Welcome to the TE United Website!
Created to bring together our community and coordinate efforts to ensure we have a voice in development efforts across Tredyffrin-Easttown
This website is dedicated to the protection of
neighborhoods and communities in Tredyffrin-Easttown from
overdevelopment. We are not against development in Tredyffrin, but
it has to make sense and fit with the character of our community!
This website was started by residents in the
Russell Road neighborhood, who are trying to mitigate the impact of
a proposed Assisted Living Facility on Russell Road.
There is a public meeting of
the Planning Commission on this proposal on Thursday November 21st, 7pm, at the
Tredyffrin Township building at 1100 Duportail Road in Berwyn.
Please attend and share your concerns!
To
give you a little bit of background … in 2012, the zoning ordinance
in Tredyffrin was changed to specifically allow Assisted Living Facilities
in so-called C1 zoning even though these facilities do not fall
within the Purpose Statement of the zoning ordinance (https://ecode360.com/7116500.)
This change was made to allow for the Daylesford Crossing ALF on
Lancaster Avenue in Paoli to be built. There was a lot of
controversy surrounding this issue (https://patch.com/pennsylvania/te/controversial-c-1-zoning-law-change-approved).
Since then, Brightview in Devon and Echo Lake in Malvern have been
constructed, both of which as of October 2019 were at less than 30%
capacity. Here is a great article by Pattye Benson on this
development (http://pattyebenson.org/2018/12/17/how-many-assisted-living-facilities-does-tredyffrin-township-need-want-is-the-idea-build-it-and-they-will-come/
)
And so now another ALF has been proposed, only about ¼ of a mile from Daylesford Crossing! What’s unique about this case, however, is that Russell Road is a quiet, residential street.
Above is a picture of (part of the stretch) of
Russell Road along which the ALF is proposed, at the intersection
with Sheldrake Drive. On the right is Mrs. Sally McKay’s house, who
is a now retired, beloved long-time teacher in the T/E school
district. On the left side of the street is where the new ALF would
be built, only about 40-60 feet set back from the road.
Here are another few pictures, which show the
current occupation of the development site.
As you can see, the current landscaping, size
and design of buildings, is harmonious with the neighborhood across
the street.
The new ALF would require that either most, or
all of the landscaping is removed. And the building that has been
proposed, and which the Planning Commission gave preliminary
approval for, is a three-story building with a length of 460+ feet
(even though the zoning ordinance specifies a maximum of 160 feet).
Just to give you a sense of the size of that building as it faces
the residential neighborhood across the street, that is about the
size of the facade of a Wegmans.
Does this make any sense? This is a quiet
residential neighborhood! This building would be put on a narrow
strip of land, about 250 feet wide, wedged between the train tracks
and Russell Road.
We ask all of you who feel this is wrong for
our Township to come to the public meeting of the Tredyffrin
Planning Commission on 11/21, and make your voices heard.
We are not against development in Tredyffrin.
But it has to make sense!
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Please check back soon for more information