Upper Dublin: Engineer testifies on proposed school bus depot

Testimony in support of the controversial plan to build a school bus depot near Fort Washington Elementary School wrapped up at an Oct. 23 hearing before the Zoning Hearing Board.

Jeremy Maziarz, the civil engineer who created the site plan for the proposed depot, addressed the onsite movement of vehicles, a proposed fence around the bus parking area, the distance between the facility and surrounding homes and proposed landscaping.

The Upper Dublin School District is seeking four variances to build a 10,517-square-foot building in an A-residential zone for vehicle maintenance, parts storage and office space, with base infrastructure for future purchase of electric vehicles. The site would include 118 parking spaces for 50 school transportation vehicles, 10 grounds department vehicles and 58 staff.

The accessory building variances being sought are for: an 8-foot fence – 2 feet above the maximum allowed; a 30.5 feet height, where 22 feet is allowed; a maximum area of 10,517 square feet – almost double the 600 square feet allowed; and permission for more than one commercial vehicle exceeding 9,000 pounds to be parked on a property within a residential district.

Under the plan, all school district vehicles will use an access drive connecting to Highland and Loch Alsh avenues. An 8-foot fence would surround parking for the 60 school district vehicles, with gated access to parking for all 118 vehicles “to prevent outside access” and “keep parents and visitors separate from school district traffic,” Maziarz said.

The extra 2-foot height of the fence would be “harder to climb over” and is needed “to provide security for the district’s vehicles,” he said.

“We do not anticipate any interaction between parents and school district vehicles,” Maziarz said. During morning drop-off at FWES and afternoon pick-up, any buses returning to the site would use the access drive that connects to Highland, he said.

Parent drop-off will go from the existing driveway to Loch Alsh, he said.

When questioned, he said parents would not be able to use the access road or current parent drop-off access from Highland to “prevent parent and bus interaction.”

The net 29.11-acre site, which exceeds the 25-acre minimum required, is bounded by the township complex under construction, Route 309, Highland and Fort Washington avenues, and is currently used for the elementary school, athletic fields, and parking, Maziarz said.

The proposed facility and parking comply with the setback requirement, he said, adding “all are in excess of 100 feet of adjacent residences.”

Landscaping would be installed around the accessory building adjacent to the field and along the driveway “to provide a natural screen of the facility from adjacent properties,” Maziarz said.

Maziarz maintained the depot “will not alter the character of the neighborhood nor impair the use of adjacent properties,” stating the impacts would be minimized by the fencing and landscaping.

Land development plans have been submitted to the township for consideration by the board of commissioners, and the school district “will comply with all of the township’s landscaping criteria,” he said.

Zoning Board Chairman Leonard Karp asked if the district would agree to put landscaping on the Highland Avenue side also, and instead of landscaping planned to mature in 4-8 years, “as a condition can we have vegetation be 8 years old already … an immediate screen.”

Mark Hosterman, the school district’s attorney for the zoning application, said he “would take that back to the board.”

Karp also maintained the variance requested for more than one commercial vehicle was “open-ended, not a minimum,” and the 9,000-pound reference could mean “no restrictions on the kinds of vehicles that can be stored.”

Kate Harper, an attorney representing Fort Washington resident Virginia Cairo-Vitella, noted FWES uses four buses and asked how Maziarz came up with 36 buses needed.

“It was the design criteria I was provided with,” he said.

Responding to other questions, Maziarz said he was not involved in site selection and a traffic study was submitted after the land development application he prepared.

Students would walk along Fort Washington or Loch Alsh to access the field of dreams, he said, acknowledging they would cross driveways used by the buses.

Harper and residents questioned Maziarz’s contention that the facility and buses coming and going would not change the character of the neighborhood, but he stood by his assessment.

Questions regarding lighting, landscaping and noise will be addressed during the land development process, he said, adding, “the township has yet to review those plans.”

With the applicant’s conclusion of its case, Bruce Buckman, a resident with “standing” — those living within a half mile of the site who had signed up — gave a presentation regarding the applicant’s contention that the depot is “centrally located.”

At the third hearing, Oct. 7, Michael Johnson, the architect for the project, said he considered the site “central” to the district as “relatively central to the student population.”

“Fort Washington Elementary is not centrally located,” Buckman said. “Having the depot in the center of town is advantageous. Having it in the office center has advantages in transit and the neighborhoods.”

Terming the presentation “interesting, but not part of what is needed to obtain variances,” Hosterman said, “We don’t have to prove the depot is centrally located.”

After three hours, the hearing was suspended and will be continued at 7 p.m. Nov. 25. At that time other residents with standing will be permitted to speak, followed by any resident wishing to address the board.

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