Newtown Township Zoning Hearing Board grants relief for Pickering Manor expansion project – Bucks Local News

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP >> In a 4-1 vote, the Newtown Township Zoning Hearing Board on Feb. 2 granted Pickering Manor the zoning relief it needs for a major building expansion project at its Lincoln Avenue campus.

In granting the relief, the zoning board members added a number of conditions based upon a visit they made to the site and comments and concerns raised by the community over parking lot screening, location and screening of the trash dumpster, exterior lighting and the visibility of rooftop mechanical systems.

When we made our site visit, our visual observation, more or less, confirmed and supported those issues, said zoning board member Sean Ward.

Ward motioned to grant relief subject to the following conditions: All parking - both existing and proposed - shall be screened from adjoining residential uses (screening must be a minimum of four feet and may be landscaping or possibly decorative screening and fencing where natural screening is impractical); all trash dumpsters shall be contained in enclosures and not visible from the street; all parking lot and exterior lighting shall be pointed downward so not to affect adjoining residential areas; all rooftop mechanical systems, existing and proposed, be screened from view; all stormwater systems comply with existing township codes and ordinances and be contained on site and not exceed any runoff that now exists; and that an internal sidewalk proposed along the northern side of the property on Frost Lane be connected to the existing sidewalk on Lincoln Avenue.

Member Brandon Wind voted against approval, raising concern about existing stormwater water runoff, an issue raised by residents on Frost Lane and Chancellor Street during the hearing in January.

The skilled and assisted living facility, nestled in a residential neighborhood between Chancellor Street, Frost Lane and Lincoln Avenue on the border of Newtown Borough, is seeking township zoning and land development approvals to expand the footprint of its facilities by 37,533 square feet, including a new two story building, a new front entrance with a porte-cochere, 12 new parking spaces and the future expansion of three of its five independent living, age-restricted cottages from one to two bedroom units.

Before the zoning board, Pickering asked for and received variance relief for parking (289 required; 120 proposed); a porte-cochere and a cottage within the permitted front yard and side yard setbacks; expansion of a nonconforming use (54.7 percent proposed where the maximum is 25 percent); and impervious surface coverage (35 percent permitted where 59.1 percent is proposed). A below ground stormwater storage facility is proposed to address stormwater runoff.

The next step for Pickering will be to seek land development approvals from the township. Plans will be reviewed by township planners before being sent to the township supervisors for action.

Michelle Knobloch, the executive director and nursing home administrator at Pickering, said the expansion is needed to keep the not-for-profit, community-run facility competitive in the constantly changing healthcare marketplace.

Our history is truly the reason why were here. That history is a legacy and a vision that we hope to take into the future, said Knobloch, referring to its beginnings more than a half century ago.

The facility opened in 1963 thanks to the generosity of Henry Russell Pickering who bequeathed his home on Lincoln Avenue and a sum of money for the creation of a retirement center to serve the older citizens of Newtown and vicinity.

Knobloch said the addition would be built on the north field where the towns egg hunt has been held for years and will house a new 15 room unit solely dedicated to rehabilitation services on its upper level and a new personal care/assisted living 15 room unit on the lower level.

The first floor personal care unit will be built around a central community area with kitchen, dining room, living and activity space that will open out to a hardscaped outdoor garden patio area with outdoor tables and barbecue grill.

The second floor will be the mirror image of the first floor, but will be built around short term rehabilitative services with a separate entrance, dining and activity space.

The new addition and the existing facility would be connected by a linking corridor that will house a common therapy area and a new main entrance/lobby area with an outside porte-cochere facing Lincoln Avenue.

Part of what were trying to do with this plan is to provide security and safety to our residents and our staff in a much more controlled way by having one main entrance, said Knobloch. That front lobby will feed all four areas of care.

Changes are also planned for the existing facility, said Knobloch.

The existing skilled unit, which now houses 47 residents in long term care, short term rehab and hospice, will be reduced to 32 rooms and be rededicated to long term care and hospice.

And the existing 22 room personal care unit will be reduced to 21 and be rededicated as a memory and dementia care unit, an area which Knobloch said is already in high demand in the marketplace.

With all the changes and new additions, Knobloch said, Were basically talking about only increasing our resident population by 14 people. More importantly, we are diversifying our services so were able to offer more of what the community and the marketplace competitively is now offering, she said.

According to Knobloch, the Community Welfare Council, which overseas the facility, began a thoughtful and comprehensive look at its facilities six to seven years ago.

Our board realized that as a single site building, we needed to start strategically looking at our future and thats exactly what we did, said Knobloch.

We did it thoughtfully. We hired consultants. We looked at what is in our competitive marketplace and what we needed to do to remain competitive, said Knobloch. The reallocation of space puts Pickering in the best possible position as a single provider site to compete in the marketplace.

Bucks County is rich in terms of these types of services. So in order to sustain ourselves and Mr. Pickerings mission, we need to be more competitive and offer these other services like long term memory care and short term rehab to the people we serve in our community.

Knobloch said in November that Pickering proactively reached out to the neighborhood to brief them on its plans. It also shared its plans with its residents and employees.

During public comment at the January zoning hearing board meeting, a handful of neighbors spoke against the expansion plan, requesting that the board not grant relief to the facility.

They raised concern with stormwater runoff, lighting, the lack of buffering around the perimeter of the property, delivery hours, snow removal and other operational concerns that they say will get worse if zoning relief is granted and the expansion is allowed to move forward.

Edith Gowan, of Chancellor Street, noting that her street takes a lot of stormwater runoff from Pickering, questioned the need for such a large expansion.

Nobody wants them to not progress, but it doesnt have to be huge. Why cant it be smaller? she asked. We need to look at the real needs of a facility that is in a residential neighborhood. We are right there on top of this facility and we get the traffic and we get the dirt.

Another Chancellor Street neighbor, Susan Wiggins, said while Frost Lane and Lincoln Avenue get the money shot views of Pickering, her street bears the brunt of the operation with the noise from trash collection and deliveries, in and out traffic, car headlights and stormwater flooding.

To give you some perspective, when I grew up on Chancellor Street the only place across the street was the main house, she said. Over the years they kept evolving and adding and adding. Now I feel were in the middle of a business district. It is not a residential neighborhood.

Myles Kelleher of Frost Lane in Newtown Borough said he has long been supportive of Pickering, but added that the expansion of a non- conforming use above 25 percent flies in the face of language, logic and the law.

Citing township ordinance, he said a non-conforming use cannot be expanded more than 25 percent. Pickering is seeking a 54.7 percent expansion.

Were obviously aware of that.Thats why were seeking relief, responded Pickerings land development attorney Ed Murphy.

Murphy said many of the concerns raised by residents would be addressed during the land development process.

This is our first step in the process. Fully engineered land development plans have not been prepared ... When we get to that point the issues of traffic, storm water, parking and those types of issues will be worked out, he said. We still have a long way to go yet.

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Newtown Township Zoning Hearing Board grants relief for Pickering Manor expansion project - Bucks Local News