1209 Rydal Rd
Wouldn't you love a couple of these in
your neighborhood?
How about one right next to or beside your
house?
Our zoning code gave
developers the idea that they could just do this.
So far the
neighbors have them on "hold" - we're waiting for their next
proposition
- and the Commissioners, under pressure from
residents, have revised the ordinance so this can't so
easily be done
THE NUTSHELL :
After
finishing 3 parts of the Conditional Use Hearing, taking
countless hours and costing untold wasted dollars on behalf of
individual residents as well as the taxpayers...... the
developer cancelled part 4 til who knows when. We
are expecting another proposal any minute .. and the new more
restrictive, ordinance will not apply to them.
The land at 1209
Rydal Rd is at least partially on/in a Steep Slope
Conservation District, Floodplain Conservation
District and Riparian Buffer Conservation Corridor.
They failed, in 2021 to win the right to build 34 units / 50
homes ( 18 Townhomes and 16 duplexes =50 homes total - see
more on that below ) after telling residents that our Manager
told them this would be fine and would get the Township's
blessing. Residents disagreed - and began to wake up.
They returned in March
2023 with their new proposal for a Life Care Facility and
a Nursing Home. Still not OK with any of the residents and
not in compliance with the law. There were then 2 more
submissions - the final one was on July 31, 2023. The
first day of the Hearing was set for October 16th, where they
did not have a big enough room to accommodate everyone and so
they just vetted those requesting party status. See summaries of
the first 3 hearings just below this. Again.... we are
expecting this proposal to possibly be completely revised.......
the fact that Commissioners are entertaining a revision of the
ordinance should stand as proof that they will not get the usual
"special favors" approving this. And that is 100% because
residents were willing to make a lot of noise.
NEXT : Waiting for a date. They cancelled on 1-30-24 .
It would have been
PART 4 OF THE CONDITIONAL USE HEARING
-- all which were all held at PENN STATE ABINGTON
( not in the Township Building )but in the larger Sutherland Building Auditorium
1600 Woodland Rd Abington PA because of the #
of people expected. Many also attended by zoom.
It was,,
and is my firm opinion that
they should not have been dragging everybody through
all of this when it appears CLEAR that they NEVER
can meet the rule that requires them to conform with the
Character of the Neighborhood and to not do harm to the
neighbors. The Commissioner should ask them to stop dragging it
out until they can prove that they can meet just those REQUIRED
conditions. Why should they be allowed to drone on endlessly
about all the other things, and rob taxpayers of their money,
when it clearly does not appear in a form that legally
could be passed. Let's hope they finally realize it themselves and
don't come back with anything either similar.
Part 3 OF THE CONDITIONAL USE
HEARING was held
11-29-23
Development Consultant, Greg Ellmore was presenting for the
applicant. He is from Oregon. Scroll down in this link to find the documents from the
prior meeting .
He shared hypotheticals re: the conceptual layout and floor
plans included in the application and re: the operational
aspects of the proposed facility. But the facility they are
building will be leased to someone else. So he cannot
definitively confirm much of what he eas testifying to
like: how it will be run and how many employees they will deem
necessary, and when deliveries will be scheduled, etc. He
had concluded this would be a benefit to Abington, but admitted
under questioning he wrote his analysis before he ever saw
Abington and that he had no idea how many
vacant nursing home or memory care or senior facility
beds there were in the many facilities just withing 5 miles of
this one....let alone the many others in Montgomery County. He
really could not assess whether it would be a benefit or add to
a problem that already exists re: empmpty beds.
He confirmed that David Mermelstein and Moshe Barzani were the
owners ( the Chaverim Realty Partner guys) and David Mermelstein
is also an owner in a nursing hom 1.4 miles away that is
shuttered. A resident was forbidden to ask questions about
Mermelsteins' Senior facility in Jenkintown, the Chelsea
that is now closed /vacant. He had not spoken to the
Wastewater director about any anticipated problems adding
130 toilets and circa 100 or more kitchens plus a commercial
kitchen.He had predicted only 5 ambulance calls a month, while
one Commissioner tesified that his relative in a similar
facility had 3 ambulance calls in 1 week.
Ultimately Mr Ellmore seemed to have no direct knowledge
of any of the facts that would actually determinine if it were
or were not good for Abington. And despite the
pictures loudly declaring the opposiite, he said in his opinion,
it conforms to the "character" of the neighborhood.
PART 2 OF THE CONDITIONAL USE HEARING WAS HELD 10-30-23
at PENN STATE ABINGTON
--
The applicant presented only their first witness, a Civil
Engineer. His presentation was followed by 1.5 hours of
relentless questioning from a variety of residents with party
status. Resident opposition was very clear and every
question was well thought out, bringing many of the concerns to
the fore. You can watch the whole meeting here
https://abingtonpa.viebit.com/player.php?hash=4c05F7vSnRf4xoal
And the documents from that meeting are here:
https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/abingtonpa/62a3c7af-7400-11ee-b4aa-0050569183fa-ca2b9c28-b9cf-4f17-b573-dd2752d4679e-1698325832.pdf
PART
1 OF THE CONDITIONAL USE HEARING WAS HELD 10-16-23
It appeared, at first, that the Township
was not going to be able to hold this first day of the
Hearing because they had not arranged for a room big enough to
accommodate all those coming, which would be a violation of
Sunshine Law. So they agreed just to hold the decision
making part for those seeking Party Status.
Anyone within 750 ft of the
property would be granted automatic party status upon their
formal request. Others were granted party status based on their
reasons that this affected them. Still others
will not know if status is granted until the next meeting, on Oct 30th. To
enable this meeting, those
not
seeking party status were asked to stay home, so as not to
overwhelm the room. You can watch the meeting
here
https://abingtonpa.viebit.com/player.php?hash=kFYaN30UBZjnUi6Q
They also were
requiring for party status, that those who had already filled
out all the information, but on a different form, would have to
refile the same information on the other form. Really? Just plain
needless disrespect from our Solicitor.
Another
truely ridiculous thing was that, knowing seating was an
issue, the Manager and his multiple Assistants still had the room
cordoned off with a full one half of the room being allotted to just a couple of
employees - while the residents squeezed into the other side and
had to sit way in the back where it is harder to see and hear.
Tons of empty carpet space with no chairs. Manager
Manfredi started those shenanigans when he wanted a new Township
building and was trying to prove the room was too small. More
than once we've had to stop a meeting to have him get chairs
that he took away or to make special arrangements for
people standing because he refuses to act in resident interests.
___________________________________________
REVERTING TO CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
9-26-23
THE PLANNING COMMISION REVIEW RESULT:
PLANNERS UNANIMOUSLY VOTE
AGAINST RECOMMENDING THE PROJECT
Their "advisory only "
recommendation will go to the Commissioners for the hearing .
The proposal on the table as
of the 9-26-23 Planning Commission Review was this :
After dividing the 7.316 acres
into a 1.622
acre site and a 5.696 acre site, there will be 3 buildings total---
--- Lot 1 : The original 7
bedroom home, carriage house & cabin on a 1.622 acre lot
would remain residential
--- Lot
2 : Building #1: A Senior Care Facility consisting of a 74
unit/82 bed Assisted Living facility.
11 of those units are Memory Care. Those 74 units are in
Building One on Lot 2
--- Lot 2
:
Building #2 : An Independent Living Facility
with 46 units /55 beds
So there will be 120 units added -
plus the original hom.
A recommendation to deny it
ultimately came from the Planners
10-16-23
THE CONDITIONAL USE
HEARING
BEFORE THE COMMISSIONERS
A recommendation
to deny it will come from the Planners - and from pretty
much every citizen that attends --- complete with sufficient
legal reasons that make one wonder how it got past our
Engineer, our Legal review, our Manager and the Ward
Commissioner Tom Hecker.
They are not supposed to be forwarding things that have such
obious contradictions to code.....
DOCUMENTS : Here is the full
Application as of 9-26-23 Planning Commission meeting .There are
253 pages
https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/abingtonpa/cc209181-9802-11ed-96ab-0050569183fa-ca2b9c28-b9cf-4f17-b573-dd2752d4679e-1694788212.pdf
WAY TOO MUCH FUNNY BUSINESS
The
Township clearly hoped to get it passed before
the residents knew much of anything about it - and the more we
review, the more irregularities we are finding. We are still awaiting an
explanation as to how ALL the professionals failed to follow the
law..... the Solicitor, the Engineer, the Zoning Officer,
the Manager, the Montco Planning Commission, and EVERYONE who
handled or reviewed this
document. How could ALL of them ACCIDENTALLY missed
the required Planning meeting. Please ask Commissioner Hecker to provide a public answer
.
isn't
that PROPERTY zoned r1 residential
?
Yes, it is in an R1 neighborhood. But as noted above, in
2017-while Steve Kline was their Commissioner, he was also
leading the "Zoning Rewrites" creating a very much changed
zoning ordinance for the entire Township . He wrote in
this institutional use to all the "R" ( residential)
neighborhoods, including into his OWN constituent's
neighborhoods
without telling them, It shouldn't have been there ...
Had he told them, so they understood what he was doing,
they would have been out in droves to protest that change.
They should have been told and not had their rights taken will
no notification.. He was ASKED to do just that..... He said he
would, but then did not . In fact, he made the process so
complicated and cumbersome it was akin to making sure no one
knew. More on this below uner "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN"
The date for the Conditional Use Hearing must occur by
theoretically by October 31st unless
the developer agrees to extend the time again. There is some
question about that actually being the deadline - because it was
the developer that missed the 8-22-23 Planning Review
which put it off a month and
the developer who sumitted 3 different versions..... The running
clock should go from the last submission , shouldn't it? But we'll
save that question for another day.
THE MAIN ISSUES
-
--- It is required to
conform with the character of the neighborhood - clearly it does
not. Not even close
---- It appears more parts may be in the Steep Slope Overlay
District than are being admitted see discussions and
the maps below .
---- Our SALDO ( Subdivision and Land
Development Ordinance ) warns against odd lot shapes - which
this creates.
-----The requirement not to disturb vegetation on
a steep slope would be grossly violated
---- It will exacerbate existing
water runoff problems in an area with major flooding issues -
see Flood Map below
---
It will set a precedent for others who don't believe they need
to adhere to the codes.
--- The parking is ridiculously inadequate - due, we
believe, to fudged numbers of workers, visitors etc.,
--- Traffic would be a
huge issue , through these bucolic neighborhoods
---
Noise / nuisances would surely result, ie: how many ambulances could be expected that disturb others at all
hours
--- The possibility of it becoming
a non-profit means that there would be no financial benefit for
the Township
--- The value of nearby homes plummets
with giantic institutions beside or behind them -
possibly as much as 1/3
--- The value of other local
houses would be impacted by the sales of those next to it but in
the same neighborhood
--- Was density
properly calculated? Don't steep slopes, floodplains and
riparian corridors reduce available land?
--- When the rezoning
was done in 2017, they knew the residents were never properly
notified of the changes....
....It was their
own Ward Commissioner, Steve Kline, who put forth these
regulations without holding a
single meeting, as he was asked to
do, for the homeowners
impacted by his actions
... so
much more FUNNY BUSINESS AND so many more QUESTIONS :
There is some conjecture they are just using this as
a threat to get something else allowed - like the Townshouses -
that are ALSO not going to be in conformance with the Steep
Slope and other requirements. There is a reason the house
only sold for $600K - because the steeply sloped land is not
easily developable without a "special favor for special friends "
- which the Township has tried several times to do (see below)
---
ATTEMPT TO HOLD HEARING BEFORE PLANNING REVIEW The Township tried to shuffle this quickly to final Hearing in
June 2023 before any required Planning Review, as required by
law, and before even
the contiguous neighbors had seen ANY of the documents . It is
unheard of for neighbors not to have had
a single presentation before walking in to a Hearing.
---- DOCS POSTED LATE In June, the Manager posted the
documents late, and neighbors had no access to them until 4 days
before the scheduled Hearing.
----
DOCUMENTS NOT MADE KNOWN TO RESIDENTS Even after the
application was posted, the residents were not told they were
there and available with one or two clicks. Despite having asked for them,
without help, they would would have no idea where to
look . Their Commissioner, Tom Hecker, knew the
complete documents were available but didn't tell them.Not just
that they could have digital versions - but where they were
posted. .
--- RESIDENTS FUTHER MISLED Their Commissioner, Tom Hecker,
besides not telling them where or how to find the documents,
actively misled them further by passing out
one single cover page of the application to some -- and a
couple of people got a couple of pages - maybe 3 or 4. He falsely led
residents to believe that's all there was - The residents,
having been thus misled, posted his single page on
their facebook site, calling it "the application". The actual
application ( see the
"Documents " link above) was originally over 120
pages and is as of September 246 pages.
---- violations of policy,
code and law This is far more serious than just "late documents"
which would give residents no time to consult
attorneys, do research or get united with one another.
Everyone knows this is wrong. But it is far more serious
than residents just not having the documents ......... The
question of how many professionals saw and handled this, knew
that it should have gone for a Planning Review in front of the
public, but allowed it to move forward knowing that had not been
done iseems to be a serious matter of corruption and/or
collusion to deprive residents of their rights and to favor the
developer.
. No development application goes to a
hearing without many sets of eyeballs making sure everything is
correct, all laws have been considered and the i's are
dotted and the t's crossed. This was a violation of our Zoning code
and our public meeting
(posting) rules and of the PA
Municipalities Planning Code. Conditional Use applications
are required to go to the Planning Commission first, with full
documentation provided to the public. The Zoning Officer /
Engineer/ Solicitor/ Manager / Commissioner / Montco Planner .....all reviewed
this and surely knew it had to go for a public Planning
review.
No one should be be let off the hook for this.
Answers are due. It would have to be VERY purposeful to get
through that many layers of oversight.
--- STEEP SLOPE The Township has
said
the building areas are not in the Steep
Slope Overlay at all - when, in fact, on p 19 of the application documents they,
themselves, claim that it is.......and on 9-26-23 they
acknowledged the same ... they declared exactly what %
of their proposed plan IS in each of the 2 Steep Slope Overlay
categories - nearly the maximum in each category. . They contend they are right up to the maximum limit
in each category. So why would the Township Engineer have said
they were not. And they only managed those percentages by
"gerrymandering" the lot to make odd shaped lots to accommodate
this "close shave"
A Township steep slope map
found in the Comprehensive Plan conveys steep slope area that is
directly in the area being developed. But that map may not be
accurate ...the applicant's submission showing steep slope areas seems
to be aligned with information from the county that shows less
land in the Sttep Slopes. Given that the
documents were withheld for so long, the residents should have
been
given more time to investigate irregularities such as these.
--- TAXES What are (and were) the taxes
-- Taxes were reduced after the developer bought it
--- while he was simultaneously claiming the property to be way
more valuable than elsewhere shown since he believed it could
support institutional building this dense, he was also
saying the taxes should be reduced. Neither the tax assessment
nor the sale price
seem to accurately reflect 5 or 6 buildable single family
R1 lots, or lots
that allow this much institutional intensity. The property
comes with a gigantic house
that admittedly needed repair , but even with a need
for repair might be worth more than the entire purchase price
itself --- as well as a Carriage house, that has
bedrooms and bothrooms above , a 4 car garage and 1/2 bath
below. THEN you can add the value of the buildable land
which could be worth as much as $100K to $300K a lot - depending
on cost and location of utilities.
--- MAY WE
HAVE THE CORRECT LOT SIZE PLEASE
- This
developer bought the beautiful home ( seen below ) on what is
noted at the County to be 7.79 acres, then previously described
as 7.5 acres, but now described as a 7.316 acre lot.
--- SOME GOOD NEWS: LOW SALE PRICE
MYSTERY SOLVED - Developer Chaverim Partners paid only
$600 K for ALL OF THIS IN in 2019. We recently obtained
information indicating the sale price reflected that the
house and grounds needed a lot of work and that a
sooner rather than later sale was preferred.
------------------------------------------
THEY ARE PROPOSING 2 LOTS
LOT 1
This will stay:
7 Bedrooms, 5 full
baths, 2 half baths + 5 fireplaces
Plus Carriage House w/4 car garage
&1/2 bath, 2
additional bedrooms, a full bath
upstairs,
new heating system
Plus a small "Cabin"
All were bought together on
7-1-19 for $600K with the full 7.9 acres.
We have been given to know that there was a lot of
upgrading/up-dating and outright repair that was needed, and the sale
price apparently reflects both that and the desire for a speedy
sale by the previous owner. Investigating the details of creating building lots
would have slowed that up.
The property
appears on Redfin now (9-23)
with an estimated value of $979K including all 7.79 acres
https://www.redfin.com/PA/Rydal/1209-Rydal-Rd-19046/home/38247017
LOT 2
will have 2 Buildings on what is now 65.4 acres
per page 40 of the application
Building 1 has
67 units with 71 beds
( in another place it says 74
units will 11 that are Memory Care)
Building 2 has
46 units with 55 beds - fully equipped and classified as a Life
Care Facility ( Continuing Care ) use
even though they are called Independent Living Units
So, there will be 3 buildings on the 7.79 acres
....... and over 120
beds
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FLOOD PLAIN CONCERNS
))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
THE
STEEP SLOPE CONSERVATION
DISTRICT
There is so much in the Steep Slope Ordinance that applies -
see the whole ordinance here with
highlights
STEEP SLOPE ISSUES
1) Montco
Property Map -(Is it a duck?) Find
the target area by thinking of it as a duck with a bill
2
Find the "duck" Then see: Location Of the Buildings on p49 of Application
3) Find the duck -- Steep
Slopes from page 50 of Application
Black is
over 25% - Prohibitive slope
Grey is 15%
to 25% - Precautionary Slope
see the whole Steep Slope
ordinance for the explanation of these
And here is the whole Application where the above
maps are found :
https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/abingtonpa/cc1e1d79-9802-11ed-96ab-0050569183fa-ca2b9c28-b9cf-4f17-b573-dd2752d4679e-1692189359.pdf
5) County Map showing contiguous residential properties
that will be so affected
6)
Another map: a Steep Slope Township Map in
pinks and fuscias can be found on page 19
at this link . This map differed greatly from the
county map and from the applicant's surveyor - which are
similar
to one another
https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/abingtonpa/d2858411-07e7-11eb-80dd-0050569183fa-ca2b9c28-b9cf-4f17-b573-dd2752d4679e-1607360004.pdf
)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
HOW DID ALL THIS HAPPEN ? Yes, it is
in an R1 neighborhood. But as noted above, in 2017-while Steve Kline was their
Commissioner of this very Ward, he was also leading the Zoning Rewrites ---
and he added this institutional use into his own constituents
neighborhood without telling them, In
the end, he personally was making decisions that he was told
were going to affect people in exactly this way, He
was asked to hold summary sessions on the vast changes he was
making. His constituents and others throughout the
Township were instead clueless that these sessions were
even going on, let alone what the changes were. He was ASKED to
make sure they knew. Instead, he made pretty sure no one knew.
Kline now sits on
our Township Zoning Hearing Board (VP at the time of this
writing), is also Chair of the Montgomery County
Planning Commission which is responsible for helping to
craft, enabling and approving changes just like this county-wide
on most all zoning matters. Perhaps most
notably, Kline was the project
manager at the infamous Colonade (now rebranded as 100 York Apartments) where
the very lives and /or health of hundreds of families are
still at risk
today because of a failure to follow codes and because of the
way the conditions there were left at that property.
Approvals of use and occupancy certifications were
followed by a Whistleblower lawsuit naming Kline and the
Township, yet new families were allowed to occupy units that
continued to have the same problems that existed long before Kline's
supposed "renovations" to fix them. Water leaks,
electrical and other failures throughout the building,
impact hundreds of families today, just as they did 10 years
ago..... Kline was, effectively the "boss" of the zoning
and code officials. Do you thing he should be on the Zoning
hearing Board?
Now many Rydal
familes are being directly impacted by Klines failure to inform
his constiuents of the changes to the R1 zoning,
or to protect them on his own, since he was to have been working
in their interests. If they knew, they could have asked to have
that removed. The same
residents having to now consider the cost of hiring lawyers, the cost of their time
fighting to protect the value of their homes, the same residents
having the quality of their lives reduced, might not be thrilled to learn that they also
have already paid dearly for not just the expensive
Whistleblower suit that Kline's actions triggered, but for many other Kline
inspired costs such as the insanely costly Grand
Jury inquiry, that produced recommended penalties for
Kline and for Michael Clarke, our current Solicitor... but which
advice
was fully ignored by the Commissioners, despite us all
having footed the enormous bill. Kline maintains a positions of authority
both in the
Township and at the County, where undoubtedly more lives will be
continually affected and Michael Clarke impacts lives every day as
Solicitor, including the lives of those at 100 York, where
little has been done to see that codes are adhered to, and where
changes to the codes, that could have been immensely helpful,
were practically nil. The Inquirer also did a disturbing
investigation that you should read about what appears to
be "Pay to Play" politics and Clarke's involvement there. Tom Hecker,
as president of the Board presides over all of this - and
his addition was, frighteningly, to openly deceive his own residents and allow improper
procedures in scheduling the 1209 Rydal Rd Hearing
that would have served to "sneak through" a fast approval for
the Conditional Use.
These "surprizes" to residents, who have to put their
lives on hold to get up to speed and fight them, create a constant crisis
in one place after another. Codes that arent enforced Township
wide that include a deteriorated mold-filled building being sold
as a "Luxury Apartment" at 100 York, the BET monstrosity
intitially proposed on the YMCA property, 365 apartments
proposed by PRIET on Bloomingdale's parking lot, a Comprehensive
Plan based on false figures and deceit of the residents, and
hundreds of other problems day in and day out are the result of
a Township putting a priority on the financial gain of a few -
over the quality of life for the people they serve... and
who pay their salaries. We cannot leave life and death decisions, or decisions
about the quality of our lives in the hands of those who have already
shown that they cannot be trusted.
Again, to focus, the "Institutional Use" employed here was inserted, under
Kline's, Hecker's and Clarke's watch, into every residential
district in Abington, without the knowledge of the people
impacted.
There are plenty of places for such institutions. We
have areas zoned for just that.
This should
be removed from the ordinance, before the next residential
assault.
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ERRORS? Please check all details for accuracy
before relying on them .
If there
are discrepancies
please let us know
so we can correct anything that needs correcting.
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CHRONOLOGICALLY
.... WHAT
A MESS -
Their first attempt was to put in
lots and lots of Townhouses .
April 2017-
Steve Kline leads the Zoning
Rewrite Committee - which adds the institutional use to
the R1 Zoning. He is, concurrently, the Commissioner of Ward 1.
Although Kline has been implored to let the residents of each
Ward learn what is being added to the Zoning, his own
constituents are not notified about the addition of the
institutional use until June of 2023, when a proposal for
2 Life Care facilities is made....
June 2019
- Chaverim Realty Partners, LLC is born -
July 1, 2019 Chaverim purchases
the property in the picture above with 5-6 additional
buildable lots for $600,000 total. We have learned that there
was a great deal of maintenance needed... including
an expensive roof over 25 years old, updating throughout,
windows, trees that needed removal, etc - perhaps
even up to $1M in all. With several likely building lots that
could go for upwards of $100K and possibly up to $200K or more
each - depending on cost to install utilities, etc - the
actual worth of the property would seem to be
substantially higher - though, in wanting to sell sooner rather
than later, the family may not have wanted to pursue anything
with such complications ... or maybe the specific
potential of the lots may not have been made known to them. We
don't know. The tax (that had been as high as $34K
per year) show an 18% reduction soon after the sale.
August 2021 - The new owner's
Contractor MB Crafters, meets with residents proposing (56
units ?) - A couple of Singles some stacked Townshouses and
duplexes or quads - and tells them that they were told by the
Township that this would be approved.
The unhappy residents are told to circulate petitions,
to petition the people who told them to circulate the petitions
to deny it.
May 22- 2023 - Chaverim Realty
Partners, LLC is back and requested a Life Care Facility
and a Nursing Home
. Note that the announcement does not even so much as give
the number of units - you have to make an appointment to get
that info....
Notice is hereby given that the Board
of Commissioners of Abington Township, on Thursday, June 8,
2023, at 7:30 p.m. at the Abington Township Building, will hold
a public hearing and take action on the following
matter:Applicant: Chaverim Realty Partners, LLC
Property: For
the property located at 1209 Rydal Road, Abington, Montgomery
County, Pennsylvania and is identified as Montgomery County Tax
Parcel No. 30-00-61132-00-2This is an application requesting
Conditional Use approval pursuant to Section 301 of the Abington
Township Zoning Ordinance to permit Use E-10: Life Care Facility
(Continuing Care) and Use E-12: Nursing Home in the R-1
Low-Density Residential Zoning District. A
copy of the application is on file with the Office of the
Township Manager and may be reviewed by appointment only between
the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Please contact the Township at tcastorina@abingtonPA.gov or
(267) 536-1003 to schedule an appointment. Additional
information regarding access to the public meeting is available
on the Township’s website at abingtonpa.gov. Comments or
questions are encouraged to be submitted in advance of the
meeting to tcastorina@abingtonPA.gov.
If a member of the public would like to participate but requires
assistance or accommodation, please contact the Township at tcastorina@abingtonPA.gov or
(267) 536-1003 prior to 10:00 a.m. on June 8, 2023.
-------------------------------
There is almost a purposeful attempt here at duping the public -
requiring them to individually make a private appointment to
come in and see the documents, one by one rather than providing
an information session, or even providing the number of
units or telling them when and where they can receive the entire document in digital form, so it can be
easily reviewed and easily shared.
Any application for
development should be available to the public the
minute it is accepted as an official document by the Township,
and no Commissioner should fail to alert their constituents at
the earliest opportunity. The Commissioner is always notified
when development in their Ward is proposed.
June 2023 - The subdivision acreage has been
rearranged - taking some acres from the larger plot to add to
the smaller one and a few other changes made per recommendation
by Engineer (?). They needed 5 acres to have the
Institutional Use
So the house is now on 1.6 acreas
and more than 5 acres is left for the 2 institutional uses .
June 2, 2023 - Ward 1
Commissioner Tom Hecker and Ward 11 Commissioner John
Spiegelmand meet in a Penn State Parking lot - rather than in
the Township building board room, where the application could be
shown and reviewed. Residents are given just a page or 2 of the
application to see - and a limited # of residents are in
attendance - and this is just days before the Hearing.
Today
by 5:30 the agenda packet was posted (a full day late) - the
documents are found on page 7 to page 132 here :
The application is at p7 to p 132 here :
https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/abingtonpa/cc1b20e0-9802-11ed-96ab-0050569183fa-ca2b9c28-b9cf-4f17-b573-dd2752d4679e-1689773588.pdf
June 3, 2023 The project was withdrawn
from the June 8, 2023 Hearing that was scheduled ....
since it had never gone to the Planning Commission as
required which was brought to everyone's attention .
See Zoning code p 120-122 to see that it SHALL go to the
Planning Commission.
Before a hearing can be set - the item should have / would
have received review and scrutiny by 1) the Zoning Officer
(Allison Lee ) 2) the Solicitor (Michael Clarke) 3)
the Engineer ( Pennoni ... Allison Lee again? ) 4)
Our Township Planner ( Michael Narcowicz) 5) the
Montgomery County Planning Commission 6) the Manager (
Richard Manfredi) and 7) the Ward Commissioner (Tom
Hecker) .
How could it be that NONE of them saw to it that a
Planning Commission Review and report was scheduled and received
- none noticed that no proper public presentation had been
given. Tom Hecker knew his constituents had none of
what they needed . They failed not just the adherance to the
laws and codes that they all know well and work with every day -
but also they failed at a very simple moral obligation to
see that the residents were properly informed and had what
they needed.......
July 2023 - it was put on the July
25, 2023 Planning Commission schedule, supposedly to be
followed by an August 8, 2023 Hearing.
The Subject
Property is a 7 .316 acre parcel with frontage on Rydal Road and
Woodland Road that is improved with an existing single-family
dwelling. The Applicant proposes to subdivide the Subject
Property into two parcels. Lot 1 will consist of 1.272 acres and
contain the existing single-family dwelling. Lot 2 will consist
of 6.281 acres and the Applicant proposes to develop a senior
care facility consisting of a 74 unit/82 bed Assisted
Living/Memory Care facility contained in Building One and a 46
unit Independent Living facility in Building Two (the "Senior
Care Facility"). Since the first submission, the Applicant has
revised the subdivision lot boundary to comply with the
dimensional regulations of the zoning district in which the site
is located per the zoning ordinance. Under the current
resubmission, with the revised lot boundary, the Applicant is
now proposing to subdivide the above referenced 7.316-acre
property into two (2) parcels as follows: • Lot 1 – will consist
of 1.622 acres which contains the existing single-family
detached dwelling to remain; and, • Lot 2 – will consist of the
remaining 5.696 acres of vacant land which is proposed to be
developed for two (2) new senior care facilities totaling 120
units.
July 2023 -
CANCELLED & WITHDRAWN they realized before July 25th that
their new schedule would not, of course, allow the Planning
Commission its proper time to prepare a report and for
revisions to be made if any conditions were imposed by the
Planning Commission, and then of course the
application with any required revisions would have to be
approved by the Board for advertisement. So .... it
was withdrawn completely before July 25, 2023 . They will be
back, we understand, with a completely new application.
Aug 18, 2023 - A new application
is now available for the Planning Commission Meeting on 8-22-23 .
Supposedly the deadline to take action is Oct 31, 2023 .
That can be extended if the developer agrees. If he doesn't
agree, the Township can turn the project down. So the deadline
is not absolute. However, if the Township doesn't get an
extension or turn it down, it can be "deemed approved"
Aug 22, 2023 -
CANCELLED Planning Commission Review.
This
was requested by the developer... and should , one would think, have pushed
the required decision date from Oct 31, 2023 out another
month--- but it appears that the extension of time was not
requested by or received by the Commissioners. Here's where you can find the
documents ( the application itself) from this meeting.
https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/abingtonpa/cc1e1d79-9802-11ed-96ab-0050569183fa-ca2b9c28-b9cf-4f17-b573-dd2752d4679e-1692189359.pdf
Sept 26, 2023 The Planning Commission Review.
The Planning commision voted to recommend to the Commissioners
to deny the application
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MISC DETAILS OUT OF
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
5-22-23
LOOK WHAT POPPED UP AGAIN WITH A BRAND NEW PLAN for 6-8-23
No documents were posted for this project.
June 8, 2023 7:30 pm Applicant: Chaverim
Realty Partners, LLC
For 1209
Rydal Road-- Tax Parcel No. 30-00-61132-00-2
Requesting Conditional Use approval pursuant to Section 301 of
the Abington Township Zoning Ordinance to permit :
Use E-10: Life Care Facility (Continuing Care) and
Use E-12: Nursing Home in the R-1 Low-Density Residential Zoning
District.
https://www.abingtonpa.gov/Home/Components/News/News/6349/16
Chaverim Realty
Partners LLC
4122 Haverford Ave
Suite 11 Phila Pa
19104
The Registered Agent was Active Realty
1751 Easton Road Willow Grove PA 19090
David Mermelstein Pres,
Solomon Mermelstein
Sec & Treas
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
So yes – 1209 Rydal Rd has the use by right to put
in Institutional uses – see page 350 – go down the
R1 column.
There are 3 pages of uses.
But it does NOT have the use by
right to violate the Steep Slope overlay.
ABINGTON TOWNSHIP ZONING
ORDINANCE
- passed 4-17
The
maps that show what is zoned how,
are on page 352 and 353
(353 shows each parcel & is the most useful)
The
Use Matrix charts (burgundy-ish) that show you
what can be done in each kind of zoning
are at pages 347 to
351
(using the counter on the actual page – not the pdf counter at
the top of the page )
http://www.abington.org/home/showdocument?id=6053
Up in the text of the ordinance is where you learn about
buffers, setbacks, driveways, greenspace requirements, etc –
search Life Care Facility
etc…
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THE CONDITIONAL USE
guidelines are found here :
https://www.delcocd.org/DevGuide.pdf
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If there are any variances requested – they also have very
stringent rules that the TOWNSHIP HAS NOT BEEN ADHEREING TO. See
page 4 of the same guide as the Conditional Uses….
We won’t even know if
they do have until they post the documents tomorrow .
Make
sure Tom Hecker gets them posted EARLY in the day
so you can ask questions before the weekend
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WHAT USED TO BE :
Here is the very clear process distributed
after the 1st meeting,
before Mr Manfredi came and before he and Tom Hecker,
as Chair of the Board of Commissioners,
obliterated your rights
There is no time it could have been approved on the same
night it was first presented. Until this new administration….
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HOW MANFREDI TRIED TO RECREATE
the laws and codes – which seems to indicate if it is
Conditional Use – it must go to the Zoning Hearing Board – but
that conflicts with the Municipalities Planning Code and with
our own Subdivision and Land Development section of our Zoning
Code --- see the Citizens Guide to Land Development in
Pennsylvania – which I would think would be more reliable than
Abington’s chart created by Mr Manfredi & co.
https://www.abingtonpa.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/13751/638206110131170000
This link above has a better view than the below chart.
The
chart is illegal. For instance, Conditional Uses do not go to
the Zoning Hearing Board .....
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6-23 --HOW WAS IT THAT NO ONE RECOGNIZED
NO PUBLIC
REVIEW HAD BEEN HAD ?
On June 2nd, 2023 Tom Hecker met with
some of the concerned neighbors in a Penn State Parking lot.
To be clear - the June
8th, at 7:30 pm was not
billed as an "informational meeting".
They said
specifically “
Notice is hereby given that the Board of Commissioners of
Abington Township, on Thursday, June 8, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. at
the Abington Township Building, will hold a public hearing
and take action on the matter.
But before a hearing can be set - the
item should have / would have received review and scrutiny by 1)
the Zoning Officer (Allison Lee ) 2) the Solicitor
(Michael Clarke) 3) the Engineer ( Pennoni ... Allison Lee
again? ) 4) Our Township Planner ( Michael
Narcowicz) 5) the Montgomery County Planning Commission
6) the Manager ( Richard Manfredi) and 7) the Ward
Commissioner (Tom Hecker) .
How could it be that NONE of
them saw to a proper public presentation, the adherance to the
laws that they all know well and a very simple moral obligation
to see that the adjoining residents were properly informed and
had what they needed?
Instead, Tom Hecker and John
Spiegelman met them in a Penn State Parking lot - Tom passed out
a single page of the 125 + page application to some and a couple
of pages of that application to a few others and when asked if
it didn't have to go to the Planning Commission first, he said
"that's for Land Development" . He said there are no picures or
drawings here ( referring to the papers he was passing out .
But he knew they were required to post the full documents
by June 1st for a June 8th meeting.
He told them, since he
was a judge, he could not act for them at the hearing. He
told them to sign up as parties tot he proceedings and do the
best they could. He did not tell them that hte Planning
Commission, had they reviewed it first , could even have taken a
position at the meeting on behalf of the Township...... In
other words, conceivebably they could have advocated for the
residents position.... if the Township agreed. But without
a Planning Commission meeting first- that would not happen.
This
is, of course , unheard of. No development EVER should be “presented to the
public” for the first time on the same day it is able to be
fully approved.
Comr Hecker
has so
severely “amended “ your meeting and public comment rules,
and so many times, in his
time as President of the Board of Commissioners in Abington that
few have any idea what the rules are or where to find them.
And again and again they are violating the few rules that are
left.
Before Tom Hecker and Richard Manfredi began tampering with the
Committee and public meeting process, there was
:
1)
First a Code Enforcement and Land Development
Committee
that
reviewed a project. It was filmed and aired
2) From there it
was usually sent to
the Planning Commission to work out specific details – It
was filmed and aired if it was a big project that residents were
concerned about, like this one . Residents were allowed
Questions and answers and were allowed to return to the
microphone if they just learned something new or to
make final comment.
3) Then it
came back
to the
Code & Land Development
Committee
for that Committee's review of any changes the Planning
Commission made - so the final version with corrections
could be seen and to recommend it to the Board of Commissioners
to advertise for a Hearing.
4) The full
Board voted to advertize it
5) The
Hearing was held . This process gave ample time forall to learn
what was happening, to research, to network with one another and
to get a lawyer if needed.
Comr Hecker
and Manager Richard Manfredi have so curtailed that
process that it is a giant GIFT to the developers, who are
whizzing large projects through with flaws and without
proper review. Hecker and Manfredit completely removed the all
4 Committees - where your speaking rights were very robust and
where the meetings were filmed and aired.
The document are required to
be posted by the Friday before a meeting, but Mr Manfredi is famous
for failing to post as required. If he does post on Friday, he
posts at the very end
of the day, when any questions can’t get answered til Monday
--- so you lose the entire weekend before the meeting to work on
it.
When an item FIRST comes to the Township, it is a public
document and as such should be posted witht he link distributed.
That also is not happening - so residents are losing valuable
time .
It is important to get the process straight ----
lest you become the victim next.
_____________________________
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historical overview --- prior efforts to develop
PHASE ONE
OF CHAVERIM rEALTY PARTNERS,
llc adventure
NEIGHBORS CIRCULATED A PETITION
This is about a
proposal to take a 7.79 + acre lot - at least partially on a
slope, that could at most support 7 single family homes under
the current R 1 zoning, and to ask the Commissioners to
violate the rights and wishes of the residents and allow this
developer to change the zoning in order to build
either 18 Townhouse units and 16 Duplex units (34 units total)
where only 7 should currently be .... or maybe a mix of
Townhouse condo's, Duplex condos and single family homes
for even more than 34 units ( again, where only 6 more
single family homes should be, if current laws
codes were upheld. )
This will
increase the bottom line of the
developer and undoubtedly detract from the value of the
beautiful homes that are currently there.
The developer's
wealth would come at the expense of the citizens' rights to have
their zoning protected.
Sign the petition
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdlcOkgpYWQ6epoQB-ChQcXnzDyVWmf5vzCL76H65BG60lZxw/viewform
or Email
lel@abingtoncitizens.com to be connected in
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1209
RYDAL ROAD
View the Property here
https://www.redfin.com/PA/Rydal/1209-Rydal-Rd-19046/home/38247017
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VALUE: It is off the market now.
Before Chaverim bought it, it was
listed at well over $1M at one point
From Zillow 10-21: Zillow estimates this
5 bd 6.5 bth
4947 sf home at
$1,403,600
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1209-Rydal-Rd-Rydal-PA-19046/9905064_zpid/
So why did it sell at $600K? Yes, it needs work - but THAT much?
Almost a million?
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VALUE: The assesssed
value is $680,050 and the Common Level Multiplier is 2.24
indicating a potential calculation of market value
as $1.52 M So why did it sell at $600K?
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6-5-21 OWNER CHAVERIM CORPORATE PRESENCE IS BORN June 5 ,
2019
Chaverim Realty
Partners LLC
4122 Haverford Ave
Suite 11 Phila Pa
19104
The Registered Agent was Active Realty
1751 Easton Road Willow Grove PA 19090 Montgomery
David Mermelstein Pres,
Solomon Mermelstein
Sec & Treas
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6-27-19
CHAVERIM PURCHASES THE PLOT June
27, 2019 for $600,000 per Montco
Property Records
Sale Date 27-JUN-19
Sale Price
$600,000 Tax Stamps
6000 Deed Book
and Page 6143-02991
Grantor
STEINBERG MARY ELLEN
Grantee
CHAVERIM REALTY PARTNERS LLC
Date Recorded 10-JUL-19
Sale Date
27-JUN-19
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the
buidling contractor MB Crafters Moshe Barazani
The business is registered on Ambler Rd in Abington on at
least one report - but the principal Moshe Barazani,
coincidentally ives just a few blocks away from Commissioner
Hecker. They are listed with 2 employees and annual revenue just
over $300K . There is not date on that report - but it came up
on D&B in mid October 2021
https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.m_b_crafters_of_pa_inc.fce627345a13b542bfa2724667ce85ff.html
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8-9-21 CHAVERIM'S
BUILDING CONTRACTOR MB CONTRACTORS MEETS WITH RESIDENTS Aug 9, 2021
Craig Lerch ( realtor involved in the sale) introduces MB
Crafters , the building contractor .
They offer their proposal for feedback. There is some
confusion over the exact realtionships - for instance , whether
MB Crafters is just the Builder/Contractor -or partner . but we
are trying to clear that up. Chaverim Partners is the only
entity listed in the Montgomery County property records as
the owner.
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TOWNSHIP ENCOURAGEMENT TO VIOLATE ZONING ? We are also
seeking to clear up who it was in the Township that encouraged
denser development be offered . Some stories have
the Commissioner saying that is not true - others have him
syaing that he will find out who it was . SThere may have
been a zoom call with the Township where the deeper
density was encouraged. All that is yet to be sorted out. Please let
me know if you have learned more about this, so we can keep
this page as accurate as possible.
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A SECTION FROM THE PLANS as presented 8-9-21
16 duplexes on the left . 18 Townhomes on the right. 50
homes altogether on 7 acres . 51 counting the main house.
Totally out of sync with this beautiful, single family home
neighborhood.
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PART OF THE
"TOD CHART" AS PRESENTED 8-9-21
TOD stands for Transit Oriented Development - and generally there
are monies available to builders to build densely around Transit hubs
- like the Rydal Train station. From our pockets to theirs - to
do things we don't want done.
Yes - the TOD funds come from
taxes you pay. Or, as they would have you believe, from
the tooth fairy.
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THE
PROPOSED HOUSING INFO below is from the bottom of the
chart shown above - It shows 4 single family homes, 9 townhouses and
16 stacked townhouse duplexes... but SOME residents came away with
the sense that 18 Townhouses and 16 Duplexes were what was in
the plan. Others thought thtere was a mix like this. Some
understood all to be condos. So as of this 10-21 writing,
confusion reigns.
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The Plot in relation to its neighbors
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The plot in relation to the train station - Where is the
walkable area? Who will pay for the sidewalks ? Who will
maintain them ? The intersection at Valley and Susquehann is
crazy busy at rush hour . Is it smart to drive pedestrian
traffic there . It is NOT for the benefit of the current
residents who voted these legislators in to oversee their
interests. Any benefit will go to the developer and to new
tenants or owners of these residences .... at the expense of the
others already there.
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UNDERSTANDING SPOT
ZONING
and
your disappearing zoning rights. You cannot simply request to
have your own property improved for your benefit alone by
changing the zoning for yourself, and not for others that have
the same kind of properties. So when developers add things into
our Zoning Code to benefit themselves, often other properties
get rights that the residents near the other properties never
even learn about and never have a say in - even though the law
intends that they should. Our Township famously does not reveal
these things or explain them to the residents impacted.
### When the York Rd Wawa at the top of the Fairway got their
massive benefits ( the equivalent of 23 variances or waivers), other
properties were affected and would now ALSO be allowed to have a
gas station and 24 hour operation. Contiguous neighbors
to these other properties, however,
were not alerted.
### When the former YMCA property got their
new rights as a gigantic gift from the Commissioners, significant changes to other properties
occurred. The impact of that was never explored.
### Penn State just held many meetings about changes they
soon hope to have, without notifying the neighbors near other
properties that may get the same uses by right. Manor
College will also change and those neighbors were never given
any proper explanation.
The same is likely to happen here. Spot
Zoning, on it's face, is improper and illegal - but the
laws and codes are being twisted or ignored in unethical ways
that leave residents helpless unless they want to dip into their
own pockets and try to sue either a wealthy developer or a
Township that has immunity. Recent case law twisted the intents
even further by suggesting if the Commissioners WANT that kind
of zoning - if it is in theri "vision" then it is not spot
zoning.
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Now - as of 10-14-21 we have another
threat to our zoning . The Township revealed at the
Committee of the Whole on 10-14-21 that they are planning to
unveil an even further erosion of your zoning rights. They want
to give themselves the right to "amend " the zoning ordinance
virtually at
will. That means you would no longer have any strong
zoning protections for your property at all. They tried to sneak this into a paragraph some years
ago that would have affected most of the York Rd corridor
. The simple phrase was discovered and there was an outcry
to remove it . Now they put the assault on your zoning
rights into an agenda item that was billed as Public Comment
changes --- and it would affect the entire Township.
More to come on this matter.
Whether our laws and codes work
properly or don't is in the hands of your legislators (even
though they falsely may tell you it is not ) . Do
not allow them to continue passing legislation that removes your
rights and puts everything in their hands.
Hold them accountable by
learning what they are doing - but protecting your public
comment rights so you can inform others - and by learning how
your system of elections works, so you can find new candidates
to replace those that are "hard of hearing".
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HERE IS YOUR ZONING CODE - near
the very end are the
uses that are already allowed in the R1 districtand the zoning
maps
http://www.abington.org/home/showdocument?id=6053
Remember : whatever they put in it will apply to all other
properties that meet the same specs Township-wide.
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On 10-19-21
there was a Comprehensive Plan meeting with a focus this
session on Future Land Use .
The Land use map tell the whole
story. The blue dotted lines show the 1/2 mi TOD's (
Transit Oriented Districts) - ( see the 1/2 mile around the Rydal Station)
where dense development generally is encouraged . The TOD
around Rydal Station includes 1209 Rydal Rd --- apparently
they didn't want to wait for public input and the hearing and
the plan to be officially passed. The dense development
already IS "encouraged" without the input of the
public. But the gray circles are 1/2 mi "Mixed Residential
Overlay" areas. I would interpret Mixed Use residential to
be exactly what was proposed here --- but I am unsure how they
are differentiaing their TOD overlay from the "Mixed Use
Residential Overlay". Does the TOD allow mixed use including
commercial as TODs often do ?
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IS THIS IN THE INTEREST OF THE
HEALTH, SAFETY OR WELFARE OF THE RESIDENTS THESE COMMISSIONERS
ARE SERVING ? No. Really, it is not. Despite that it is the
Commissioners' duty
to protect our welfare, this is contrary to that. Multiple projects are,
at this very moment,
being pushed through with no proper financial analysis
nor
any analysis whatsoever of any kind that
shows a benefit to the
current residents
of the Township or shows
the full extent of the negative impacts. Some of these impacts may even be very costly,
may devalue our homes, crowd our schools, raise our taxes, keep us sitting
in time-wasting, pollution-creating traffic and
may require expansion of major facilities. Not to mention
changing the very character of our beautiful residential
neighborhoods, or showing any recognition that a
great majority of residents again and again have vocalized that
they do not want to be "urbanized".
And you should
be sure to factor in that your Commissioner is
not the only one who votes on this issue . You can find
all the Commissioners
here . Please
let them hear from you. And please send their responses here so
that others
can know what they are
saying about all of this.
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Please join those holding discussions, lending their voices and
taking action.
Email
lel@abingtoncitizens.com to be connected in .
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__________
We
welcome your comments
to share either anonymously or with your name attached with
your fellow Abington residents. Send any
updated
information, comments or questions to:
lel@abingtoncitizens.com
ERRORS? Please check all details for accuracy
before relying on them .
If there
are discrepancies
please let us know
so we can correct anything that needs correcting.
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