East Pikeland Elementary Hearing Continued

On Wednesday night, it was a numbers game.

Phoenixville Area School District knocked off one requested variance, bringing the total now to six, two special exceptions and four variances. Two witnesses testified during the three-hour hearing. A coalition formed to represent nearby residents’ interests may grow from the current 16 members to potentially 24.

The hearing, moved to Kimberton Fire Company to accommodate the large number of interested parties, was steered away from discussion on the need for the school by Wendy McLean, solicitor for the zoning hearing board.

“We’re not going to discuss should the school be somewhere else,” she said before the proceedings began Wednesday.

Likewise, when Michael Gill, the attorney representing the residents’ coalition, attempted to discuss former plans for building Kimberton Elementary in another location, he was shut down.

“The board doesn’t need to rehear the saga of the other school,” McLean said.

During Gill’s cross-examination of David Schrader, architect for the school district, Gill questioned Schrader’s prior claims that the current school is undersized and insufficient to meet the educational needs of students. Gill also brought up the current kindergarten center, as those students would be moved to the East Pikeland Elementary site if the proposed plans go through as they currently stand.

Schrader had to leave early as he was catching a flight, so he’ll likely face more cross-examination from the other attorneys involved in the case at a later date.

The district then called Angelo Capuzzi to testify on the civil engineering on the site. When questioned about the amount of impervious coverage—the district is requesting 40 percent while township code requires a maximum of 20 percent—Capuzzi told the zoning hearing board that technology used in the stormwater management system on the redesigned site will exceed what’s there now.

“When we’re done with the construction of our stormwater management facilities, the amount of runoff leaving the property will be as though this is a meadow,” Capuzzi said.

In his testimony, Capuzzi also covered a special exception and a variance dealing with steep slopes on the site. The slopes, Capuzzi testified, were likely manmade when the ball fields on the site were put in.

The school district is requesting a special exception to construct a parking lot over part of the steep slope area, and is also requesting a steep slopes variance. Under the township’s ordinances, up to 30 percent of slopes can be disturbed. The district is proposing 80 percent disturbance.

The one variance bumped off dealt with setback from the road of the overflow parking area. Capuzzi noted that by moving a few parking spaces elsewhere, the variance wouldn’t be necessary.

In the next part of the hearing, Capuzzi will face cross-examination, and Schrader will likely face another round of cross-examination. The school district will also likely call Superintendent Dr. Alan Fegley to testify as well. Then, the public can have input following the witness testimony.

Phoenixville Area School District is proposing a potential expansion of East Pikeland Elementary School, located at 1191 Hares Hill Road. Plans are to keep an existing structure from the 1930s, demolish an addition from the 1960s and expand the school, which sits on an 11.3-acre site.

The plan has led nearby residents to hire lawyers to represent their interests. Parents of East Pikeland students showed up at Wednesday’s hearing as well to support the school district’s plans.

As for the students at the school, they wrote letters, which McLean requested be added to the record for the hearing.

“Basically, they say they want a new school,” McLean said.

Though the township’s special counsel, an attorney representing an adjacent resident and Gill objected, calling the letters hearsay, they were added to the record for the case.

The next part of the hearing will be held June 6 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. It will likely be held in the East Pikeland Township Administration Building, as the fire hall is booked that evening.