Chairman Dane St. Clair convened the August 14, 2002 meeting of the Warwick Township Zoning Hearing Board at 7:00 p.m. Present were Board Members Dane St. Clair, Wilmer Burkhart, Scott Goldman, Gary Lefever, and Randall Wenger. Also present were Zoning Officer Thomas Zorbaugh, Zoning Hearing Board Solicitor David Workman, Kevin Varner, Attorney Matthew Creme, Dr. Wayne Anthony, Mike Saxinger, Trajan Putnik, Wilbur Rohrer, Timothy Rohrer.

MINUTES APPROVAL: On a motion by Wenger, seconded by Goldman, the Board unanimously approved the minutes of the July 10, 2002 meeting as submitted.

POSTING, PROOF OF PUBLICATION AND NOTICE: The Zoning Officer confirmed the posting, notice, and proof of publication of the cases to be heard at this evening's hearing.

HEARING PROCEDURES: For the benefit of those present, the Zoning Hearing Solicitor explained the procedure to be followed for the evening's hearings.

EXTENSION OF TIME FOR DR. WAYNE ANTHONY (Case #389): The Board reviewed the request. The Zoning Officer outlined the zoning request and subsequent approval for the benefit of the Board. On a motion by St. Clair, seconded by Burkhart, the Board unanimously approved a twelve-month extension of time for Case #389, Dr. Wayne Anthony.

CASE #589, ROHRER’S QUARRY - VARIANCE: An application has been received from Rohrer’s Quarry Inc. 70 Lititz Road, Lititz, PA 17543. The applicant is the owner of the property located along the eastern side of Erb’s Quarry Road, Lititz. The applicant is seeking a Variance to the Warwick Township Zoning Ordinance under Section 212.7, pertaining to uses within the Flood Plain Zone. The applicant would like to locate a sediment basin within the flood plain.

Kevin Varner, representing Diehm and Sons, and Wilbur Rohrer & Timothy Rohrer, representing Rohrer’s Quarry, were sworn in. The Zoning Officer explained that the Floodplain Zone regulations within the Zoning Ordinance indicate that no work may be performed within a floodplain that would adversely affect the floodplain. He explained that the plan being presented this evening proposes the alteration of the existing floodplain boundary by the construction of a settling pond which will require regrading. Varner explained that the applicant is in the process of applying for a Mine Drainage Permit from DEP for the proposal. He noted that the proposal will also require approval by the Township for a Land Development Plan. Varner stated that the proposed settling pond would be located behind the Shoop residence along Erb’s Quarry Road. He explained that there is an existing sediment pond to the east of the proposed sediment pond and added that the applicant would like to expand this area. He explained that water from the quarry operation is pumped into these facilities which filter the water before it is discharged into the creek. He noted that the size of these facilities is determined by DEP. He explained that water from the quarry operation would be discharged into the settling box prior to being released into the pond being proposed this evening, and then into the existing pond on the property. He stated that a floodplain study had been performed for the property previously which delineated the current location of the floodplain boundary. He stated that the project proposes to fill in a portion of flooplain and to excavate an area at the toe of the proposed berm. He stated that a new flooplain study was performed using the revised calculations and the study indicated that there is no increase in the flood elevation with the proposed work to be performed. Varner indicated the location of the floodplain area that would be affected by the proposal for the benefit of the Board.

The Chairman inquired whether or not anyone present wishes to comment on the proposal. No one present indicated their desire to comment on the proposal. On a motion by Burkhart, seconded by Wenger, the Board voted unanimously to grant a Variance under Section 212.7 as requested.

CASE #588, TRAJAN PUTNIK - VARIANCE: An application has been received from Trajan Putnik, 22 Lititz Run Road, Lititz, PA 17543. The applicant. The applicant would like to build an automotive sales facility on the property located at 719 Rothsville Road in the Community Commercial Zone and has submitted a "Revised Plan" for review. The applicant is seeking the following Variances to the Warwick Township Zoning Ordinance; Section 207.6.A to encroach 5' into the required 20' front yard parking lot setback; Section 207.6.B to encroach 10.38' on the west side and 8' on the east side of the required 15' side yard parking lot setback; Sections 207.13.B, 312.4.A.1 & 312.4.A.2 to allow the parking lot to encroach into the required 15' landscaping strip and Section 604.11.A to allow an extension of time to secure Land Development Plan approval.

Matthew Creme, Attorney for the applicant, stated that the Zoning Hearing Board previously heard a case for the front portion of the property and added that the Board rendered a decision on the case (Case #574) at their November 14, 2001 meeting. He explained that a revised plan was presented for review by the Planning Commission, and subsequently, the Commission recommended that the revised plan be presented to the Zoning Hearing Board for their review and determination. He noted that although the plan has been revised, the Variance requests are identical to the previous case. He requested the Board to take Administrative Notice of the prior proceeding as part of this evening’s hearing. He stated that the property owner (Trajan Putnik) will describe the changes to the previous plan, and a representative of the firm that prepared the plan (Mike Saxinger), will detail the plan further. He noted that Putnik was sworn in at the October 10, 2001 meeting of the Zoning Hearing Board.

Putnik confirmed that he and his wife own both the front property and the rear property that are the subject of this hearing and noted that each property is a separate deeded tract. He explained that due to the requirements of the Township’s Ordinances, the area that could be provided for the business was smaller than he originally intended. He stated that upon discussions with Saxinger, the plan was revised to include additional area for the business on the rear property. He noted that both properties are zoned Community Commercial and added that the proposed use is permitted within this zoning district. He explained that the revised plan proposes to add a portion of the rear property to the existing front property to accommodate the entire proposal being presented this evening. Burkhart requested clarification of whether or not the front property has remained unchanged from the original proposal that was presented to the Zoning Hearing Board. Putnik confirmed that plan for the front property is the same, including the edge of paving, only minor alterations have been made to the parking plan.

Michael Saxinger, representing Saxinger, Black & Murphy, Inc., explained that the plan being presented is substantially the same as the pending Preliminary Plan, which addresses the Township Engineer’s most recent review letter dated June 19, 2002. Saxinger noted that the lot add-on portion of the plan has not been presented to the Planning Commission or Board of Supervisors. To date, the plan that has been presented to the Planning Commission illustrates the two tracts as they currently exist. Saxinger stated that the area to be added to the front lot would be used for additional vehicle storage and would also accommodate a stormwater detention facility. Saxinger testified that the applicant has obtained a Highway Occupancy Permit for the access along Rothsville Road (SR 772) and confirmed that all access to the automotive sales facility would occur at this location. The Zoning Officer explained that several of the parking spaces on the front property have been eliminated in order to accommodate the necessary turning radii on the lot. Saxinger explained that bollards would be placed at the entrance to the additional vehicle storage area to restrict vehicular access by the general public.

The Chairman inquired whether or not anyone present wishes to comment on the case. No one present indicated their desire to comment on the case. On a motion by St. Clair, seconded by Lefever, the Board voted unanimously to confirm the prior decision for Case #574 and to grant a 12-month extension of time from this evening’s hearing to secure Land Development Plan approval.

EXTENSION OF TIME FOR DAVID DECKARD (Case #579): The Board reviewed the request. On a motion by St. Clair, seconded by Lefever, the Board unanimously approved an extension of time for Case #579, David Deckard until October, 2003.

ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Thomas L. Zorbaugh
Code and Zoning Officer