Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 157, No. 6
Wednesday, February 8, 2023
$1.50
Board adopts revised Kennett Township zoning code and map By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer By a unanimous 3-0 vote, the Kennett Township Board of Supervisors adopted the township’s revised township zoning code and map, which was presented at its Feb. 1 meeting. The upgraded codes and map has been re-developed over the past five years
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Digital Equity Coalition meeting goals for digital literacy, access...6A
by the Chester County Planning Commission, the Kennett Township Planning Commission, township supervisors, consultants and members of the township’s zoning update task force. It was discussed in a public hearing presented by Diane Hicks, the township’s zoning and codes officer, and Jeannine Speirs, senior community planner for the
Chester County Planning Commission. “The current zoning code was last updated 15 years ago,” Hicks told the board. “The task force was charged with cleaning up internal inconsistencies, examining incompatibilities with other codes, folding in past amendments and providing new and changing uses related to the county’s comprehensive plan policy.”
Hicks said that the updated map shows how the township is divided into zoning districts such as residential, commercial, industrial, institutional and agricultural, and two new districts designated as cultural conservation. It also includes borders for each district, zoning rules and land uses for each district, land uses, yard and setback provisions, and a series of
Privately held 505-acre Granogue to be preserved
Longwood Gardens to acquire du Pont estate
procedures for administering the zoning ordinance. “The update is in line with the [county’s] comprehensive plan, in that it continues to promote and preserve our agricultural, historic, natural and open space [districts],” Hicks added. “The update also encourages the support of our tax base – ratables for industrial and commercial uses -- which help to off-
set residential fees, that is based on the township’s economic development study.” Major components that factored into the updated zoning code involved determining uses, definitions and standards for and of cultural conservation districts, limited industrial and specialized agriculture, preservation and adaptive reuse of historic Continued on Page 4A
FROM OUR LENS Headed to The Point
acknowledge the area’s rich history, applaud the preservation of its legacy For those residents of and believe in the retenChester County and near- tion of its wide open spaces, by Delaware who proudly Continued on Page 3A By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
Chester County residents win photography awards for nature shots...1B
Photo by Jie Deng
Longwood Gardens and The Conservation Fund have entered into an agreement with Granogue Reserve, LTD., LLC to acquire the 505-acre property known as the Granogue Estate in the Chateau region of northern Delaware.
Kennett High School senior Connor Tuk signed a letter of intent on Feb. 1 to attend the United States Military Academy this fall, where he will play football for the West Point Cadets. Pictured with Connor, from left to right, are Kennett’s head football coach Lance Frazier; Connor’s father, Bryan; and Kennett High School principal Lorenzo DeAngelis. Connor was one of two Blue Demons recruited by Division I schools to play football. For a complete story, see Page 1B.
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Penn Township makes preparations for constructing emergency operations center
© 2007 The Chester County Press
By Marcella Peyre-Ferry Staff Writer Penn Township is moving forward on a plan to merge deeds on the lot at 963 W. Baltimore Pike with the adjoining township-owned property. This will legally create a larger lot for the construction of a new building that will permanently house Medic 94 and provide space for an emergency operations center at the corner of West Baltimore Pike and Jenners Pond Road.
The facility will be constructed using $850,0000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds distributed through a county grant process. Designated for this purpose a requirement of the funding is that this money must be spent by June 2024. The township has received over $4.8 million in a variety of grants for many projects including transportation projects, infrastructure improvements, updating the
township comprehensive plan and construction and improvements at the township sports park. The board gave approval to seek a Chester County Open Space Grant of up to $250,000 for playing fields in phase three of the development of the sports park. This county grant would require the township to provide a matching amount of funding for the project. The township also has money from the two payments of ARPA funds
distributed to all municipalities in 2021 and 2022. At this point, there are not finalized plans on how that money will be used. The board voted to direct the Avon Grove School District to proceed with the process to dedicate a narrow strip of property on the west side of Sunnyside Road to the township. The land is at a section where the road was widened as a part of the construction of the new high school campus. With the dedication of this strip,
the entire width of the road will be covered. The board has not taken any position on Vineyard Road or Waltman Way. The board also heard neighbors’ complaints about trash being tossed from cars along Waltman Way and other streets around the new high school. The board is aware of the problem and encourages residents to contact the school principal with their concerns so that school’s custodial staff can address the cleanup.
Oxford Borough honored with statewide Beautification Award By Betsy Brewer Brantner Contributing Writer State Sen. Carolyn Comitta recently presented Oxford Borough officials with the Community Pride Award from Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. Comitta nominated the borough for the honor for creating a native plant garden adjacent to its new parking garage and its overall community beautification and greening efforts.
“As a former mayor, I know just how important downtown beautification can be in supporting revitalization,” Comitta said. “It drives business and sales, encourages tourism, enhances community engagement, promotes private investment, benefits the environment, and adds personality, highlighting the character of your community. I want to thank all of the staff and volunteers who take pride in their hometowns and are working to keep Oxford and
Pennsylvania beautiful.” The Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Community Pride Award recognizes outstanding environmental stewardship by an individual, school, community organization, or civic group that makes a commitment to litter control, recycling, or general beautification. Oxford Borough Council Continued on Page 2A Courtesy photo
Pictured (from left to right) are Oxford Area High School head football coach Mike Means, Oxford Borough Council president Kathryn Cloyd, State Sen. Carolyn Comitta, Oxford Mainstreet Inc. Executive Director Brian Dix, and Carrie Conwell, the Keep Chester County Beautiful coordinator and a senior environmental planner with the Chester County Planning Commission.