PATTON TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 10, 2018 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING / WORK SESSION PAGE 1 of 10

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1 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING / WORK SESSION PAGE 1 of 10 ATTENDANCE Planning Commission Kate Domico, Chairman Bill Steudler, Vice-Chairman Brian Rater, Secretary Richard Schmidt, Alt. Secretary Robert Prosek Harry McAllister Paul Silvis Township Staff Doug Erickson, Township Manager Stephen Casson, Township Engineer/Dir. Public Works Paul Christner, Asst. Twp. Eng./Asst. Dir. Public Works Ken Soder, Zoning Officer Greg Garthe, CRPA Nicole Harter, Public Works Secretary Audience Tony Fruchtl, Penn Terra Engineering Dan Hawbaker, Glenn O. Hawbaker, Inc. Amy Kerner, State College Borough Deb Hoag, State College Borough Tim Harlow, Hawbaker Engineering Chris Summers, Morningside at Gray s Woods Nursing Home Thomas Foley, Morningside at Gray s Woods Nursing Home Molly Shoemaker, Morningside at Gray s Woods Nursing Home Eric Porter, Morningside at Gray s Woods Nursing Home Steve Hackman, Grace Hills Church Victor King, Grace Hills Church Melissa Hicks, Resident Jim Payne, Resident Mike Lesko, Resident 1. CALL TO ORDER REGULAR MEETING The September 10, 2018 regular meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Chairman, Ms. Kate Domico. 2. ITEMS OF CORRECTION There were no additions or deletions to the agenda. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Meeting minutes from the August 6, 2018 combined Regular Meeting and Work Session and August 13, 2018 joint Planning Commission/Board of Supervisors Work Session were brought before the Planning Commission for approval. Mr. Robert Prosek made a motion to approve the meeting minutes as submitted. The motion was seconded by Mr. Harry McAllister. The motion passed with a vote of PUBLIC COMMENTS Resident, Ms. Melissa Hicks inquired about the Hawbaker Office Building Expansion. Ms. Hicks noted that she contacted the Township offices and was under the assumption that it would be on agenda for this evenings meeting. Mr. Doug Erickson noted that plan review comments were provided to the engineering firm and a resubmission has not been received. Mr. Erickson advised Ms. Hicks to continue checking the Township s website under agendas for updates.

2 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING / WORK SESSION PAGE 2 of MORNINGSIDE AT GRAY S WOODS NURSING HOME CONDITIONAL USE REQUEST AND PRELIMINARY/FINAL LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN Mr. Greg Garthe noted that the Township received a conditional use request for a nursing/personal care home at 1035 Ghaner Road; a 5.95 acre lot in the Rural Residence (R1) zoning district. A conditional use is a use that may be appropriate, with or without additional conditions, in some locations within a zoning district, but would not be appropriate in every location within the district. A specific list of conditional uses is included in the R1 district regulations, and nursing homes are included. Proposals for conditional uses must meet the requirements of : Procedures and Criteria for Conditional Uses, and receive approval of a conditional use permit by the Board of Supervisors. The procedures and criteria for conditional uses were provided to the Planning Commission. Prior to the issuance of a conditional use permit, a site plan must be submitted for review. The Planning Commission has the option to require corrections or additions, and the applicant must make the changes and submit a final plan for review prior to the Planning Commission make a recommendation on the conditional use permit to the Board of Supervisors. Once the Planning Commission determines that the plan is in conformance with all applicable Township regulations, a recommendation will be provided to the Board of Supervisors. The Board may also require changes or additions to the land development plan, and once the applicant makes the changes to the satisfaction of the Board, the conditional use permit will be issued. Accordingly, a land development plan for the site was submitted and reviewed by Staff. The plan proposes construction of a 22,200 square foot, 40-bedroom nursing/personal care home named Morningside at Gray s Woods. Previously, the property was used as a single-family residence, and the existing house and garage will remain and be used by the nursing home owners for administrative and maintenance functions. The plan proposes demolition of the existing driveway, sewer lateral to the existing house, and clearing of some wooded areas for the new building and stormwater basin. Development of the nursing home, parking lot, and associated facilities will occur on approximately two acres of the site; the portion closest to Ghaner Road, but the rear of the lot will remain wooded. With the change in use of the property, the onsite impervious coverage will increase from 7.61% to 25.21%. A total of 23 parking spaces (2 ADA) are proposed. Concrete sidewalks will be constructed along the frontage of the property abutting Ghaner Road, and an additional sidewalk will connect the building to the sidewalk along Ghaner Road. The site is also within the I-99 Interchange Overlay district, which contains standards for building and site design controls, as well as standards for highway access and safety, setbacks and landscaping, and environmentally sensitive areas. Building exteriors must be designed to use varying materials, textures, or colors, architectural detailing or elements such as windows, colonnades, porches, porticos, columns, pilasters, cornices, or canopies, and varying horizontal elevations, bump outs, and recesses. A preliminary rendering of the proposed building is included in the land development plan.

3 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING / WORK SESSION PAGE 3 of MORNINGSIDE AT GRAY S WOODS NURSING HOME CONDITIONAL USE REQUEST AND PRELIMINARY/FINAL LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN (cont.) A traffic generation analysis provided by the applicant s consultant indicates that the change in use of the property will result in an increase in driveway traffic. Per Driveway Design Requirements of the Pennsylvania Code, the existing driveway is considered a Minimum Use Driveway based on traffic generated by a typical singlefamily residence (less than 25 vehicle trips per day). With the change to a nursing home, the average driveway traffic volumes will meet the threshold for reclassification to a Low Volume Driveway (between 25 and 750 vehicle trips per day). The expected volume of traffic generated by the new use will be approximately 110 trips per day, which the consultant expects to have minimal impact to the use of Ghaner Road and no impact to the Neighborhood traffic patterns. Township staff are in agreement with the findings of the traffic analysis, which was provided to the Planning Commission. The new driveway will access Ghaner Road at the same point as the existing driveway. Since Ghaner Road is a Township roadway, a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit is not required for the driveway access, and approval is at the discretion of the Township. Township Staff finds that the Plan meets all Township regulations upon completion of all items noted on Staff s marked up comment letter and upon approval of a conditional use permit by the Board of Supervisors for a nursing home at 1035 Ghaner Road. Mr. Tony Fruchtl, Penn Terra Engineering, provided a brief overview of the proposed project. Mr. Paul Silvis asked why the developer planned on keeping the house. Mr. Eric Porter noted that the house would be utilized for administrative and maintenance facility operations of the nursing home. Ms. Kate Domico asked how many employees would be present. Mr. Porter noted that there would be five employees during the daytime hours and lighter staff during the evening hours. Resident, Mr. Jim Payne, expressed concern that there was not sufficient parking for the site. Mr. Fruchtl noted that the Township regulations require 20 parking spaces and the plan proposes 23. Mr. Ken Soder noted that another resident expressed concern regarding parking. In response, Mr. Soder visited the new nursing facility on Bernel Road and counted empty stalls on two different occasions, and found that between 9 and 12 of the 28 provided parking stalls were empty. Mr. Payne asked what time of day that the counting took place, and if Mr. Soder visited the site on holidays or weekends. Mr. Soder noted that he was at the site both in the morning and the afternoon, and with the facility just opening, a holiday or weekend has not been observed. Resident, Mr. Josh Garis, expressed concern with traffic along Ghaner Road and Gray s Woods Boulevard generated by the change in use of the property. Mr. Garis asked if a traffic study would be done. Mr. Doug Erickson noted that when a site is proposed to generate more than 500 trips a day, a traffic study is required, and if it is less than that, a study is not required. Mr. Brian Rater asked what the plan for Ghaner Drive was and how a traffic study can be done. What the speed limit? Mr. Doug Erickson noted that the speed limit is 25 MPH and if the Township initiates the traffic study, the Township would pay for it.

4 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING / WORK SESSION PAGE 4 of MORNINGSIDE AT GRAY S WOODS NURSING HOME CONDITIONAL USE REQUEST AND PRELIMINARY/FINAL LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN (cont.) The Planning Commission requested that at a future work session that they look at Ghaner Road; safety aspects, future growth, and would like to have numbers for the current trips on Ghaner Road. Mr. Bill Steuder made a motion to recommend approval of the Morningside at Gray s Woods Nursing Home Conditional Use Request and Preliminary/Final Land Development Plan upon completion of the minor/technical items as noted on Staff s comment letter, addition of a note that the existing structures will only be used as administrative and maintenance facilities for the nursing home, posting of a No Right Turn sign at the exit from the site, exempting the site from the floodplain restrictions for Wyoming Alluvial soils as permitted by the Township Code, and upon approval of a conditional use permit by the Board of Supervisors for a nursing home at 1035 Ghaner Road. The motion was seconded by Mr. Paul Silvis. The motion passed with a vote of FINAL LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN GRACE HILLS CHURCH Mr. Greg Garthe noted that the Final Land Development Plan proposes to construct the 22,068 square foot Grace Hills Church on Lot 46B (Tax Parcel ,207A) of the Gray s Woods Planned Community. The 3.7 acre property is located at the intersection of Gray s Woods Boulevard and Meeks Lane in the Planned Community zoning district. Two access driveways are proposed; one from Meeks Lane and the other from Gray s Woods Boulevard by way of a 30 wide shared common driveway easement for Lots 46B and 46A (Tax Parcel ,027A). A land development plan for the Grace Presbyterian Church on Lot 46A was conditionally approved in The sanctuary of the Grace Hills Church is planned to have 324 seats. A total of 144 parking spaces (5 ADA) will be provided, and a sidewalk will connect the site to Gray s Woods Boulevard. Sewage will be conveyed into the UAJA system via lateral through a 20 sanitary sewer easement through Lot 46A that connects into a mainline that runs along Forest Glen Circle in the Graysdale neighborhood. Staff review comments were provided to the applicant on August 24, Two specific items from the plan review need to be discussed by the Planning Commission and resolved prior to making a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. These include: Comment #11: Provide a turnaround area for recycling and refuse trucks near the dumpster pad. o Applicant s Response: Vehicle routing added to plan.(sheet 5) Staff Opinion: The turnaround area shown on the revised plan is unacceptable for recycling and refuse access because of conflicts with 1.) parked vehicles and curb stops, 2.) maintenance or delivery vehicles accessing the storage shed or rear

5 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING / WORK SESSION PAGE 5 of FINAL LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN GRACE HILLS CHURCH (cont.) entrances to the church, and 3.) the curb island and pole light. Although we acknowledge that recycling and refuse vehicles are likely to access the site early in the morning when other vehicles are not typically present, we recommend providing a dedicated turning area to avoid collisions with the other objects mentioned. Comment #25: Provide crosswalks at the following locations for pedestrian/cyclist safety: a.) Across the entrance driveway to the property along Gray s Woods Boulevard at the existing sidewalk location; and b.) Across the same entrance driveway where it enters the parking field at the proposed sidewalk location. o Applicant s Response: We have added these per comment, but is this really what is desired by the Township? It is unconventional to mark private driveway pedestrian crossings, and no other public street or private driveway in this general area has marked crossings. Is this really what is desired? Staff Opinion: The plan proposes pedestrian access to the site from the sidewalk network in Graysdale. The demarcation of the pedestrian crossings is an additional safety measure for pedestrians, and a warning to motorists Application and general standards of the Township s Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance indicate that the regulations are intended to provide the minimum standards for the promotion of the public health, safety and general welfare and shall be applied and used as guidance by the Township Planning Commission in reviewing all subdivision plans. Township Staff finds that the Plan meets all Township regulations upon completion of all items noted on Staff s marked up comment letter. Mr. Michael Pratt, Keller Engineers, provided a brief overview of the proposed land development plan. Mr. Pratt noted that they revised the refuse and recycling turnaround, as requested by Township Staff and a revised plan can be provided to the Township, if desired. Mr. Pratt also noted that crosswalks were already shown on the plan, per the staff comments, and that the outstanding question was whether the Township desired them at the locations shown. Mr. Garthe noted that prior to this evenings meeting, copies of s that were sent to the Township by residents expressing interest in having a sidewalk installed along Meeks Lane were given to the Planning Commission members. Resident, Mr. Mike Lesko, expressed concern with safety on Meeks Lane with pedestrians and also asked that a sidewalk be installed along Meeks Lane. Planning Commission members and Township Staff asked Mr. Pratt what a rough estimate would be for installing a sidewalk along Meeks Lane. Mr. Pratt noted that a rough cost would be $20,000 or more.

6 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING / WORK SESSION PAGE 6 of FINAL LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN GRACE HILLS CHURCH (cont.) Planning Commission members asked if residents could utilize the church s property to gain safe access to Meeks Lane. Mr. Victor King noted that the church would not mind that, but there are liability concerns. Mr. Bill Steudler was concerned that there may not be enough sight distance with the sidewalk and crossing Meeks Lane. Mr. Steve Casson noted that the Patton Township Recreation Advisory Committee is currently in the process of updating their Bicycle Plan and that a shared use path on the other side of Meeks Lane is proposed. Mr. Erickson advised the Planning Commission that it s on the plan, but is not definite. Mr. Brian Rater recalled that the Planning Commission had discussed the issue in the past as part of the plan review for The Reserve East preliminary subdivision plan, and he believed the Township had included a condition of approval related to the issue. Mr. Rater asked if the Planning Commission would be in agreement to have the developer add a street light at the corner of Meeks Lane and Gray s Woods Boulevard. Mr. Richard Schmidt made a motion to recommend approval of the Grace Hills Church Final Land Development Plan upon completion of the minor/technical items as noted on Staff s comment letter and with the addition of a street light at the corner of Meeks Lane and Gray s Woods Boulevard. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bill Steudler. The motion passed with a vote of PRELIMINARY/FINAL LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN BOROUGH OF STATE COLLEGE COMPOST FACILITY EXPANSION Mr. Greg Garthe noted that the Township received the Land Development Plan for the Borough of State College Compost Facility which proposes to expand the organics composting facility located at the end of Hawbaker Industrial Drive in the Natural Resources and Recycling (NR2) zoning district. Construction includes the installation of a 3.19 acre asphalt composting pad adjacent to the existing pad on the site. Along with the land development plan, the applicant submitted a request for the Township to reduce the NR2 open space requirement from 60% to 40% to provide the ability to construct a larger composting pad, which was not possible with the current open space requirement. A proposed change to the 2020 Centre Region COG Regional Refuse and Recycling Contract is to establish a curbside organics collection and composting program for residents of Benner, College, Ferguson, Harris, and Patton Townships. Also around 2020, it is the intent of the Centre County Refuse and Recycling Authority to offer organics collection to commercial locations outside of the State College Borough. With the planned expansion of the regional organics program, a larger composting facility is needed. The Planning Commission recommended the change to the open space requirement for the NR2 district, and at its August 15, 2018 meeting, the Board of Supervisors approved the ordinance making the change. Township and Centre County Conservation District staff recommended the installation of a truck washing station to avoid tracking mud onto the public roadways. It was intended that the washing station would be located at the exit to the site, and would be a permanent installation. The revised plan provided a truck wash, but it was not located at the exit to the site at Hawbaker Industrial Drive, and appears to be a temporary installation that would

7 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING / WORK SESSION PAGE 7 of PRELIMINARY/FINAL LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN BOROUGH OF STATE COLLEGE COMPOST FACILITY EXPANSION (cont.) only be used to wash vehicles during construction of the composting pad. Staff recommends a permanent installation that will be used to wash trucks as long as the recycling facility is in operation. Township Staff finds that the Plan meets all Township regulations upon completion of all items noted on Staff s marked up comment letter. Mr. Tim Harlow, Hawbaker Engineering, provided a brief overview of the proposed land development plan. Mr. Harlow added that a meeting with Mr. Jim Coslo, Centre County Conservation District, and Mr. Jim O Connor, Glenn O. Hawbaker, Inc., an agreement was reached that a permanent 40 wash bay would be installed near Hawbaker Industrial Drive. Mr. Greg Garthe asked Mr. Harlow to add a note to the plan stating such. Mr. Doug Erickson asked Mr. Harlow if he had a time frame for installation. Mr. Harlow did not. Mr. Erickson advised Mr. Harlow that posting of surety would be required for the wash bay. Mr. Paul Silvis made a motion to recommend approval of the Preliminary/Final Land Development Plan Borough of State College Compost Facility Expansion upon completion of the minor/technical items as noted on Staff s comment letter and the addition of the plan note related to the truck wash. The motion was seconded by Mr. Brian Rater. The motion passed with a vote of APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATES TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION Mr. Greg Garthe noted that prior to the July 18, 2018 Board of Supervisors meeting, the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Patton Crossing project submitted a request for the Board to consider adding an alternate member to the Planning Commission. In addition, the idea of increasing the overall membership of the Planning Commission from seven to eight or nine members was suggested. The Board opted to schedule a joint work session with the Planning Commission to discuss the proposals further. The work session was held on August 13, Staff reviewed the Township s statutory authority to appoint alternates and/or expand the membership of the Planning Commission. After significant discussion about adding alternates or increasing the total membership of the Commission, the Board requested that the Planning Commission consider adding between one and three alternate members and return a formal recommendation to them at their September 12, 2018 meeting. In addition, the general consensus of the group was that alternates to the Planning Commission needed to be selected in accordance with the Township s existing Authorities, Boards, and Commissions (ABC) application process. Therefore, any citizen interested in serving as a regular member or an alternate to the Planning Commission would need to be added to the ABC talent bank prior to further consideration for a position. A draft Ordinance to amend Chapter 34, Planning Commission, of the Code of Patton Township was provided to the Planning Commission. The ordinance provides the framework for establishing between one and three alternate positions and increasing the quorum for the Planning Commission to conduct business from four (majority) to five or six members. In the event that a quorum were not reached, the Chair would be able to designate an alternate member to serve in accordance with Article II of the PA Municipalities Code.

8 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING / WORK SESSION PAGE 8 of APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATES TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION (cont.) If the Board approves the ordinance amending Chapter 34 in order to establish the alternate member positions, they would then select the alternate members and appoint them by resolution at a future meeting. Resident, Mr. Jim Payne, noted that Patton Township needs vision and more citizen input. Planning Commission members noted that Township residents are always welcome at Planning Commission meetings, there is no time limit for speaking, and their comments or concerns are always listened to. Mr. Paul Silvis suggested that if residents would like to form their own citizen advisory committee within their development and have one or two individuals come to meetings to address the Planning Commission, they should always feel welcome to do so. Mr. Brian Rater asked how many Planning Commission members are on other commissions within the Centre Region. Mr. Greg Garthe noted that the most is seven, and believed that the smallest commission may have five members. Mr. Richard Schmidt made a motion not to change the number of Planning Commission members. The motion was seconded by Mr. Robert Prosek. The motion passed with a vote of STATUS ON PENDING ITEMS There were no comments from the Planning Commission on the pending work task items. 9. REPORTS No additional reports were given. 10. OTHER BUSINESS There was no other business brought before the Planning Commission. 11. ADJOURN REGULAR MEETING The meeting was adjourned at 8:45PM. 1. CALL TO ORDER WORK SESSION The September 10, 2018 work session meeting was called to order at 8:45 PM by Chairman, Ms. Kate Domico. 2. ORDINANCE ALLOWING FLAGS AS SIGNS From the June 20, 2018 Board of Supervisors Agenda A representative of Glenn O. Hawbaker, Inc. (GOH) has submitted a request (included with the agenda materials) asking the Township to consider a change to the signage regulations to permit a flag. Chapter 140 (Signs) of the Patton Township Code provides regulations on signage.

9 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING / WORK SESSION PAGE 9 of ORDINANCE ALLOWING FLAGS AS SIGNS (cont.) Section 140-7J (Signs prohibited in all districts) currently prohibits the following items from being used for commercial advertising: Searchlights, pennants, spinners, banners and streamers. Sections (Limit on number of signs per premises) and (Limit on sign area) constrain the number and total size of signs that can be installed on a site for commercial advertising. In their request, GOH does not request any increase in the overall signage but suggests that a corporate flag might be counted as part of the permitted signage for the site. Following a brief presentation from the requestor and comments from the audience, the Board should consider action on the request. The Manager recommends referring the request to the Planning Commission for review and a recommendation. End of Agenda Materials The Board has referred the matter to the Planning Commission for review and a recommendation. Staff notes that the Township s sign regulations are outside of Chapter 175 (Zoning), but they are referenced a number of times in that chapter. Any amendments to Chapter 140 (Signs) would therefore be adopted into Zoning by reference. As noted in the Board agenda, the request does not ask for any change to the amount of signage that is permitted, but instead asks that flags are treated in the same manner as any other business sign. Previously, a corporate flag was flown at the Glenn O. Hawbaker corporate headquarters, but Patton Township required the business to remove the flag because it did not meet Township sign regulations. Per 140-6: Signs permitted in all districts of the Township Code, the only types of flags allowed are the flag, pennant or insignia of any government or of any religious, charitable or fraternal organization. In addition, 140-7: Signs prohibited in all districts notes that prohibited signage includes any signs which have any visible moving part, visible revolving parts, or visible mechanical movement of any description, or other apparent visible movement achieved by electrical pulsations or by actions of normal wind currents, except when not visible from motor vehicles traveling on public roadways. Therefore, at the present time, a business can fly a flag such as the American Flag or the Pennsylvania State Flag, but cannot fly a flag with their company logo if it is visible from motor vehicles traveling on public roadways. A flag with the company logo can only be flown if it is obscured from the view of a passing motorist by a building, wall, landscaping, etc. At the August 6, 2018 Planning Commission work session, the Planning Commission members discussed the matter with the requestor, Township staff, and the two remaining members of the Township s Sign Review Board, Scot Chambers and Sean Howard. Both members of the Sign Review Board indicated that they supported allowing businesses to fly a corporate flag, as long as it meets all other requirements for signs. The Planning Commission also supported the request and directed staff to draft an ordinance that would remove the prohibition on using flags as signs.

10 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING / WORK SESSION PAGE 10 of ORDINANCE ALLOWING FLAGS AS SIGNS (cont.) Mr. Greg Garthe reviewed the proposed revisions to the sign ordinance. Planning Commission members were in favor of the revisions, and asked that the ordinance be included in the October regular meeting agenda for a formal recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. 3. ADJOURN WORK SESSION MEETING The work session was adjourned at 8:56 PM.