Swarthmore Borough Planning and Zoning Committee
Minutes for July 22nd, 2008

1. The Committee convened at 8:00am in Borough Hall. Present were Committee members Elisabeth Knapp (chair), and Melissa Lewicki, Planning Commission Chair Tim Kearney and Borough Manager Jane Billings. Committee member Ralph Jacobs was absent.

2. There was no public comment.

3. The minutes of the May 19th Planning & Zoning Committee meeting were approved.

4. The WSSD’s Application for Subdivision of the Rutger’s Ave. School District property will be reviewed at the September 17th Planning Commission Meeting. After this review, if the Planning Commission suggests any modifications, the WSSD would revise the application to incorporate the modifications. The final subdivision application will be distributed to Borough Council for its approval. One main issue that Council will want to address is to make sure that the recreational paths on the property are still accessible to the public. Tim Kearney commented that about 20 feet of new growth trees would need to come down if the Borough decided to pursue the idea of reconfiguring the playing fields.

5. The redevelopment of the rear parking area at Springfield Square South continues to be discussed by the developer and Springfield Township. A final plan has not yet been submitted. Discussions also continue between adjacent Riverview property owners and the Springfield Square South developer to address concerns regarding appropriate visual buffering between the parking area and the residential properties.

6. There was brief discussion regarding the invitation received by the Borough to the Delaware County Planning Department (DCPD) Open Space Forum. Elisabeth Knapp expressed the hope that perhaps funding from County sources could be available to make renovations to the outdoor recreational facilities at Rutger’s Ave WSSD property, along the lines of the playing field reconstruction study done several years ago by the Borough. Jane Billings indicated that, from past experience, she considers funding from the County’s Open Space program to be very unlikely for this use. Elisabeth Knapp and Jane Billings planned to attend the DCPD Open Space Forum on August 20th.

7. One application to the Zoning Hearing Board was submitted for review at the August Zoning Hearing Board meeting for a deck at a Harvard Ave. property..

8. Swarthmore College has received building permits for 1) making various paths ADA accessible, and 2) adding an addition to the Scott Arboretum Greenhouse. The number of other miscellaneous building permit applications for the past month has been fairly normal. Home sales in the 300,000 to 500,000 range have also been OK.

9. New Business: Jane Billings will be sending in the Borough’s grant application, due August 1st, for funding to reconstruct the underpass at Princeton Ave. There was also some discussion regarding the Doylestown Green Point building program, and its potential implementation in Swarthmore. The Planning Commission will be considering this during their review of the current codes.

9. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:05am.