Commissioners Seek Legal Advice On Proposed Subdivisions

The Haverford Township Board of Commissioners ended Monday night’s work meeting in an executive session with plans to seek legal advice concerning two proposed minor subdivisions, one at 70 East Clearfield Rd. and the other at 716 Merion Ave.

The Board of Commissioners discussed the proposed subdivision at 70 East Clearfield Rd. first publicly, in open session. The subdivision would involve taking a lot and splitting it, in order to build one, new house on the lot, said Assistant Township Manager Lori Hanlon-Widdop.

“It’s one of those nasty little neighborhood things where it’s a lot that should not be built on, but it’s compliant, apparently,” 3^rd Ward Commissioner Robert Trumbull said, in introducing the proposal.

Hanlon-Widdop said there had been eight separate revisions to the plan for the proposed subdivision.

At its March 10 meeting, the Haverford Township Planning Commission recommended that the proposed subdivision at 70 East Clearfield Rd. be denied based on two code provisions which had not been addressed, Hanlon-Widdop said. The Planning Commission serves as an advisory committee to the Board of Commissioners.

However, since the March 10 meeting, the township has received a plan that addresses the code provisions which were cited by the Planning Commission, Hanlon-Widdop said.

Trumbull asked, “Can we still go ahead and deny it even though the issues have been addressed?”

Kelly Sullivan, an attorney for the township solicitor’s office, said the Board of Commissioners should go into executive session if they wanted legal advice on the matter. The board said they planned to hold an executive session at the end of the work meeting.

The work meeting was held in open session with six people in the audience.

As the work meeting neared its end, after a discussion about other topics, 8^th Ward Commissioner Chris Connell asked if the Board of Commissioners could seek legal advice in executive session about another proposed subdivision, which is located at 716 Merion Ave. and calls for three, two-story colonial-style homes.

“In order to talk about it in the back room, do I have to bring it up here first?” Connell asked.

Wechsler said they would discuss it in executive session.

The proposed subdivision at 716 Merion Ave., which is located in Connell’s ward, was met with anger and opposition from residents at a .

Residents at that meeting demanded a “re-vote” from the Planning Commission because they did not receive mailed notifications in advance of the commission’s Feb. 10 vote to recommend that the Haverford Township Board of Commissioners approved the subdivision.

Sullivan advised the Planning Commission March 31 against taking another vote on the issue because while residents did not receive mailed notifications, the meeting was publically advertised, which meant the township was in compliance with the “Sunshine Act,” or public meetings law.

The Planning Commission did not make a motion to go into executive session on March 31, although planning commissioners were told they would need to do so if they wanted to know the legal implications of taking a “re-vote.”

The Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote on the subdivision at 716 Merion Ave. on April 11.

In other matters, the Board of Commissioners discussed a proposal to add the Haverford Heritage Trail to the township’s comprehensive plan.

Hanlon-Widdop said the resolution to amend the comprehensive plan to include the trail would require a public hearing and township approval.

Mary Courtney, a board member of the Haverford Township Historical Society, spoke to the board about the pedestrian trail.

The idea for the Haverford Heritage Trail began in 2007 with an Eagle Scout project was first proposed to cut a trail parallel to Karakung Drive from Manoa Road to Nitre Hall, Courtney said.

Courtney said she originally envisioned the trail linking three historical sites, but since then, the trail along existing roads, paths and sidewalks has grown into a 13-mile loop linking 32 different historical sites throughout the township.

The entire loop is already walkable, although some parts of the trail consist of dirt trails which might present more of a challenge for those using the path, Courtney said.

“One of our goals is to eventually make Haverford Township more walkable,” Courtney said.

The Haverford Township Historical Society has offered to create a brochure for the trail and has already designed a trail map, Courtney said.