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Plains store wins preliminary OK

Some in Plains Township express reservations about a move by a Turkey Hill store.

B. GARRET ROGAN Times Leader Correspondent

PLAINS TWP. – The Plains Township municipal building was filled nearly to capacity on Thursday night for the board of commissioners meeting.

The contentious issue of a Turkey Hill relocation one block north from its current location at the intersection of Maffet and Main streets to the intersection of Main and Carey streets has drawn a great deal of public interest. The relocation would also involve the construction of a larger store and the addition of up to 12 gas fueling stations.

By a vote of 3 to 2, the board passed a conditional approval of the project pending a traffic study on all relevant intersections, a survey on an unused alley at the back of the property and the procurement of a highway occupancy permit from Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Commissioners Joseph Spagnuola and Rose Corcoran were the dissenters with Brigid O’Connor, Joseph Hoinski and Ron Filippini all voting in favor.

Prior to the vote the board entertained approximately two hours of public comment from the many concerned residents who were in attendance.

The bulk of the resistance to the project came from Plains Township Planning Commission member Mike Lambert. At the last planning commission meeting the body voted 3 to 2 against recommending the approval of the project, citing safety and traffic congestion concerns.

A 2009 change in township regulations gave the planning commission the authority to have the final say on project approvals. The application for the Turkey Hill project however predated that change as it was filed in December of 2008.

By Lambert’s recollection, this was the first time in 14 years that the board of commissioners overruled the planning commission. He referred to any decision to approve the project as “a slap in the face to the planning commission and to the people of this town.”

He went on to accuse the board of rushing to a decision and ignoring “major safety concerns.”

His sentiments were echoed by those of Solomon Plains Elementary and Junior High School Principal John Woloski. Both men were concerned with the fact that Turkey Hill’s peak morning and afternoon hours, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., coincide with the times when students would be arriving at and departing from school.

The school, which hosts around 500 students, is located less than a mile from both the current location and the proposed relocation.

Filippini denied that the board was rushing, citing the fact that the process has been ongoing for more than a year. He also stated his feelings that the current location is a greater safety hazard to its awkward location and lack of a safety light.

With the board’s passage of the motion the issue now moves to PennDOT, with the highway occupancy permit being the most critical point of the conditional approval. Main Street in Plains is under the jurisdiction of PennDOT and Turkey Hill will have to gain state approval prior to any land development.

Officials from Turkey Hill and municipal solicitor Stephen Menn both agreed that PennDOT’s approval process could take more than two years.