The next public meeting for the group crafting a master plan for the Linfield Village area of Limerick Township will be conducted online Wednesday March 3 starting at 7 p.m. , according to a legal notice published Saturday in The Mercury.
It will be the second such meeting this year on the new master plan. The first meeting was held on Jan. 20 but was primarily for the master plan committee. Although all meetings are open to the public by law, the March 3 meeting is specifically to gather public input. This one is considered a "brainstorming session," according to the materials on the township web site.
The members of the planning committee are: Margie Schweitzer, William DeGideo, former township supervisor D. Elaine DeWan, Spring-Ford School Board Vice President Thomas DiBello, Linda Irwin, Patricia Kaufman, Robert Kleckner, Township Supevisor and former Planning Commission member Michael McCloskey, who is the liaison with the board of township supervisors, Kevin Rafuse, Jody Roberto, Dennis Rumler and Alexandria Sasek.
The third public meeting is scheduled for June 16, also at 7 p.m. and also virtually, according to the notice. Prior to that, the committee will meet on April 21 and it will meet again on Sept. 8.
A presentation of the final plan to the Limerick Township Supervisors is currently scheduled for Oct. 5.
Public input and data is also being gathered from an online survey which can be accessed at www.surveymonkey.com/r/linfieldvillage and as of Jan. 20, there were already 154 responses.
According to the presentation made to the master plan committee at the Jan. 20 meeting, which can be
viewed on the township web site by clicking here, some of the key issues to be addressed by the plan are:
- What are the future options for the development of the former Publicker distillery site,
- What are the best options for the state game lands which abut that site
- How best to preserve and enhance the
historic architecture in Linfield Village?
- How do we encourage walk-to businesses
and restaurants?
- How do we plan for increased traffic?
- How can public water be provided to more
residents?
- What are economically feasible
development scenarios?
- How can property values be raised?
The planning process was begun last year and 27 people attended the Feb. 25, 2020 public meeting, but large public gatherings were suspended as coronavirus pandemic restrictions were put into place.
However, since then, a developer has come forward with proposals for the Publicker site and the supervisors decided it would be best to re-start the Linfield Master Plan process in order to consider those proposals in a context that included and planned for the community which would most feel the impact of those proposals.
The developer, Tim Hendricks, was before the supervisors in November, pitching a plan that includes as many as 1,200 housing units on the 200-acre site along the Schuylkill River as well as stores and offices.
The site off Linfield Road has been abandoned since it closed in 1986, and was home to the 125-acre Linfield Industrial Park that served multiple purposes including the repackaging and distribution of antifreeze and ammonia-based cleaners. Kinsey Distillery used the facility as both a warehouse and whiskey distillery.
It is estimated it could take more than $10 million in infrastructure and traffic improvements needed to handle the 2,500 vehicles it would add to the area's traffic flow and it remains an open question as to how much of that cost would be borne by the developer.
According to the 77-page presentation from the Jan. 20 master plan committee meeting, the total population of the Census tract (2086.03) which includes Linfield Village is 6,380.
The largest cohort, 26.7 percent are aged 25 to 44. At 20 percent, the next largest is those aged 45 to 54 years old. Resident aged 5 to 17 years old comprise 16.7 percent of the tract's population.
According to the presentation, 28.6 percent of the tract's population are high school graduates and another 22.2 percent hold college bachelor's degrees. The median income in the tract is $49,313 and 48 percent are employed in management, business, science and the arts.
A draft market study of the area looked at existing development patterns locally and in a wider market area and concluded that "major residential redevelopment of Publicker will not
happen soon;" that there is "no viable large scale office market in village" due to poor access and a weak market for that use; and further, that there is "no viable large scale retail market in village," again due to limited access and a weak market.
Instead, the draft study concluded the best commercial-type uses are called “Makerspace,” which are described as "small scale and artisanal
manufacturing; artists,
artisans, brewers, distillers,
co-working, etc.
It also recommended "adaptive reuse of one or two,
smaller, existing structures
on Publicker and/or in village," as well as potential "pop up events and festivals as
a transitional use" in order to "get more eyes and interest on
the village and Publicker."
As for the residents already there, so far survey results indicate the three most important improvements to make Linfield Village more inviting are new sidewalks, building facade improvements and better pedestrian and bicycle access.
Survey results also indicated the priority for road improvements should include:
Main St. between Linfield Bridge and Church Rd.
• Main Street between Church Road and Trinley Mill Road;
• Longview Road between Main Street and the Limerick Nuclear Generating Station;
• Longview Road between the power plant and Sanatoga Road;
• Church Road;
• Limerick Center Road;
• Keen Road;
• Brownback Road;
• Ferndale Lane;
• Trinley Mill Road;
• Boraten Road.
The presentation also looks at the concept of swapping the state game lands near the Publicker site to other locations adjacent to township-owned open space, which presumably would allow for additional development or recreations options along the Schuylkill River.
Open Space Plan Update
In addition to the Linfield area, a town-wide open space plan update is underway for all of Limerick Township. An online public meeting similar to the one for Linfield is scheduled for Wednesday, March 10 at 7 p.m.
Township supervisors last year approved an update to the 2006 Open Space Plan, with Volunteer Citizens Advisory Panel meetings beginning in late 2019.
Like with the Linfield plan, due to Covid-19 pandemic, this project also was temporarily put on hold; however, the Board of Supervisors expect this project to get back on track in 2021. This new Open Space Plan, with an objective to preserve the natural resources of the township, will be a continuation of other long-range planning, according to information posted on the township website.
The Open Space Update's Citizens Advisory Panel is comprised of the following members: Bob Arrowsmith, Erin P. Cohen, Keith G. Daywalt, Allen Dowhie Jr., Rick Fidler, Gregory Gray, Christopher Haring, Jennie Jonas, Liam Kaufman - Student Rep, Patricia Kaufman, Dennis G. Keen
Kenneth McLaughlin, George Mokonchu, Robert G. Richardson (Greg), and
John (Jack) B. Seber.
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