --> 02:15:24,159 mounted charging box, but yes, council has to be comfortable with the post uh 1639 02:15:22,159 --> 02:15:29,760 general the general location of the post and and any uh impertinances on that 1640 02:15:27,199 --> 02:15:35,599 post. uh but it could absolutely be contingent on the technical electrical 1641 02:15:32,960 --> 02:15:39,520 aspects of it being approved by the code office and those with that technical 1642 02:15:37,599 --> 02:15:43,840 expertise. >> Um I have a question for you Matt. Um 1643 02:15:42,000 --> 02:15:49,520 the the latest plan that we just got yesterday that is different than the 1644 02:15:46,159 --> 02:15:54,320 original one. Um, was the original one an actual like 1645 02:15:51,920 --> 02:15:59,360 portable plug-in cord that you could have un unplugged and put in your car 1646 02:15:57,679 --> 02:16:05,679 when not charging? >> That uh that was never the intent. Uh 1647 02:16:02,000 --> 02:16:10,159 I'll be quite honest. Um I was uh a little bit uh expeditious with that 1648 02:16:08,320 --> 02:16:16,079 first version. I was just trying to put something together uh per uh in order to 1649 02:16:13,920 --> 02:16:21,679 provide some kind of visual impact so that council could understand what we're 1650 02:16:18,000 --> 02:16:26,400 looking for the location of it in reg uh respon or regards to the the rightway 1651 02:16:24,000 --> 02:16:31,520 and where the parking spot would be. Um I had not gone through the detailed 1652 02:16:28,800 --> 02:16:37,200 electrical engineering necessary uh and mechanical engineering necessary in 1653 02:16:33,200 --> 02:16:40,800 order to to do that. Um that is what led me to version two which is what was 1654 02:16:39,280 --> 02:16:46,080 presented to harb where everything was kind of hidden. Um I was running under 1655 02:16:44,399 --> 02:16:52,800 an assumption that that could be a hardwired system. Uh when I again got 1656 02:16:50,160 --> 02:16:58,479 into the details there is no provision to hardwire that system. Uh and that 1657 02:16:55,920 --> 02:17:05,120 would have required a very large pluggable um outlet that would have been 1658 02:17:02,160 --> 02:17:10,080 able to be removed. I I suppose, but I was trying to hide it and make it more 1659 02:17:07,519 --> 02:17:16,800 visually appealing for the neighborhood. Um, so when I came to the conclusion 1660 02:17:13,040 --> 02:17:21,280 that that was not a NEC uh acceptable installation, I had to move back to an 1661 02:17:19,359 --> 02:17:26,639 external charger. But all of the electrics are inside of the pillar in 1662 02:17:23,519 --> 02:17:33,599 order to um again reduce the visual impact. Uh there is 1663 02:17:30,479 --> 02:17:39,280 the the the the risk in my mind associated with doing uh a removable 1664 02:17:36,800 --> 02:17:44,080 charger is one we're talking about somebody who does have mobility issues 1665 02:17:41,120 --> 02:17:50,240 sometimes. Uh these cables are fairly heavy. Uh they're difficult to move and 1666 02:17:46,719 --> 02:17:55,280 the the in the the main issue from an electrical safety standpoint. Yes, we 1667 02:17:52,559 --> 02:17:59,040 would have a large outlet down near the bottom that it could be plugged in. 1668 02:17:56,880 --> 02:18:03,519 again, more visually impactful. Those systems are not intended to be plugged 1669 02:18:00,719 --> 02:18:10,559 in and removed repeatedly. Uh you'll get wear over time. It's it's just not um 1670 02:18:08,000 --> 02:18:14,120 it's not an ideal use case. >> Okay. Thank you. 1671 02:18:14,880 --> 02:18:20,240 » May I >> please? 1672 02:18:16,319 --> 02:18:26,639 » Yeah. So um uh with respect to so first of all um 1673 02:18:23,599 --> 02:18:32,319 in order to accommodate your wife right we have gone a step further than what 1674 02:18:29,439 --> 02:18:41,280 the ordinance already allows which is that we can we can establish a um a 1675 02:18:36,960 --> 02:18:44,960 handicap parking spot um as a reasonable >> issues though 1676 02:18:42,399 --> 02:18:50,559 » talking about that I I know I know but to me one is related to the other. Um, 1677 02:18:48,160 --> 02:18:53,599 so I just pointing out that in addition to what would be allowed under 1678 02:18:52,000 --> 02:18:58,960 ordinance, we're entering into an agreement that gives you exclusive use 1679 02:18:56,080 --> 02:19:03,679 of that with respect. Now, secondly, with respect to the pillar, again, we 1680 02:19:01,439 --> 02:19:10,240 have an ordinance that provides for that and I'm perfectly happy with proceeding 1681 02:19:06,960 --> 02:19:14,160 um to enter into a pillar agreement um in accordance with whatever the 1682 02:19:12,080 --> 02:19:20,639 ordinance allows. The issue to me is the EV charger. We 1683 02:19:17,840 --> 02:19:26,800 have no ordinance for an EV charger. We've begun to discuss it. I've 1684 02:19:23,359 --> 02:19:33,359 expressed my uh strong concerns with a number of issues with respect to EV 1685 02:19:28,960 --> 02:19:39,120 chargers on posts along our streets. We live um in a in a town that's a uh it's 1686 02:19:37,359 --> 02:19:46,639 an intimate town with houses close together um with um not everybody has a 1687 02:19:43,920 --> 02:19:53,120 driveway. It's not possible. But that doesn't mean we should be putting uh uh 1688 02:19:50,000 --> 02:19:59,439 charging posts in the ride of way across the burrow. And I don't see how this 1689 02:19:56,479 --> 02:20:05,920 specific situation is any different from the situation with respect to any other 1690 02:20:01,760 --> 02:20:11,120 resident in the community. And um so I am 100% against 1691 02:20:08,560 --> 02:20:16,880 um any pillar ordinance that would include the EV charger. I think that's a 1692 02:20:14,479 --> 02:20:23,439 mistake as a precedent. I think it's a mistake as a policy. Thank you. 1693 02:20:21,040 --> 02:20:28,720 » Thank you. Any other comments or questions from council? 1694 02:20:26,720 --> 02:20:33,520 » Would it be helpful? I'm sorry. Were you a sec? 1695 02:20:30,160 --> 02:20:36,960 » I I have full faith in zoning and electrical. 1696 02:20:34,880 --> 02:20:42,240 » Is your mic on? >> I have full faith in the zoning and the 1697 02:20:39,040 --> 02:20:45,359 electrical and I I think that we could do this pillar knowing that 1698 02:20:44,080 --> 02:20:50,000 they're they're going to do their job and it's it's going to work and it's 1699 02:20:47,280 --> 02:20:54,319 going to be good. concern I have is comes back to the cable and the 1700 02:20:51,439 --> 02:20:59,439 connector that goes from here to the car and maybe I don't completely understand 1701 02:20:56,399 --> 02:21:04,000 it and need to look at this better. Um, but to have cables just hanging out 1702 02:21:02,479 --> 02:21:09,680 there just seems to be a way we 1703 02:21:07,200 --> 02:21:16,560 we need just to work on it and make sure that we can get a design that doesn't 1704 02:21:13,040 --> 02:21:20,319 have that long cable there all the time because if everybody on Washington 1705 02:21:18,479 --> 02:21:24,319 Avenue has these pillars, which are great, which are fine, I have no 1706 02:21:21,760 --> 02:21:28,399 problems with them, but the cables attached to them. 1707 02:21:27,040 --> 02:21:32,640 May may I speak to that? >> Yes. 1708 02:21:29,120 --> 02:21:36,399 » Um, so as as far as an untethered EV charger, uh, there is a little blurb at 1709 02:21:34,800 --> 02:21:41,280 the at the very back on the decision-making process on that. 1710 02:21:38,319 --> 02:21:46,800 Ultimately, you cannot get a ULlisted EV charger in the United States that is 1711 02:21:43,680 --> 02:21:51,520 untethered. So, that is ultimately not a possibility. The only 1712 02:21:48,640 --> 02:21:56,000 possibility to accomplish that would be to use a portable charger. 1713 02:21:53,600 --> 02:22:01,200 » Right. Um, have you thought about um the 1714 02:21:58,960 --> 02:22:07,439 possibility of mounting your charger on a post in your 1715 02:22:04,000 --> 02:22:14,640 yard and then sending a conduit underneath the sidewalk that comes up to 1716 02:22:10,640 --> 02:22:18,000 this post in the right of way and I know this particular charger that you have 1717 02:22:16,399 --> 02:22:24,399 currently you're currently looking at because we actually have one and that 1718 02:22:20,240 --> 02:22:30,319 can you then take you you can open it up And as you know, you can hardwire it. 1719 02:22:26,479 --> 02:22:35,520 You can also detach the charging cord that's current the the charging cable 1720 02:22:32,720 --> 02:22:40,160 where it's attached to that unit. Take that and feed it back from the right 1721 02:22:38,000 --> 02:22:46,399 ofway under the sidewalk and back up to the charger. 1722 02:22:42,560 --> 02:22:50,880 So it's a 25 foot long cable. If it's if you're charging right at your 1723 02:22:48,479 --> 02:22:57,120 post, you probably need about five feet on the street side. That right? So, if 1724 02:22:54,080 --> 02:23:01,439 what's coming up is your charger cable and when it exits maybe exits your post 1725 02:22:59,760 --> 02:23:07,280 from the top of your post, you have about five feet left that you can use 1726 02:23:04,800 --> 02:23:12,640 then to get to your car and then when it's not in use that you might be able 1727 02:23:09,040 --> 02:23:17,359 to feed that bit of cable back into your hollow post and then flip the cap back 1728 02:23:15,680 --> 02:23:21,040 down on the top. Have you thought about something like that? 1729 02:23:18,640 --> 02:23:25,760 » Um, I have not. I would entertain that, but that would take a significant amount 1730 02:23:23,760 --> 02:23:30,240 of research and engineering to determine if the heat loads for the flex flexible 1731 02:23:28,800 --> 02:23:37,600 cables are not intended to be in conduit. So, the EV cable that goes from 1732 02:23:33,120 --> 02:23:41,200 the charger to the plug is per the NAC, you're not allowed to put that into 1733 02:23:38,880 --> 02:23:44,560 conduit. So, I don't I don't know if there's a method there. Mhm. 1734 02:23:43,120 --> 02:23:48,080 » Um, >> but I haven't thought about it much 1735 02:23:46,399 --> 02:23:51,920 further than getting to that point in the NEC and saying that's that's a nogo. 1736 02:23:50,399 --> 02:23:55,200 » That's interesting. So then the other item I wanted to bring up is that when I 1737 02:23:53,520 --> 02:24:01,120 was doing research for the EV ordinance that I'm have presented to council and 1738 02:23:57,520 --> 02:24:07,200 that is currently being worked on that um looked at a number of communities 1739 02:24:04,080 --> 02:24:12,960 that provide charging curbside charging and they basically have a pillar that 1740 02:24:08,880 --> 02:24:20,000 comes up with a receptacle in it and then people are issued an um a charging 1741 02:24:17,359 --> 02:24:24,399 cord that they then plug in when they're charging and unplug when they're not 1742 02:24:21,840 --> 02:24:28,960 charging. And so I know there are some cities that have these. I also know that 1743 02:24:26,160 --> 02:24:32,399 there's at least one company that will do this, like if you have a private 1744 02:24:30,640 --> 02:24:36,720 business and you want to provide charging at the street that they will 1745 02:24:34,960 --> 02:24:40,640 wire it up for you and that's what you have. And then people who sign up to 1746 02:24:38,240 --> 02:24:45,439 this like charging club or whatever are issued these 1747 02:24:42,720 --> 02:24:48,800 cords that you these charging cords that you can connect to the pillar and to 1748 02:24:47,439 --> 02:24:53,439 your char and to your car. And then there is no um cable hanging out there 1749 02:24:51,600 --> 02:24:57,680 that has to be wound around. >> You could point me to a company. Um that 1750 02:24:55,439 --> 02:25:01,760 would appreciate it. I my research I have not found any UL listed pieces of 1751 02:25:00,080 --> 02:25:02,640 equipment that meet that. >> Okay. 1752 02:25:02,080 --> 02:25:07,120 » Description. >> Well, be happy to share information that 1753 02:25:04,640 --> 02:25:12,319 that I've found if it will be helpful for your design. 1754 02:25:09,359 --> 02:25:16,160 And then I'm wondering if for council's activity if what I should be 1755 02:25:14,319 --> 02:25:23,200 doing and I'm not I don't want to do it yet but would be to table the for the 1756 02:25:18,960 --> 02:25:27,760 discussion on this motion to enable us to get more um I'm not making the motion 1757 02:25:25,680 --> 02:25:32,800 to table just saying if this is something that will be helpful is to 1758 02:25:30,080 --> 02:25:37,680 table this so that enable every all parties to get more information and to 1759 02:25:34,960 --> 02:25:41,785 be able to address this more concretely at a future meeting. [snorts] 1760 02:25:43,040 --> 02:25:48,720 » I have one more question though for Matt. 1761 02:25:45,920 --> 02:25:51,200 The way you are charging now, um, is that just a level one charger? 1762 02:25:50,560 --> 02:25:55,840 » It is. >> It is. Um, I would assume you'd have a 1763 02:25:53,840 --> 02:26:01,760 lot more flexibility with a level one charger. Have you thought about just 1764 02:25:58,880 --> 02:26:05,920 having a pillar that could use that? I would imagine you have a lot more 1765 02:26:04,000 --> 02:26:12,800 options. I know it takes forever. I have a level one charger still. Um, but is 1766 02:26:10,080 --> 02:26:17,560 that at all an option where we wouldn't have some of these issues with a 240? 1767 02:26:17,760 --> 02:26:23,240 » Ultimately, I'm not going to speak to 1768 02:26:24,720 --> 02:26:29,920 the goal here was to futureproof. >> I'm sorry. It was to what? 1769 02:26:28,960 --> 02:26:34,800 » To future proof. >> Okay. I I don't want to be coming back 1770 02:26:31,359 --> 02:26:39,840 to council in in 10 years when EV car or combustion cars are banned or whatever 1771 02:26:37,600 --> 02:26:45,120 the situation may be. Obviously, the landscape would be different then. But 1772 02:26:42,080 --> 02:26:49,600 um I think we can all see electric cars being a benefit to society both to from 1773 02:26:47,359 --> 02:26:55,120 an environmental impact but also just from you know the the the absolute chaos 1774 02:26:53,520 --> 02:27:00,720 and flux in the world and how that affects gas prices and things of that 1775 02:26:57,040 --> 02:27:06,960 nature. Um, so the goal here was to to be able to put a level two charger in if 1776 02:27:04,000 --> 02:27:10,240 it comes to it that you know I I I don't really want to 1777 02:27:08,880 --> 02:27:14,280 speak further than that, but that's that's where the intent was. 1778 02:27:15,359 --> 02:27:19,880 » Any other comments or questions from council? 1779 02:27:19,920 --> 02:27:25,680 » May May I make just one more? >> Yeah, I'm I'm going to ask that was my 1780 02:27:24,080 --> 02:27:29,120 next question. Does the applicant have anything else to say? 1781 02:27:27,359 --> 02:27:32,479 Um there were a couple of things. Um 1782 02:27:30,720 --> 02:27:37,680 absolutely I will well I guess the one question I 1783 02:27:35,600 --> 02:27:42,960 have for Michelle would be is it our respons I know it's our responsibility 1784 02:27:39,439 --> 02:27:46,800 to apply um in the event that we need to uh get an application. Is that our 1785 02:27:45,120 --> 02:27:50,640 responsibility to do that research as well? 1786 02:27:47,680 --> 02:27:53,200 » I I I can give you a name of somebody at PennDOT. 1787 02:27:51,439 --> 02:27:57,680 » Okay. that you could contact to see if you actually need a permit or they can 1788 02:27:55,520 --> 02:28:02,280 give you some sort of approval to do that. 1789 02:27:58,160 --> 02:28:02,280 » Okay. Thank you. Um 1790 02:28:02,960 --> 02:28:10,319 I I kind of have lost my thought here. I've um obviously been trying to figure 1791 02:28:08,479 --> 02:28:15,760 out a way to charge my car for a long time. Um I know it's not a great 1792 02:28:14,080 --> 02:28:20,880 situation right now, but it does not look like there's going to be a 1793 02:28:16,800 --> 02:28:29,000 resolution anytime soon. Um, outside of this discussion, and maybe 1794 02:28:24,319 --> 02:28:29,000 I'll speak one more thing. Um, 1795 02:28:29,120 --> 02:28:35,280 I I've done I've done a spent a lot of time that I don't really have trying to 1796 02:28:33,120 --> 02:28:41,040 figure this out. I think that I've created a a fairly aesthetic 1797 02:28:38,240 --> 02:28:48,880 um um design that is safe. It's defensible. 1798 02:28:44,880 --> 02:28:54,399 It's, you know, the the the coupling of that to ah this is the the thing that I 1799 02:28:52,720 --> 02:29:00,479 wanted to mention. The coupling of that to the dedicated parking spot is 1800 02:28:56,960 --> 02:29:06,800 intended in this situation to uh mimic the driveway that we were denied by 1801 02:29:02,800 --> 02:29:09,920 zoning hearing board. If uh if I quite frankly had done a little bit more 1802 02:29:08,319 --> 02:29:14,479 research and understood the level of complexity and the legalities associated 1803 02:29:12,720 --> 02:29:18,080 with zoning hearing board, I probably would have been a little bit more 1804 02:29:15,520 --> 02:29:23,359 prepared for that situation. Uh we might not be in this situation right now. We 1805 02:29:19,840 --> 02:29:28,640 might I might be parking there. The agreement that we had put together 1806 02:29:25,120 --> 02:29:34,240 was intended to alleviate the need for that zoning variance. And in order to do 1807 02:29:31,840 --> 02:29:40,399 that, we needed a dedicated spot as well as the ability to plug an electric car 1808 02:29:36,720 --> 02:29:47,200 in in the future that we all know that is coming. So that's kind of the drive 1809 02:29:44,240 --> 02:29:54,319 here. In my mind, if it's one or the other, it's not it's not uh an equitable 1810 02:29:51,280 --> 02:30:01,040 trade. Um, and that's kind of where I'll I'll end 1811 02:29:56,960 --> 02:30:05,120 that discussion. Um, moving forward, I don't believe that we're going to have 1812 02:30:02,080 --> 02:30:12,399 resolution anytime soon. As I mentioned, is there some guidance that I can do an 1813 02:30:10,479 --> 02:30:18,479 an ADA compliant cord cover for the level one charger? Something that we can 1814 02:30:16,240 --> 02:30:23,200 quite frankly get this monstrosity out of my the front of my yard. I I'm 1815 02:30:20,880 --> 02:30:28,319 looking for guidance. I'm not trying to be malicious here. I just I want the 1816 02:30:26,160 --> 02:30:35,040 right answer. Is it possible for for Matt to work with 1817 02:30:32,399 --> 02:30:40,240 Barry Isit, the gentleman who sent us all of the very technical specs? I mean, 1818 02:30:38,479 --> 02:30:43,760 is that a thing that's done? >> I mean, I think that he would have to 1819 02:30:42,000 --> 02:30:48,080 work with Anna as our representative. She is the front-facing person when when 1820 02:30:45,680 --> 02:30:52,720 he would go apply for something and Greg, tell me if I'm wrong, and she 1821 02:30:49,840 --> 02:30:58,800 would then relay. But that's just >> it. It would be coordinated through Anna 1822 02:30:55,760 --> 02:31:05,600 and and Craig. uh on a permit level. I I think the problem here in the the issue 1823 02:31:02,080 --> 02:31:10,160 Matt's referencing is without council approval, nothing can really be 1824 02:31:07,760 --> 02:31:16,880 installed within the right of way. So any type of permanent fixture can't go 1825 02:31:14,240 --> 02:31:23,120 forward uh in any way, shape, or form, whether it's it's burying a cable or or 1826 02:31:19,520 --> 02:31:31,720 a cord or whatever to to provide it. And from a a liability standpoint, uh having 1827 02:31:27,760 --> 02:31:31,720 a some type of 1828 02:31:31,920 --> 02:31:43,680 uh obstruction or impediment across the sidewalk uh is is not something that I 1829 02:31:39,600 --> 02:31:48,720 can recommend uh to council at this juncture, which is why we were this 1830 02:31:46,000 --> 02:31:54,960 which is as Matt stated is the basis of of this conversation. So I I 1831 02:31:52,800 --> 02:31:58,880 I'm not sure if there is, you know, there are there are certainly I know 1832 02:31:56,399 --> 02:32:05,200 you're referencing an ADA compliant, you know, uh, wire cover for certain 1833 02:32:02,640 --> 02:32:11,439 applications, whether in a in an auditorium or something for for someone 1834 02:32:07,600 --> 02:32:17,520 to to transverse. I'm not sure if that would ever be acceptable in a a public 1835 02:32:14,479 --> 02:32:22,479 right-of-way situation and and absent maybe Michelle and I reviewing that 1836 02:32:19,920 --> 02:32:25,760 because I can tell by that by Michelle's gesture there that that I that we don't 1837 02:32:24,399 --> 02:32:31,600 know off the top of our head whether that exists, we c we can look into it. 1838 02:32:28,880 --> 02:32:36,720 Um, I'm not I I will be honest, Matt. I'm not confident in any way that there 1839 02:32:34,000 --> 02:32:42,720 is something because the the whole point of a rightway is that it is unobstructed 1840 02:32:39,680 --> 02:32:47,760 in in all ways. Um, but council's blessing, we can certainly explore it in 1841 02:32:45,200 --> 02:32:53,680 the in the interim here. >> So, I have a question. If uh if this 1842 02:32:50,560 --> 02:33:00,319 doesn't get tabled and the motion is denied, what are the next steps for the 1843 02:32:56,080 --> 02:33:00,319 Newman's? Is it just done? 1844 02:33:01,240 --> 02:33:04,640 » [laughter] >> I 1845 02:33:02,800 --> 02:33:09,120 » no >> I mean 1846 02:33:06,560 --> 02:33:12,240 » is it done is um >> always come back again. I mean it's not 1847 02:33:11,040 --> 02:33:16,399 it's not the end of the >> I guess my question is they they they 1848 02:33:14,640 --> 02:33:21,120 will have a course of action to be able to try to do this again should it get 1849 02:33:18,720 --> 02:33:25,760 denied. This is all discretionary in council's 1850 02:33:23,520 --> 02:33:31,200 th this particular motion to the pillar agreement is all discretionary for 1851 02:33:27,920 --> 02:33:34,640 council. So it could if it gets denied it can certainly be added to a future 1852 02:33:33,040 --> 02:33:37,640 agenda again. >> Um 1853 02:33:38,240 --> 02:33:43,280 that's answering your question. >> How long cable the permanent cable from 1854 02:33:41,760 --> 02:33:46,640 the pedestal to your car that'll be there all the time. How long is that? 1855 02:33:45,120 --> 02:33:48,479 » It's 25 ft. >> I'm sorry. What was that? 1856 02:33:47,520 --> 02:33:52,800 » It's 25 ft. >> 25. So, you are going to have a 25 ft 1857 02:33:50,160 --> 02:33:58,399 cable. >> I haven't reached out to the 1858 02:33:55,680 --> 02:34:03,680 uh manufacturer to find out if there's a sanctioned way to shorten it, but that 1859 02:34:00,240 --> 02:34:06,720 is a possibility. Um, as Julia mentioned, I think it can be 1860 02:34:05,200 --> 02:34:10,319 disassembled according to the instructions, but whether or not they 1861 02:34:08,560 --> 02:34:14,840 would sanction that and it would still be ULlisted, I don't know. 1862 02:34:14,880 --> 02:34:21,760 So, my suggestion again is to table this to allow everyone to get more 1863 02:34:19,280 --> 02:34:28,240 information so we can reconvene and discuss this with um having some of our 1864 02:34:25,760 --> 02:34:33,439 questions answered and Matt doing more research, us doing more research, be 1865 02:34:30,720 --> 02:34:37,840 able to talk to our um our consultants, understand this better, and then be able 1866 02:34:35,760 --> 02:34:41,920 to look at this again, which might be a little bit easier than voting this 1867 02:34:39,760 --> 02:34:46,960 motion down and then having to bring it back again and starting this all over. 1868 02:34:45,600 --> 02:34:53,200 So, if you'd like me to make that motion, I'm happy to do it. 1869 02:34:49,200 --> 02:34:57,439 » May I comment? So, um I to me it really makes no difference whether we table. I 1870 02:34:55,359 --> 02:35:03,439 don't have an objection to tableabling. Um if we were to deny as as Sister said, 1871 02:35:01,439 --> 02:35:08,960 it would be we could essentially deny without prejudice. So, um it could be 1872 02:35:06,080 --> 02:35:12,880 reintroduced um whenever. So, from that perspective, it it really makes little 1873 02:35:11,520 --> 02:35:22,080 difference to me. I mean, my only concern right now is as as 1874 02:35:15,760 --> 02:35:26,880 um Mr. Newman said, it's a it's it's a you use the word monstrosity, but 1875 02:35:24,240 --> 02:35:31,040 anyway, it's an uncomfortable situation on the street, and the sooner we get 1876 02:35:28,479 --> 02:35:38,960 this resolved one way or the other, the better. that you're you're I think um 1877 02:35:36,080 --> 02:35:45,120 hoping, anticipating, whatever, that this gets resolved in a way that allows 1878 02:35:40,800 --> 02:35:49,600 you to put a post in. Um and so you're trying to keep the car charged in the 1879 02:35:46,399 --> 02:35:55,840 meantime. Um from from my perspective, and as I said, I'm not for um allowing 1880 02:35:52,880 --> 02:36:01,920 the charging post at this time until such time as we have an ordinance that 1881 02:35:58,000 --> 02:36:09,439 allows it. Um, I think it's important that uh we we get some resolution here 1882 02:36:06,080 --> 02:36:12,960 so that um if if it's yes, it's yes. And if it's no, you're you're going to have 1883 02:36:10,960 --> 02:36:18,960 to deal with the the fact that you have no charger for your car and fix your 1884 02:36:16,479 --> 02:36:25,600 hardship that you've created in some other way. But all that being said, 1885 02:36:22,960 --> 02:36:30,880 um that was just my editorial comment. It doesn't really change that we can 1886 02:36:27,280 --> 02:36:30,880 either table or deny 1887 02:36:32,479 --> 02:36:41,840 I mean, in effect, is there really any difference between tableabling or 1888 02:36:38,160 --> 02:36:43,920 » or denying without prejudice? Is is >> what would make it easier for Matt to 1889 02:36:43,520 --> 02:36:49,240 come back, >> right? 1890 02:36:44,479 --> 02:36:49,240 » There there's there is no difference. 1891 02:36:50,880 --> 02:36:55,280 » I think >> so. 1892 02:36:53,280 --> 02:36:59,600 I would I would prefer to table it if that is the feeling in the room from 1893 02:36:57,600 --> 02:37:03,680 fellow counselors that this needs further discussion. 1894 02:37:02,240 --> 02:37:10,000 » Okay. I'm going to make a motion to table this pending um the to offer 1895 02:37:07,200 --> 02:37:13,600 council the ability to um do further research as previously stated. 1896 02:37:12,080 --> 02:37:15,600 » I have a motion to table. Do I have a second? 1897 02:37:14,720 --> 02:37:21,520 » Second. >> All those in favor? I 1898 02:37:17,840 --> 02:37:24,080 » I I tabled. 1899 02:37:25,520 --> 02:37:33,600 I'm sorry. We don't take public comment when we table motions. Sorry. 1900 02:37:32,414 --> 02:37:36,160 [laughter] >> Doesn't happen. Sorry. 1901 02:37:34,720 --> 02:37:41,720 » There's a public comment period. >> Yeah, there's public comment at the end 1902 02:37:37,920 --> 02:37:41,720 that you can speak at. 1903 02:37:42,399 --> 02:37:50,960 » So, it's been tabled so we can try to come to a solution 1904 02:37:47,359 --> 02:37:55,120 and and introduce it at the April cycle. So, what am I to do with my monstrosity? 1905 02:37:54,319 --> 02:37:56,640 » Take it down. >> I would 1906 02:37:55,760 --> 02:37:58,399 » Nobody's >> I would tell 1907 02:37:57,600 --> 02:38:03,040 » we can what? >> We can certainly talk after the meeting. 1908 02:38:01,200 --> 02:38:08,080 » Nobody from Burrow has asked me to take it down, but I did receive a solic uh a 1909 02:38:06,000 --> 02:38:12,000 court summon about it. So, I just not sure if everybody's aware here. 1910 02:38:10,479 --> 02:38:15,120 » Well, hang hang on. We're we're not approving its existence in any way, 1911 02:38:14,399 --> 02:38:19,040 shape, or form. >> I know that, but nobody's asked me to 1912 02:38:17,520 --> 02:38:21,920 take it down. You haven't been issued a violation notice yet? 1913 02:38:20,160 --> 02:38:24,479 » Yes, he has. He's been citation. He has a court date. 1914 02:38:22,560 --> 02:38:28,240 » He was issued a citation. I I can't speak before the citation. 1915 02:38:26,720 --> 02:38:31,280 » It went straight It didn't get he didn't get a violation for this. It went 1916 02:38:29,520 --> 02:38:35,760 straight to citation. >> It was a violation for the previous post 1917 02:38:33,439 --> 02:38:40,319 which has been removed. >> The and 1918 02:38:37,840 --> 02:38:45,560 the code officer interpreted that as a continuation of the same violation. 1919 02:38:46,960 --> 02:38:56,280 Okay. Thank you. >> All right. Uh, moving on. Manager's 1920 02:38:53,280 --> 02:38:56,280 report. 1921 02:39:00,160 --> 02:39:09,680 » So, there I have one item of business that um we discussed at the last meeting 1922 02:39:05,280 --> 02:39:18,960 regarding um the action to solicit bids for landscaping 1923 02:39:12,640 --> 02:39:26,080 services. Um we're looking to get more um performance and for more economical 1924 02:39:22,560 --> 02:39:33,120 services which I'm believe we can uh accomplish and we'll do that through 1925 02:39:28,720 --> 02:39:39,840 this motion um this evening to solicit bids for the landscaping services. 1926 02:39:37,359 --> 02:39:43,840 » I would entertain a motion from council. Um, I'll make a motion to authorize 1927 02:39:41,920 --> 02:39:46,319 solicitation of bids for landscaping services. 1928 02:39:44,960 --> 02:39:48,479 » Thank you. I have a motion. Do I have a second? 1929 02:39:47,439 --> 02:39:51,680 » Second. >> Any comments or questions from council 1930 02:39:50,560 --> 02:39:55,120 on this? And >> I'll just mention for council's benefit 1931 02:39:53,200 --> 02:39:58,319 that we did review the bid package and it's it's ready to go upon your 1932 02:39:56,720 --> 02:40:03,280 authorization. >> Thank you. Any public comment on this 1933 02:40:01,439 --> 02:40:05,760 motion? >> All those in favor? 1934 02:40:05,120 --> 02:40:08,800 » I >> I. 1935 02:40:06,640 --> 02:40:10,560 » Any nays? Motion passes. I keep forgetting there's a lag there. 1936 02:40:10,160 --> 02:40:15,120 » Yeah. >> Okay. Well, we've moved um the only item 1937 02:40:13,120 --> 02:40:18,640 under my report went earlier with Greg's report. So, I will uh move on to the 1938 02:40:17,359 --> 02:40:22,479 approval of minutes and entertain motions. 1939 02:40:20,800 --> 02:40:27,760 » I'd like to make a motion to approve the February 4th, 2026 work session minutes. 1940 02:40:26,319 --> 02:40:28,960 » Thank you. I have a motion. Do I have a second? 1941 02:40:28,319 --> 02:40:31,840 » Second. >> Thank you. Any comments or questions 1942 02:40:30,319 --> 02:40:37,200 from council on these notes? These minutes? 1943 02:40:33,359 --> 02:40:40,160 » All those in favor? I Any? Motion passes. 1944 02:40:38,560 --> 02:40:44,000 » I'd like to make a motion to approve the February 26, 2026 council meeting 1945 02:40:43,280 --> 02:40:45,840 minutes. >> Thank you. I have a motion. Do I have a 1946 02:40:45,359 --> 02:40:48,000 second? >> Second. 1947 02:40:46,479 --> 02:40:52,319 » Any comments or questions from council on these minutes? 1948 02:40:50,160 --> 02:40:55,760 » All those in favor? >> I. 1949 02:40:53,040 --> 02:40:59,439 » Any naysay? Motion passes. Okay. Moving on to budget and finance. 1950 02:40:57,520 --> 02:41:03,840 I'll entertain a motion for the consolidated expenditure report. I'd 1951 02:41:01,600 --> 02:41:08,720 like to make a motion to accept subject to audit the consolidated expenditure 1952 02:41:06,399 --> 02:41:12,600 report for the month of February totaling $314,826.17. 1953 02:41:14,319 --> 02:41:17,439 Thank you. I have a motion. Do I have a second? 1954 02:41:16,800 --> 02:41:21,200 » Second. >> Thank you. Any comments or questions 1955 02:41:18,800 --> 02:41:25,680 from council on this? Any public comment? 1956 02:41:23,439 --> 02:41:30,000 All those in favor? >> Any nay? 1957 02:41:27,040 --> 02:41:35,840 » Any nays? Motion passes. Okay. Gina personnel Uh, no additional activity. We 1958 02:41:33,280 --> 02:41:41,359 are still looking for two members for the uh, human relations commission. 1959 02:41:38,800 --> 02:41:46,880 » Okay, great. Thank you. Any old business from council? 1960 02:41:43,840 --> 02:41:50,520 Any announcements? Public to be heard. 1961 02:41:52,319 --> 02:41:55,640 Please come up. 1962 02:42:00,880 --> 02:42:09,520 Joe Lovey, 151 North State Street. You guys know me. Uh, it's in reference to 1963 02:42:05,600 --> 02:42:14,720 the uh, bear with me. 239 Court Street Wall. I wanted you to there's something 1964 02:42:12,160 --> 02:42:20,640 interesting and I think the historical guys are wrong on this. Uh, my house is 1965 02:42:18,080 --> 02:42:27,760 233 years old. Every every chimney in the town has blue 1966 02:42:24,880 --> 02:42:31,520 stone on the top of the chimney. The reason why they put blue stone on the 1967 02:42:29,439 --> 02:42:37,680 top of the chimney, not the regular stone, is because all stones absorb 1968 02:42:34,000 --> 02:42:42,640 water. Blue stone have tighter pores. Okay? So what it is is that the reason 1969 02:42:40,080 --> 02:42:48,479 why first of all if you look at other places if you use a brownstone it's got 1970 02:42:45,600 --> 02:42:52,479 to be almost a foot thick because when the water hits it it absorbs in it it's 1971 02:42:50,240 --> 02:42:57,280 going to crack and break. The only wall in our town that we had something like 1972 02:42:54,399 --> 02:43:01,600 that was on State Street right next to the Fitch building and if you recall it 1973 02:42:59,920 --> 02:43:07,359 had triangles on the top. Do you remember? Okay. That got removed. Okay. 1974 02:43:05,280 --> 02:43:11,600 That was historical as ever. The reason why it got removed was is because the 1975 02:43:09,439 --> 02:43:17,280 water sat in there, busted it apart and so forth. And they put the blue stone. 1976 02:43:14,240 --> 02:43:23,359 So I have to be honest with you, when you put stone on the facade, you can use 1977 02:43:20,800 --> 02:43:28,640 many different types of stone, okay? But when you put it on the top, you want the 1978 02:43:25,840 --> 02:43:35,120 stone with the most types of pores. That's why, and I use mine as the 1979 02:43:30,960 --> 02:43:40,640 example, I put up a new piece on mine years ago. They only put it a half inch 1980 02:43:37,840 --> 02:43:45,680 thick. The reason was they couldn't lift it that high. Mine's an inch and a half. 1981 02:43:43,439 --> 02:43:50,880 Okay. Reason is is that it's tougher to break through. And all of a sudden, it 1982 02:43:48,399 --> 02:43:54,640 it weighs 200 and some odd pounds. They couldn't get it up that high. They were 1983 02:43:52,479 --> 02:43:59,840 pulling mules. So, at the end of the day, there is the history, but there is 1984 02:43:57,760 --> 02:44:05,120 what is today. And if our founding fathers knew this, they would also use 1985 02:44:03,200 --> 02:44:10,640 materials. They wouldn't use stone. We've got better materials. 1986 02:44:07,760 --> 02:44:17,040 So, what I'd like you to do is the historical view board is a review board. 1987 02:44:14,319 --> 02:44:23,840 It's there. It's a recommendation. They say no. You guys could say yes. I really 1988 02:44:19,760 --> 02:44:27,760 want you to think about this is that they violated something. They're willing 1989 02:44:25,920 --> 02:44:32,240 to pay the fees and so forth. But I have to be honest with you, if you make them 1990 02:44:29,840 --> 02:44:36,479 put it's their investment. If you make them put a different stone on the top, 1991 02:44:34,319 --> 02:44:41,279 every good mason out there will tell you that blue stone is the best material to 1992 02:44:39,279 --> 02:44:45,279 put on the top. It should also have a ridge on the bottom so when the water 1993 02:44:43,200 --> 02:44:50,800 when the water comes down, it hits a drain ridge that the drip doesn't come 1994 02:44:48,479 --> 02:44:55,040 down the wall and pop the mortar joints. Whether they did that or not, I don't 1995 02:44:52,399 --> 02:44:58,560 know. I I I've just learned all these things. But I have to be honest with you 1996 02:44:56,720 --> 02:45:04,319 guys. We have people making the town look 1997 02:45:01,279 --> 02:45:08,560 better. Okay, it's a stone, believe it or not. That is, would it look cooler 1998 02:45:06,800 --> 02:45:12,560 with the natural stone? Oh, without a doubt. But I'll tell you what, it's got 1999 02:45:10,720 --> 02:45:18,399 to be really, really thick. It's going to weigh a ton. It won't even look app 2000 02:45:14,479 --> 02:45:22,399 propo because the wall is so big. Okay. I only came up here to help them and to 2001 02:45:20,240 --> 02:45:28,720 provide you a guidance. It's not modern. My house has a and and 2002 02:45:25,840 --> 02:45:32,399 and and Julia Julia stone remember your you she had a stone a flag stone on the 2003 02:45:30,720 --> 02:45:35,359 top of her chimney and when the hurricane came by it blew it off 2004 02:45:34,640 --> 02:45:39,760 » the tornado >> the tornado came by it blew it off 2005 02:45:37,359 --> 02:45:43,359 that's why it's got to be a certain uh weight and so forth but at the end of 2006 02:45:41,279 --> 02:45:47,600 the day I just want you to think about that 2007 02:45:44,960 --> 02:45:51,600 that the historical review board they made their decision it's done okay at 2008 02:45:50,080 --> 02:45:55,600 the end of the day I have to be honest with you that is the best stone And you 2009 02:45:53,840 --> 02:45:59,279 could ask other stone people. You can go to Route One stone quarry and so forth. 2010 02:45:57,520 --> 02:46:04,800 That is the best stone for a top of a wall. Two, when the ice and so forth 2011 02:46:02,240 --> 02:46:07,920 comes that it will not crack and so forth. I I'm just trying to help. And 2012 02:46:06,880 --> 02:46:08,880 this other gentleman. >> Hey Joe. 2013 02:46:08,560 --> 02:46:13,120 » Yeah. >> That's So first of all, um, you have it 2014 02:46:10,880 --> 02:46:17,040 right in terms of process, right? It's it's been to Harb. It's now to us. We 2015 02:46:15,279 --> 02:46:19,439 can kick it back to Harb if we want, but >> you're just going to kick it back and 2016 02:46:18,080 --> 02:46:22,399 forth. Yeah. We're not going to do that. >> You have that. You have that right. You 2017 02:46:20,640 --> 02:46:25,439 got that right. And I appreciate your comment and um about the about the stone 2018 02:46:24,960 --> 02:46:29,680 quality. >> It was just to help you. Okay. So, at 2019 02:46:27,439 --> 02:46:32,000 the end of the day, Okay. The other thing is is I was just going to try to 2020 02:46:30,960 --> 02:46:35,120 just help this gentleman. >> You got two minutes. 2021 02:46:32,960 --> 02:46:37,920 » Okay, that's cool. But [laughter] but at the end of the day, I I sorry I don't 2022 02:46:36,479 --> 02:46:40,800 know your name, but I actually thought we were lynching somebody when I went 2023 02:46:39,439 --> 02:46:44,800 down the street. >> The only thing I could say is this. If 2024 02:46:42,960 --> 02:46:49,279 you're going to keep it up, take all the flowers and so forth off of it because 2025 02:46:46,479 --> 02:46:54,800 you're just attracting attention. Okay? But my thing is is that I I I really 2026 02:46:52,000 --> 02:46:58,080 believe that that Chris Chris hit the nail on the head. It's a 2027 02:46:56,960 --> 02:47:01,760 difficult decision. You don't have an you don't have an ordinance. 2028 02:47:00,240 --> 02:47:06,000 You don't have an ordinance. So truthfully, unfortunately, these guys 2029 02:47:04,000 --> 02:47:10,960 don't have an ordinance for EV. And I have to be honest with you, 2030 02:47:08,319 --> 02:47:14,399 I don't know how you buy a car that all of a sudden you have to charge. Nothing 2031 02:47:12,560 --> 02:47:19,120 against you. Don't take it personal. But all of a sudden it's like, where do I 2032 02:47:16,960 --> 02:47:25,040 charge it? You're very lucky. We have a Waw Wa now right down the road. So, the 2033 02:47:21,920 --> 02:47:28,640 only thing I could say is is that charge it full full steam ahead down at 2034 02:47:27,279 --> 02:47:33,359 the road and then you could park your car anywhere and so forth. Is it 2035 02:47:30,479 --> 02:47:37,680 inconvenience? It is, but unfortunately there are only about a handful and and I 2036 02:47:35,680 --> 02:47:43,920 I I went around. There's probably two handfuls of car of houses on this town 2037 02:47:41,200 --> 02:47:47,920 that don't have a driveway and they're your situation. That's equivalent to 2038 02:47:45,920 --> 02:47:52,319 living in Philadelphia. Okay. And at the end of the day, it's 2039 02:47:50,319 --> 02:47:56,399 going back and forth, legal, not legal, and so forth. We don't have an 2040 02:47:54,319 --> 02:48:01,760 ordinance. We have somebody that's handicapped. At the end of the day, 2041 02:47:59,439 --> 02:48:06,800 we can give them a handicapped spot, but at the end, let's be realistic. 2042 02:48:04,479 --> 02:48:10,000 You guys really don't want to have 20 foot cables. And I will let you know 2043 02:48:08,479 --> 02:48:13,200 something. I work for BMW. >> All right, Joe, your time is up. I'll 2044 02:48:11,680 --> 02:48:17,680 give you I'll give you 30 more seconds. >> 30 more seconds. 2045 02:48:14,800 --> 02:48:20,479 If this gentleman changes any of his electrical 2046 02:48:19,200 --> 02:48:24,720 pieces that he buys from the manufacturer, your warranty is null and 2047 02:48:22,399 --> 02:48:27,920 void. Okay? But at the end of the day, I'm just going to let you know 2048 02:48:25,680 --> 02:48:31,200 something. You probably don't want, you know, because you don't have it. You 2049 02:48:29,040 --> 02:48:36,399 don't want these cables hanging out all over on a on a street. 2050 02:48:34,720 --> 02:48:39,200 I It's going to be a disaster. Sorry to bother you guys. Just to thank you, Joe, 2051 02:48:38,240 --> 02:48:43,479 guys. >> Any additional public to be heard? 2052 02:48:44,640 --> 02:48:49,680 All right. Seeing none, I will entertain a motion to adjurnn. 2053 02:48:48,640 --> 02:48:51,600 » So moved. >> Do I have a second? 2054 02:48:50,880 --> 02:48:54,080 » Second. >> Thank you. All those in favor? 2055 02:48:53,520 --> 02:48:57,520 » I >> I. 2056 02:48:54,640 --> 02:49:00,840 » Any nays? Motion passes. >> Thank you everybody.