Batdorf Named North Coventry Township Manager

Mercury File Photo

Erica Batdorf 

Blogger's Note: The following was issued by North Coventry Supervisors Chairman Jim Marks.

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to announce that Erica Batdorf has been hired as the next Township Manager of North Coventry Township effective April 20th. 

As you may know, our current and long-time manager Kevin Hennessey is retiring at the end of April after serving 17 years as manager and prior to that as the township solicitor. While we are sad to see Kevin leave the North Coventry team, we are excited to have Erica joining us and look forward to welcoming her to the position of manager.

Erica, who is also a township resident, has spent the last 3 1/2 years as Township Manager of West Vincent Township in Chester Springs and prior to that held the position of Assistant Borough Manager for the Borough of Pottstown where she was second in command to the Borough Manager.

Erica brings a diverse skill set to North Coventry and will no doubt serve the Township to the highest standard as she has done elsewhere her over her career. 

Erica will be reaching out to our employees and volunteers as she gets settled into her new role to introduce herself and establish lines of communication with our entire team so we can together tackle the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead.

Norco Ready to Adopt New Comprehensive Plan

Photos by Evan Brandt

North Coventry Supervisor Jim Marks shows property the township has purchased as open space to allow for the construction of a trail.

North Coventry Township is moving forward with adopting its first comprehensive plan in nearly 20 years.

The plan sets the township's vision for development and serves as the basis for zoning changes to implement that vision.

With a few suggested changes, the Pottstown Metropolitan Area Regional Planning Committee last night issued it's stamp of approval on the draft now being circulated.

North Coventry Supervisors Chairman Jim Marks told the regional planners that the last time the township completed a comprehensive plan was in 2000. Two years later, township voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure to impose an earned income tax to create a fund for the purchase of open space.

Since then, the township has purchased the development rights, or property outright to the tune of 1,400 acres, Marks told the planners.

Slight revisions to the comprehensive plan were made in 2006, but since then, money has been tight and it was not until Chester County provided some funding that the township once again undertook re-writing the comprehensive plan.

Development of this plan was led by an eight-member task force consisting of representatives of the board of supervisors, planning commission, and environmental advisory committee.

"The task force analyzed and evaluated pertinent information affecting land use, housing, transportation, natural resources, historic resources, and community facilities in the township," according to the plan's introduction. "Recommendations were developed by the task force to meet the challenges and opportunities identified through the planning process, and then shared with the public for review and endorsement."

Stakeholder interviews were held in September and October 2018.

A public survey was conducted in October and November, along with a public open house in November of 2018 

A public meeting was held in April 2019. The planning commission has recommended the adoption of the draft by the board of supervisors.

Public input garnered during the writing of the draft indicated a desire for more connectivity, said Marks, in the form of more trails and bike lanes.

Map showing different land uses envisioned in 

North Coventry's draft comprehensive plan.

You can download the draft, last reviewed by the supervisors on Sept. 23, by clicking this link.

The draft comprehensive plan for North Coventry calls for:

• conserving 1,861 acres; 
• 2,660 acres for residential conservation; 
• 1,365 acres for rural/low density zoning; 
• 113 acres for commerce; 
• 323 acres for village zoning; 
• 396 for town center zoning; 
• 1,416 acres for suburban residential.

The township supervisors will hold an official public hearing on the plan on Thursday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. at the township building on South Hanover Street.

And with that, here are the Tweets from last night's meeting:

Getting Comprehensive