Senior Care Facility Plans Denied by Planners

Representatives for the resubmitted their plan to the Wednesday night, but no approval was granted.

The owners of the 7.3-acre property at 5844 Daniel St., off Cetronia Road, want to construct a two-story, 100-bed nursing home on the site.

The planning commission had received correspondence from affected homeowners living near the proposed facility asking that the property owner provide a good amount of natural landscaping buffer.

"It's a very sensitive area," Township engineer Dean Haas said. "We're trying to make sure that we're not disrupting neighborhood properties."

David M. Bray, project coordinator with Jena Engineering, told the commission that he has addressed many of the questions raised by the township's fire chief and residents to make improvements such as moving and adding driveways and adding trees.

Planning Commission members said they were worried about whether enough property improvements have been made, especially regarding runoff.
"I'd like to see about drainage before we move on," Commissioner Anthony P. Salvino said.

Township Attorney William E. Schantz asked about shoulder upgrades with Bray responding that he's still awaiting word from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to sign off on some of the upgrades and improvements.

Etowski also remarked that the state Department of Environmental Protection may have some concerns as well.

Schantz said those upgrades could alter runoff at the property. "That should be taken into consideration," he said.

Township Engineer Dean Haas, however, said he believed that Bray went "above and beyond" the landscaping buffers.

Still, township planners felt that they need to see more progress on the plans.

"We're very close," Etowski said. "You need to tidy up things a little more. You need to get some more outside agency reviews. Then we'll be more comfortable."