Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 152, No. 10
INSIDE
Don't forget to set your clocks ahead one hour on March 11!
60 Cents
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Officials: Parking garage project offers many benefits
AVON GROVE SCHOOLS at a glance Avon Grove High School
Avon Grove Intermediate School
Built: 1957 Renovations: 1970, 1997 and 2010 Addition: 2009 Portable classrooms (2017-18): 12
Built: 2002 Renovations: None Additions: None Portable classrooms (2017-18): None
Fred S. Engle Middle School
Penn London Elementary
By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer
Built: 1961 Built: 1992 According to Brian Renovations: 1970, 1997, and 2010 Renovations: None Wenzka, the execuAddition: 2009 Additions: 2002 tive director of Oxford Portable classrooms (2017-18): 8 Portable classrooms (2017-18): 5 The next phase of the Mainstreet, Inc. (OMI), revitalization of Oxford the parking garage will be Borough’s business district vital to attracting developwill include maximizing ers to Oxford in the future, the use of the buildings in but that is only one benthe downtown―increasing efit of what is arguably the the number of professionals most important economic who have offices and attract- development project in the ing some larger, anchor borough’s history. businesses that can bring Already, even before it is more visitors to the shops built, the parking garage is and restaurants in Oxford. helping to encourage develBy Steven Hoffman engineer with T and M Lieberman emphasized The parking garage, which opers to make investments Staff Writer Associates, led the presentathat it is okay for the existis planned to be built on a in the downtown. tion about the high school ing school buildings, which parking lot between Second Katie Kolb owns The Avon Grove School campus site, and the landwere originally constructStreet and Third Street, is Reimagined Property Group District is in the process of use issues related to the four ed in the late-1950s and seen as a catalyst for this with her husband, Tom developing a plan to meet different building options early-1960s, to not be in Continued on Page 4A economic development. its longterm facilities needs, that are under consideration. compliance with the presNext preliminary use hearing on March 26 specifically addressing the Lieberman outlined a ent-day regulations. It just aging and overcrowded high number of areas where the means that the site couldn’t school and middle school site has zoning non-con- be developed today in the buildings. On Feb. 27, the formities based on current same way that it was develdistrict’s Committee-of-the- London Grove Township oped back then. However, Whole held the latest in a regulations. He explained he noted that making major series of facilities planning that the parking areas are modifications to the buildmeetings at the Fred S. probably too close to the ings and the site itself could Engle Middle School. road based on the current open the door for the townThe meeting included regulations. The State Road ship to ask that the school a presentation about land- campus is also likely not in district remedy the issues. By Richard L. Gaw “It’s not that you have to During the hearing – which use issues at the State Road compliance with impervious Staff Writer was moderated by township campus, a look at the financ- surface regulations, and the remedy them,” Lieberman solicitor Winifred Sebastian, ing of the building options, high school’s gymnasium said on the non-conformities, Before the New Garden Esq., and attended by Zoning and a discussion about edu- also probably exceeds the “it does provide the township Township Zoning Hearing Hearing Board members – cational designs of schools. township’s maximum height with the opportunity to ask Keith Lieberman, an rules. Board and more than 50 con- radio frequency engineer Continued on Page 3A cerned residents on March 1, Archie Dickson echoed his the year-long and often con- comments of Feb. 8 by saytentious conversation about ing that a test drive analysis a proposed 125-foot-high he performed last December telecommunications tower in the vicinity of the Santoro in Landenberg tacked on property revealed that the three more hours, during a area does not provide relipreliminary conditional use able cell phone coverage. In hearing that yielded both continued testimony to Ecosupporting evidence and Sites attorney Christopher occasional thorniness. H. Schubert of Riley, By John Chambless Andrew Semon, division minutes to get onto the main The hearing served as the Riper, Hollin & Colagreco, Staff Writer president for developer Toll road in the mornings when follow-up to a two-hour Dickson said that the best Brothers, was at the meet- school is in session, and addFeb. 8 preliminary condi- solution would be to conNeighbors of a proposed ing to discuss revisions to ing 46 homes will make the tional hearing concerning strict a cell tower on the 46-home community on the preliminary plan for the traffic even worse. Residents the application of Eco- Santoro property. Route 82 turned out in force community, but the neigh- were upset that the developer Sites, LLC – a Durham, In support of his argu- at the March 5 meeting of bors wanted to talk about planned to allow traffic from N.C.-based supplier of ment, Schubert introduced the East Marlborough Board traffic. the new community through wireless and infrastructure locations that had been of Supervisors, filling the Based on a traffic study by their streets. “Half of the solutions – to construct a introduced as possible meeting room and foyer of a firm hired by Toll Brothers, development will be going telecommunications tower viable alternative sites the township building to a left-turn lane is not planned through Chalfont,” one resion an 11.8-acre farm at for a telecommunications capacity. for the development’s dent said. 1511 Yeatmans Station tower located in Avondale, The community is planned entrance, drawing criticism Another neighbor said, Road, commonly known as Landenberg and Hockessin, for the east side of Route 82, from several neighbors. The “We simply don’t have the Little Stenning Farm, that from 2007 to 2010. south of Route 926, where study was conducted in July, infrastructure to do this. has been owned by Arthur Referring to a three-mile- Willow Green Nurseries now so it did not account for traf- We don’t see any reasonSantoro, a retired Delaware wide pale pink circle drawn operates. The nursery plans fic backups that are common able pedestrian access State trooper, since 1980. If on a coverage map of New to stay on the site in a smaller on Route 82 when students along Route 82, either. It’s it is built, the tower would Garden Township that indi- form, with the homes added are arriving at Unionville a 40-mile-per-hour, heavily be constructed of galvanized cated the results of his cell in a loop configuration. High School and Patton traveled road.” steel, the tower will be of phone analysis of the area, There is a driveway intersec- Middle School. Citing the students who a monopine design, similar Dickson told Schubert that tion planned for Route 82, as A neighbor who lives will be walking to school on to the look a pine tree, or he looked at each of these well as an access road to the across Route 82 from the a proposed sidewalk from perhaps resemble a wind- “candidate” sites, but that south that will funnel traffic proposed community said the new community to the mill-style design. Continued on Page 2A to Chalfont Road. he has to wait five or ten Continued on Page 2A
Series of facilities planning meetings continues in Avon Grove
Education and Summer Camp Guide
Longwood Rotary Club celebrates at Longwood Gardens...1B
Contemplating water in all its moods...1B
INDEX Police Blotter...............6A Opinion........................9A Obituaries...................2B Calendar of Events.....4B
To Subscribe call 610.869.5553
Classifieds..................7B
© 2007 The Chester County Press
Cellular tower hearing yields supporting evidence, cross-examination
Residents pack meeting about Route 82 development
LAX in D.C.: Kennett’s Schaen sisters headed to American University By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer Kristin Schaen, a 2014 Kennett High School graduate and the oldest of the three Schaen sisters, spent her four years of high school committed to both athletics and academics. She was a member of the National Honor Society, was a year-round athlete all four years, and by the time she reached her senior year, she earned Ches-Mont League honors in both field hockey and lacrosse. Her accomplishments both in the classroom and on the playing field led her to Lafayette College, where
she is a tri -captain of the school’s Division I lacrosse team in her senior year. Along the way, however, Kristin managed to squeeze in yet another commitment: Teaching her younger sisters – fraternal twins Jennifer and Morgan – all she knew about the sport of lacrosse. “Kristin never went easy on us, and I hated it at the time,” said Jennifer, who is 20 minutes older than Morgan. “She would be so physical with us, but looking back at it, it made Morgan and I stronger players now.” What was passed down from sister to sisters has paid off: Jennifer and
Morgan, about to begin their senior seasons on the Blue Demons lacrosse team, recently signed letters of intent to attend American University in Washington, D.C. this coming fall, where they will join the school’s lacrosse team as freshmen in the spring of 2019. There is a well-proven adage in sports that claims that in order to improve, an athlete should toss his or her skills into a pool made up of better talent. Nearly from the time Jennifer and Morgan began to play lacrosse in the third grade, their tutelage was dotted with top competition. By Continued on Page 7A
Photo by Heather Schaen
Kennett High School seniors Jennifer and Morgan Schaen will be attending American University in Washington, D.C., this fall, where they will join the school’s lacrosse team as freshmen in the spring of 2019.