Well Station Opposed by Neighbors, Approved by Zoning Board

The Whitemarsh Zoning Board met on Monday to discuss the proposed modernization of the Bubbling Springs Well Station located on River Road in Conshohocken. 

The property is a public utility with overhead PECO power lines, and Aqua Pennsylvania proposed to modernize the water equipment on the property and install a new well station.  The station will pump an estimated 1.4 million gallons of water per day

Representing Aqua was Christen G. Pionzio, a partner in the Real Estate and Zoning Department at Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin.

“We were here a year ago,” Pionzio said, “We (have since filled the Board’s requests and) added architectural plans to the building to reduce its mass, added a chimney to hide one of the piping systems, changed the windows to double-hung, added stone veneer, changed our fence from chain-link to residential in nature, reduced the amount of fencing, removed the water line to avoid trees, and attenuate(d) the generator noise.”

Pionzio also stated that other Board requests were fulfilled, including: the retaining wall was to be stone, the door to the building was to be residential, and construction was only to occur from 7am to 4pm.  Requests by the Shade Tree Commission, relative to the landscaping, were also fulfilled, and in January Aqua received preliminary final approval on the land development.

“Then as soon as we find out we’re all done,” she said. “We discovered through miscommunications with PECO that the (wire) clearance between the building and the landscaping was greater than what we had originally been told.  Our building couldn’t have been built where we had it proposed, under the wires.  So we turned the building, and shifted it up.”

Joe Doherty, River Road resident and architect by trade, spoke in opposition to the proposed project.  He was the only oppositional force present in the audience, although Pionzio stated that he represented the majority of the neighbors.

“I see Mr. Doherty’s here,” said Pionzio. “He participated in the last hearing. He’s our immediate adjacent neighbor, and he’s affected the most because he’s on the side where we turn the building.”

Doherty said he was unsure of the project.

“I object to this project,” said Doherty.  “I just don’t feel shown the whole picture and I still haven’t seen a need for this project.  No one’s shown how this benefits the local community.”

Pionzio said that the project would attempt to not disrupt the neighborhood.

“The site is surrounded by residential neighbors,” said Pionzio, “And we are sensitive to that…We’re able to keep (a) residential look… We felt that it would be better to keep the residential look of the building versus a boxy kind of bunker look.”

“Yes it’s close to his house,” she said. “And I can’t disagree with him. But I’d like to say that if there’s any good news it’s that the shorter side now faces him, and we’ve added a band of stone around the front that faces River Rd.”

The Whitemarsh Planning Commission had met on the June 28, reviewed Aqua’s application, and recommended that the Zoning Board grant the request. The board approved the request in a 4-0 vote.