Kimberton Meadows Residents Unhappy With State of Development

Partially built homes, mounds of dirt and asphalt, falling trees and little progress brought more than a dozen Kimberton Meadows residents to the East Pikeland Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday.

Residents voiced concerns about the $1.3 million left in escrow for the development, which is being built by The Benson Companies. Kimberton Meadows is located near the intersection of Hares Hill Road and Route 23.

“We are concerned with the adequacy of the escrow agreement,” said Mike Dimmerling, a member of the homeowners’ association for the development.

He and other residents told supervisors they were worried that the developer would “just walk away” without finishing construction. According to Benson’s website, 67 homes are planned for the site.

The last building permit was pulled in July 2010, Dimmerling noted, more than a year ago, and he said progress has stalled on the development. Other residents pointed out certain things on the plan, such as a retaining wall and landscaping, that weren’t being done as they expected.

Township Manager Kim Moretti said it’s not uncommon for changes to be made during the course of construction. An as-built plan will need to be submitted when work is complete, and the township engineer visits the site once a week or so to check up on progress, Moretti said.

“[The builder has] got to comply with the recorded plan,” Moretti said.

Dimmerling asked about dedication of open space and roads in the development. Dedication is separate from the escrow, Chairman Ronald Graham explained. Dimmerling told the board that specificlally, he was concerned about snow removal when winter comes.

“If it’s not dedicated, we won’t be plowing it,” Graham said.

However, Graham did say that several of the residents' concerns might be able to be remedied with township invovlement.

Graham asked at one point how many audience members showed up to talk about Kimberton Meadows. Two back rows of the meeting room were full of residents of that development. Graham said he had heard “rumblings” from Kimberton Meadows before, but he never knew the extent of the discontent, he explained.

“This is the first time that we’ve had this kind of reaction to the place,” Graham said.

When residents expressed concern that escrow might be released before September, Graham assured them otherwise, saying that with the amount of complaints, there would be “no way” escrow would be released within the next month.

“That won’t happen,” Graham told residents.

The issue will be placed on the agenda for September’s meeting, and Graham said the township engineer will be asked to attend. Moretti said she could have the township’s zoning officer take a look at the site to see if there are any violations that could be taken care of. The township engineer will also be asked to take another look at the escrow agreement to ensure it is enough to cover outstanding issues.

Graham asked residents of Kimberton Meadows to compile a list of their concerns and any outstanding issues, as well.

“With this kind of situation, we have no interest in letting the developer off the hook,” Graham said. “Quite the opposite, in fact.”

The East Pikeland Board of Supervisors will meet again on Sept. 6 at 7 p.m.