Limerick Truck Project Approval Gets Political

Those most opposed to the TP Trailer project lives in the homes on the roads off West Cherry Lane.

The expected approval of the controversial truck servicing project on Limerick Center Road came with more than a dash of politics Tuesday night.

The vote was 3-1 with Supervisor Patrick Morroney voting against it and Supervisor Thomas Neafcy absent. Voting in favor were Elaine DeWan, Chairman Ken Sperring Jr. and Supervisor Kara Shuler who said "we follow the law and I will stand up for the law every day of the week."

Last month, the board voted, also by a 3-1 margin, to authorize Township Solicitor Joe McGrory to compose the final site plan resolution they approved last month.

Sperring lashed out at opponents of the project, Amy Walker and Preston Luitweiler, saying the board had no choice but to follow the law or expose taxpayers to an expensive lawsuit the township would lose, and that the two are lying to voters.

Both Walker and Luitweiler are now candidates for township supervisor and will face off against Sperring and Planning Commission Chairman Michael J. McCloskey in November.

DeWan, whose term is also up this year, is not running for reelection.

Sperring said "you two are out campaigning with Sean Kilkenny, and if you win he will probably be the next solicitor because we know the games you play. But he just told another municipality they have to follow the law. You go out and campaign and say all the wrong things because you don't understand how things work."

Kilkenny is a municipal attorney, and the first Democrat to be elected Montgomery County Sheriff.

TP Trailers has a facility along Ridge Pike.

In February, the Montgomery County Democratic Committee endorsed him for reelection.

Sperring was probably referring to an Aug. 30 article in PATCH which reported that Kilkenny had given Norristown, where he is borough solicitor, advice similar to the advice Limerick Township Solicitor Joe McGrory had given.

McGrory told the supervisors that the TP Trailers project complied with township ordinances and voting to reject the final site plan approval would invite a lawsuit Limerick would likely lose.

The Norristown matter has to do with approval of a charter school and the paragraph to which Sperring was evidently referring reads as follows: 

Solicitor Sean Kilkenny warned the council that if they rejected the application, CSMI could take the case to the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, where he believes they would win. "They've satisfied all of the legal requirements," he noted. He added that such a court case would likely cost the municipality a few thousand dollars in court fees.

Sperring continued, "I'm tired of this board being bashed for following the law. You yourself Amy told me you would have paid $10 million in taxpayer money to buy the property from Mr. Perkins, or run up thousands in legal bills. Do your research and come in here and tell the truth." 

After the meeting, the sparring continued. After urging a reporter to "quote me accurately," Sperring asked "is spending $10 million of taxpayer money in the public interest? She didn't deny it."

In fact, Walker said afterward, that Sperring's account of their conversation was not entirely accurate.

"Mr. Sperring called me before I announced my candidacy and asked me 'what do you want us to do? Buy the property?' I told him it would be nice if the supervisors spent time on things that enriched the residents' quality of life rather than destroying it. I never said the town should buy it for $10 million."

Preston Luitweiler addresses the Limerick Supervisors in January.

Also after the meeting ended, Sperring told Luitweiler "learn the job before you come in here and tell us not to follow the law."

Luitweiler replied "You didn't listen to what I said. I said there are things the supervisors could have done that are within the law. You keep berating me in public, but it's not going to do you any good." 

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Luitweiler said the township should have required a traffic study to determine the impact of the increased truck traffic on the already busy road.

He said "I hope Mr. Perkins can find a way to make peace with the neighbors," whose property values, he said, would drop as a result of the project's construction.

"You will own the consequences of the vote you take tonight," Luitweiler told the supervisors. "It would have been nice to see some action by this board to ameliorate the impact on the neighbors."

The property, and proposals for it, have a complicated history. For many years, the township’s zoning map indicated the parcel was split, with one part residential and the other office and light industrial.

But as it turns out, the map was wrong because township officials could find no record of a vote by an elected body that changed any part of the parcel over to residential.

Tom Perkins listens to objections at a meeting last year.

Tom Perkins, owner of TP Trailers on Ridge Pike, owns the parcel with his sister and has variously
tried to develop it with 50 townhomes, which was rejected by the township, as well as a business exactly like the one on Ridge Pike, which was also rejected, Sperring said last year.

The reason for the second rejection was that Limerick Center Road is not certified for enough traffic to accommodate sales of vehicles, Mark Kaplin, the lawyer representing Perkins, explained in 2018.

This proposal approved last night is similar to the first, except that vehicle sales are no longer proposed, thus removing the snag that sank the last one.

In the wake of a wave of opposition that surfaced last July and at subsequent planning commission meetings, the developers decided to submit a plan that requires no variances, meets the codes in every way, and requires no waivers but one, Kaplin said.

Now that the project has been approved, only time will tell if its handling has an impact on the supervisors election.

The supervisors undertook some other interesting discussions last night, but they will have to wait for subsequent articles in The Mercury. You can get a sense of those discussions in the Tweets from the meeting below.

Political Overtones to Truck Project Decision

Limerick Ready to Vote on Truck and Trailer Project

Photos by Evan Brandt

Prior to appearing before the Limerick Township Supervisors seeking final approval for a new facility on Limerick Center Road, TP Trailers put on a display of their wares along heavily traveled Ridge Pike.

Only one final vote remains before the controversial track and container service facility at 181 Limerick Center Road gains final approval from Limerick Township.

Last night the supervisors voted 3-1 to authorize the township solicitor to prepare a final resolution granting final site plan approval for the 10-acre project. Supervisor Elaine DeWan was absent.

The final vote, to adopt or reject that resolution, will likely come at the next meeting, according to Township Manager Dan Kerr.

Given the vote last night, that pending final vote is likely just a formality barring any major development.

Tom Perkins, owner of TP Trailers and Truck Equipment.

The project first started making headlines more than a year ago, when neighbors of the proposed project began turning up at public meetings in opposition.

The site's history is complicated For many years, the township’s zoning map indicated the parcel was split, with one part residential and the other office and light industrial.

But as it turns out, the map was wrong because township officials could find no record of a vote by an elected body that change part of the parcel over to residential.

Tom Perkins, owner of TP Trailers and Truck Equipment, owns the parcel with his sister and has variously tried to develop it with 50 townhomes, which was rejected by the township, as well as a business exactly like the one on Ridge Pike, which was also rejected, according to Supervisor Ken Sperring Jr.

The reason for the second rejection was that Limerick Center Road is not certified for enough traffic to accommodate sales of vehicles, explained Mark Kaplin, the lawyer representing Perkins.

This latest proposal is similar to the first, except that vehicle sales are no longer proposed.

Representatives for TP Trailers address township supervisors

Tuesday night. The final site plan is projected in the background.

Through the ensuring months, as resident opposition focused on Perkins ability to legally stack shipping containers three high, Perkins tried to negotiate with the township and the residents that his client would voluntarily limit the stacking height to two if no opposition was raised to a zoning variance request to allow sales at the sight.

But neither the township, nor the residents would bite, so the project moved forward as it was initially proposed. 

In Feburary, as a result of the controversy, the supervisors tweaked the zoning code to limit the height. The existing zoning ordinances allow structures to be as high as 35 feet tall and three stacked shipping containers are below that height. But the new restrictions will not apply to TP Trailers.

Preliminary approval for the site plan, which calls for a 35,000 square-foot office/warehouse/five-bay shop was granted by the supervisors in December, 2018. Since then, the plan has been before the township planning commission, which ultimately recommended final site plan approval.

The vote Tuesday did not come before the various factions offered up some parting shots.

Neighbors have expressed concern about increased traffic and inadequate visual buffers between their homes and the facility.

Dan Walker and his wife Amy of Bella Rosa Court continued the question what activities will occur at the site and ask the supervisors to delay a decision until final PennDOT road permits and Conservation District approvals are given. 

Kerr explained that township approvals are conditional upon the developers receiving those other approvals.

"We will comply with all the township's ordinances," Kaplin said.

"Not answering questions about what will happen there continues to frighten the neighbors," Dan Walker said.

Kaplin pointed out that his clients had held an open house for the community, attended by about 20 people, including the Walkers, showcased TP Trailers' current operation on Ridge Pike and explained what would happen at the new site.

"It's obvious you don't like what you hear, and yet you continue to defame the Perkins family," Kaplin said. 

"I resent that," said Walker, to which Kaplin replied "I don't care."

There was even some snarkiness among the supervisors themselves when Supervisor Patrick Morroney tried to abstain, citing "a personality dispute" with Kaplin. "Well then I vote no," Marroney replied.

"Take the easy way out Pat," quipped Supervisors Chairman Ken Sperring Jr. "Learn the job you were elected to do Pat," he said, saying voting against projects that comply with all township ordinances would make Limerick vulnerable to lawsuits.

Morroney said he was "within my rights" to vote as he pleases.

48 Home Project approved

North Gate, calls for 48 single family homes off School Road.

The TP Trailer project was not the only development to move forward Tuesday night, although the second one was distinctly less controversial.

Called North Gate, a 48 home project off School Road, near the intersection with Graterford Road, was put one step closer to final approval, this time with a unanimous vote.

Supervisors Chairman Ken Sperring Jr. pointed out that the project was originally approved by the supervisors in 2005 for 51 homes.

But now a new developer has altered the plan slightly, reducing the number of homes to 48.

It will result in the widening of School Road to 22 feet with two-foot shoulders on each side, and is expected to generate an additional 50 cars during peak traffic times. That will result in traffic impact fees of $337,147 being paid to the township for road improvements.

But the only objections voiced by neighbors had to do with the trails that will be built within the development to link with other township trails laid out in Limerick's master trail plan.

One resident, who indicated he is a police officer in another township, said the trails will bring crime, something Township Police Lt. Robert Matalavage said has not been the experience in Limerick.

And with that, here are the Tweets from the meeting.

Track Facility on Track for Approval

Limerick Supervisors Grapple With Thorny Developments, Pass No-Tax-Hike Budget for 2019

Photos by Evan Brandt

The meeting room was packed for the Limerick Township Supervisors' last meeting of 2018.

Roughly 75 people packed into the township meeting room Tuesday night to hear and for the most part oppose two proposed commercial developments that neighbors felt would be too close to their homes.

The first proposal involves 28 acres at the corner of Buckwalter Road and township Line Road, just off the Royersford interchange for Route 422.

Developers want to build a 62,800 square-foot Restaurant Depot on 15 acres there.

The second controversial project has been in the works for some time, involves a zoning change brought about by a township mistake.

Originally, residential units were proposed for the 10 acres of land at 181 Limerick Center Road, it was discovered that no legal township record showed that the zoning on the map, as residential with a small commercial portion, existed.

Now, a truck servicing and cargo container manufacturing facility proposed for the site has the neighbors up in arms.

And when they weren't fielding comments from residents, the supervisors manager managed to adopt a $28.5 million budget for 2019 that does not raise taxes.

The preliminary site plan for Restaurant Depot that was
approved by the Limerick Supervisors Tuesday night.

Restaurant Depot

With few exceptions, the primary objections residents raised to this project have to do with traffic volume and safety.

The volume of traffic on Township Line Road is very heavy, particularly so close to the Route 422 interchange and the shopping center there.

And those who already live there know the perils of navigating the intersection with Buckwalter Road.

Resident Dave Edwards addresses the Limerick Supervisors
at Tuesday night's meeting.

"My kids call it 'the intersection of death" said resident Dave Edwards.

More trucks supplying and being supplied by the Restaurant Depot being interjected into the intersection "will create chaos" Edwards told the supervisors.

The developer has already agreed to add a left-turn lane on Buckwalter Road to make it easier for trucks to get back to Route 422 via Township Line Road.

But the residents say it's not enough.

Ironically, the developer, the residents and township officials all agree that what's needed it s left-turn signal at the traffic light that's already there.

Unfortunately, PennDOT does not.

Ron Lewis, speaking for property owner Larry Cohen, said he and township officials had met with PennDOT to ask for the signal. But PennDOT turned them down, saying it did not want to cause more traffic back-ups on Township Line Road by extending the time cars are stopped at the light, Lewis said.

Property owner Larry Cohen answers questions Tuesday night.

This is despite the fact that, much to the amazement of several speakers, no one had been required to, or bothered to, gather the statistics on the number of accidents that have occurred at that intersection over the years.

"In this case, PennDOT is the villain," said Supervisor Patrick Morroney.

Supervisors Chairwoman Elaine DeWan told the crowd that the plan complies with township ordinances and the supervisors have to treat property owners equally under the law.

The supervisors voted unanimously to instruct solicitor Joseph McGrory Jr. to prepare a resolution for preliminary site plan approval on which they will vote at their next meeting in January.

The proposed facility, shown by the red marker, is opposed
by residents of Bella Rosa Court, Parnell Lane, Perry Court
and West Cherry Lane

TP Trailers & Truck Equipment

The supervisors ultimately took the same vote on the other controversial development on the table Tuesday night, to instruct McGrory to prepare a resolution on preliminary site plan approval on which they will vote at the next meeting.

But that vote did not come without more than an hour of discussion and objections from residents of the housing subdivisions which surround the parcel.

The preliminary site plan for the TP Trailers project.

"It's like trying to put a square peg in a round hole to put manufacturing in a residential area," said Doug Clouding.

Tom Perkins, owner of TP Trailers and Truck Equipment, owns the parcel with his sister and has variously tried to develop it with 50 townhomes, which was rejected by the township, as well as a business exactly like the one on Ridge Pike, which was also rejected, Supervisor Ken Sperring Jr. said in July when residents objected as well.

In the wake of that wave of opposition, Perkins' attorney, Mark Kaplin, said the developers decided to submit a plan that requires no variances or waivers and meets the code in every way.

Township Engineer Khaled Hassan.

Concerns were raised about stormwater run-off, and any pollutants a manufacturing and truck repair facility might carry off site.

Township Engineer Khaled Hassan said there are many state and federal rules governing clean water issues and that the township would be inspecting the facility and testing the water there regularly.

But probably the biggest issue raised by the residents were safety and visual concerns posed by the fact that the facility will construct metal shipping containers and may stack them as many as three high, which would not violate the township zoning code that limits the height of structures to 35 feet.

"I just don't want to see the containers, it's an eyesore," said resident Gianfranco Cierri.

Mark Kaplin

Kaplin attempted to get first the neighbors and ultimately the township to agree to support Perkins' desire to get a variance from the township zoning board to allow sales to occur at the proposed site, as they do now on his business at 703 W. Ridge Pike.

If granted, it would "free up space" at the existing facility and thus make it no longer necessary to store the containers at the Limerick Center Road site.

Resident Dan Walker, who, with his wife Amy, had spearheaded much of the opposition to the plan, characterized that offer as "a threat."

He and several other residents called upon the supervisors to impose a condition on the site plan approval prohibiting the stacking of containers, something Kaplin said the township could not legally do and which would result in a court appeal and a loss for the township.

Hassan talks with McGrory and supervisors Kara Shuler,
 Tom Neafcy

 and Patrick Morroney during the break in
 the meeting Tuesday.

After more than an hour of discussion, DeWan called a "bathroom break" and, as McGrory revealed subsequently, he met with the supervisors "in groups of two," so as to avoid violating the state's open meetings law, and attempted to get them to agree to a compromise.

However, he was unable to get the supervisors to agree, he said.

McGrory then attempted to get Perkins and Kaplin to agree to limit the stacking of containers to two containers and, while he met with them to do that, the supervisors got on with the rest of the meeting, adopting the 2019 budget in

Limerick township solicitor Joeseph McGrory Jr., right, speaks

 during Tuesday night's meeting.
 At left is Supervisor Thomas Neafcy.

the interim.

When McGrory returned, he announced he could not get Kaplin and Perkins to agree to his terms, however Kaplin offered an alternative -- that the supervisors pass a resolution requiring that Perkins seek a variance from the zoning hearing board to allow sales at the Limerick Center Road site and, if successful, to not store any containers there at all.

But the supervisors rejected that idea, at least initially, because, as Shuler put it, "we have no control over what the zoning hearing board will do."

Shuler, who noted that it was already 10:30 p.m., then moved that the supervisors do what they had always intended to do, vote to instruct McGrory to draft a resolution regarding preliminary site plan approval for the project to be voted on at the next meeting.

After the meeting adjourned, McGrory said had may draft more than one resolution for the consideration by the supervisors.

And with that patient reader, I leave you with the Tweets from the meeting. It's 1:30 a.m and this local reporter is putting the head to bed.

Residential Versus Commercial

Limerick OKs Traffic Circle for Swamp Pike

The approval of the first phase of the proposed Limerick Town Center includes the 308-unit senior housing complex, shown above in gray, and the road improvements which include re-routing Swamp Pike through a traffic circle to align with Lewis Road at the intersection with West Ridge Pike.

For residents of Limerick Center Road, what was most significant about last night's Limerick Supervisors meeting is what didn't happen.

An opponent of the TP Trailers project
was on hand Tuesday with this flyer.

A controversial proposal for a trailer and shipping container facility at 181 Limerick Center was pulled from the night's agenda "due to a scheduling conflict with the developer," according to a posting on the township web site.

Instead, the project, which has won a recommendation for approval from the planning commission, will be on the agenda for the Dec. 18 meeting.

But that doesn't mean that news didn't happen.

It was just a little under the radar.

With no comment or discussion, the Limerick Township Board of Supervisors granted final site plan approval to the first phase of a 30-acre project that will eventually bring more than 450 new residences and a traffic circle to the intersection of Ridge and Swamp pikes.

With Supervisors Chairman Elaine DeWan absent, the plan for phase one of Limerick Town Center was approved by a 3-1 vote. 

Supervisor Patrick Morroney voted no.

The first phase includes Arcadia at Limerick Pointe, the 308-unit senior units — comprised of a mixture of independent living, assisted living and “memory care” units —  that is at the center of the project. 

But the aspect of the project that will affect the most people is that the first phase approval also includes the re-alignment of Swamp Pike, through a traffic circle, to align with Lewis Road at the intersection with West Ridge Pike.

Limerick Supervisors will hold
a special meeting Monday.

Despite vehemently opposing the traffic circle since it was first insisted upon by Montgomery County and PennDOT road planners, Vice Chairman Ken Sperring, without comment, provided the crucial third vote needed for passage.

Back in September, Sperring said he refuses "on principle," to vote for anything involving the circle.

However, with Morroney also voting no and Supervisor Ken Neafcy also absent at the September meeting, Sperring was convinced to vote to apply for three new traffic light permits from PennDOT that the project needed to move forward, after being re-assured there would be other opportunities to raise concerns about the traffic circle.

Tuesday night was one of those opportunities, but Sperring did not take it.

In addition to the the Arcadia building, the project also proposed about 160 townhomes and three retail buildings that have 32,000 square feet of space on the first floor, with apartments above.

The developers, Ridge Swamp Associates LLP, must still obtain permits from the Montgomery County highway officials, as well as PennDOT, but have already obtained crucial permits from the Montgomery County Conservation District, according to Township Manager Dan Kerr and Township Engineer Khaled Hassan.

In fact Hassan said the developers may begin doing some earth moving for the senior building quite soon.

As for the townhouses and commercial buildings, although they have been the subject of extensive discussions with township supervisors, no formal plans have been submitted to the township for either of those project phases, said Hassan.

And now, here are the Tweets from the meeting:

Limerick Traffic Circle Approved

Limerick Residents Oppose Plan for Truck Facility

Slightly fuzzy photos by Evan Brandt

Most of the people who turned out for Tuesday night's Limerick Supervisors meeting were drawn there out of concern for a proposal to develop 181 Limerick Center Road.

Facing a group of angry residents concerned about a proposal by Tom Perkins to develop 10 acres of land at 181 Limerick Center Road into a truck servicing business similar to the one he runs on Ridge Pike, township supervisors punted on making a decision Tuesday night.

The design for the 10-acre parcel that was presented to Supervisors.

Instead they voted on a confusing motion to consider the facts and opinions brought out during the nearly three-hour meeting and decide at the next meeting, in two weeks, whether to move the proposal forward.

The property, and proposals for it, have a complicated history. For many years, the township's zoning map indicated the parcel was split, with one part residential and the other office and light industrial.

But as it turns out, the map was wrong because township officials could find no record of a vote by an elected body that change part of the parcel over to residential.

Tom Perkins listens to neighbors of his property voice their
concerns about his plans at Tuesday night's meeting. He had little to
say during the meeting.

Tom Perkins, owner of TP Trailers and Truck Equipment, owns the parcel with his sister and has variously tried to develop it with 50 townhomes, which was rejected by the township, as well as a business exactly like the one on Ridge Pike, which was also rejected, according to Supervisor Ken Sperring Jr.

The reason for the second rejection was that Limerick Center Road is not certified for enough traffic to accommodate sales of vehicles, explained Mark Kaplin, the lawyer representing Perkins.

This latest proposal is identical to the first, except that vehicle sales are no longer proposed, thus removing the snag that sank the last one.

But his proposal, to build a 35,000 square-foot office/warehouse/five-bay shop will still generate more heavy truck traffic than Limerick Center Road can handle, said the nine speakers whose homes border on the property.

Samuel Barilla speaks during Tuesday's Limerick Supervisors meeting.

Samuel F. Barilla, who emphasized that he was speaking as a resident and not a member of the township's planning commission, said the increased truck traffic just blocks from Limerick Elementary School, will create a safety hazard for children.

He also was the first of several to raise concerns about the potential for stacking of shipping containers, as high as 30 feet, on the portion of the property which borders the residential area.

Another speaker, Darren Thompson, said he was concerned about air quality with so many large trucks running and being worked on at the site.

Bella Rosa Court resident Amy Walker said when she and her husband bought their house, they were

Amy Walker speaks to the Limerick supervisors Tuesday.

assured the neighboring property was zoned for residential use.

Given that the shop will be doing truck inspections increases the likelihood of trucks with bad brakes driving past Limerick Elementary School, said Walker. She warned the supervisors that if they approve the project, she and her neighbors will take legal action.

Kaplin said repeatedly that his clients had done everything the township had asked and that the business, when open, will follow whatever rules and ordinances apply.

He also announced that Perkins has agreed to fence the entire property to address concerns raised about safety.

Supervisors Chairwoman Elaine DeWan told the crowd several times that if a proposal meets the rules and regulations of zoning and land use, the supervisors have very little ground to deny a proposal simply of the grounds of objections by the neighbors.

"If we reject an 'as-of-right' plan, they can come after our personal assets," Sperring told the crowd.

The plan has already been cleared by the zoning board and has gone through the first round with the planning commission and was before the board seeking preliminary site plan approval.

Instead, the board delayed taking the next step, which would be to authorize Solicitor John Iannozzi to draft a resolution granting preliminary site plan approval, with whatever conditions the supervisors choose to attach.

Consideration of that step will come at the next meeting, scheduled for July 17. Should that action be taken, the board would vote at the first meeting in August. Presuming preliminary site plan approval was granted, Perkins and his plan would go back to the planning commission in pursuit of final site plan approval, which would also need to be granted by the board of supervisors.

The Master Plan for Limerick Community Park.

In other news of import, the supervisors granted final approval to the $13 million master plan for the development of Limerick Community Park.

The concept is for the development of the park to proceed in five phases, said Township Manager Dan Kerr.

Also, the board decided to bear the costs of a federally-funded program to rehabilitate homes in the township, meaning it voted to accept $200,000 in community Development Block Grant funding for that purpose.

(Read more about that by clicking here.)

With State Rep. Tom Quigley, R-6th Dist., in the audience, DeWan took the opportunity to put him on the spot and outline the ways the red tape is killing a program that has benefited many Limerick residents over the years -- things like requiring prevailing wage for small projects and rules which require an entire home be brought up to code rather than just fix the problem.

He promised to look into it.

The program is a hold over from many years ago and had the supervisors declined to take the money, it would have effectively ended the program, said Kerr. Escalating administrative costs are causing the township to spend its own money to meet the demands of the red tape.

He told the supervisors that it was staff's recommendation to withdraw from the program and township residents could participate in a similar program operated by Montgomery County.

"Let's give it another year and take a look at it again," said Sperring, which became a motion that was unanimously approved by the supervisors.

And with that, here are the Tweets from the meeting:

In their Back Yard