CONSHOHOCKEN An Upper Merion builder who was denied conditional use approvals for 615 apartments in four buildings by Borough Council last month is asking for zoning relief for the same project.

The developer, ONeill Properties Group of Upper Merion, asked the Conshohocken Zoning Hearing Board to grant variances to allow construction of the project on Thursday night during a three-hour hearing that was continued to another hearing date in December.

The four buildings would have four stories of apartments built over a single level of parking. Part of the 10.7-acre parcel at 401 Washington Street is located in the floodway of the Schuylkill River. Part of one building is located in Whitemarsh township because the township line bisects the building and the parcel.

Attorney Edmund Campbell Jr., representing ONeill Properties Group, said the variances requested were for parking and setback distances.

Engineer Mike Engel said the number of units had been reduced to about 588 units.

Engel said the edge of the buildings near the river was at the floodway line and the majority of the buildings are in the flood plain. A battery manufacturer and a pump manufacturer previously occupied the site. Remediation of the land has begun and will be completed with construction of impervious surfaces and new topsoil in grassy areas.

Storm water will be captured and discharged into the river, Engel said. Revised plans were made in response to comments and they were reviewed by the planning commission on Aug. 28.

A zoning determination letter on Sept. 20 from the borough caused an appeal from the developer, Engel said.

The open space plan includes 33.3 percent of open space on one parcel and 21 percent on a second parcel, while the minimum open space required was 15 percent.

Engel said a submitted landscaping plan provided the required number and size of replacement trees.

Campbell said the developer has always been willing to participate in a global parking study for several development projects on the Schyulkill River. Engel said the developer was submitting a traffic study next week to comply with the traffic study requirement.

Engel said the apartment unit sizes would be determined after the site plans are approved but would comply with borough regulations.

A proposed trail will be built 51 feet from the river bank.

On setbacks, minimum building setbacks will be 15 feet from the roadway right-of-way. The buildings fronting on Washington Street and Cherry Street are either 15 or 28 feet from the two right-of-ways. Buildings must also be 25 feet from any private or internal driveway.

Engel said the proposed buildings were 75 feet apart, which complies with a setback regulation. Landscaped islands, lawn area and trees are located between the buildings.

On parking requirements, Engel said the amount of parking complied with the 1.2 parking spaces for each apartment unit. He said 22, existing public parking spaces would be re-configured to be more efficient.

Campbell said Stetlers determination letter had defined the parking on the ground level under the buildings as surface parking.

Engel said that requirement for vegetated plantings to break up the surface parking areas were not intended to be underneath apartment buildings.

The apartments in the buildings must be elevated at least 1.5 feet above the floodplain elevation to avoid flooding of the apartments during major rainstorms. Many commercial and apartment buildings built along the Schuylkill River in Conshohocken have a similar parking scheme with parking located underneath buildings.

Weve asked for determinations that our setbacks and parking are compliant, Campbell said, or we are asking for variances for the two items.

Campbell said, we think this is covered parking. One reason we are here is that surface parking is not defined in the regulations.

Engel said there are 633 parking spaces for 527 apartment units in Conshohocken, which meets the parking ratio of 1.2 parking spaces for each apartment.

Board member Russ Cardamone Jr. questioned why the North/South driveway between the buildings was not considered an access driveway. Engel said it was designed for residents to drive slower and find parking spaces.

Chairman Richard Barton also questioned the definition of the North/South driveway.

Stetler questioned why there were no notes on the plan to dedicate the walking trail to the borough. Your impervious coverage is at 70 percent, which is required, but you have not indicated how much coverage is for each parcel, she said.

Fire Marshal Robert Zinni said the emergency roadway had to handle emergency vehicles that can weigh up to 80,000 pounds.

Conshohocken resident Ralph Webb asked the amount of open space that could be capped with clean fill. Engel said that asphalt was the most efficient way to cap soil that is contaminated.

Steve Forster, senior vice president of land development for ONeill, said that both the Conshohocken and West Norriton apartment developments had been a net positive impact on the two communities because the large number of single units attracted singles, couples or roommates but very few families with children.

There is a dramatic increase in building rateables but only a small increase in the number of children, Forster said. By adding new residents there has been an increase in the commercial areas of the borough.

Stetler said that the earned income taxes have not increased greatly. Council President Paul McConnell said most of the earned income tax revenue from new Conshohocken residents goes to Philadelphia because of state regulations.

Webb questioned the validity of traffic studies. I have a concern about adding this number of apartment units, he said.

Resident Sandy Piersol said the apartments will definitely increase traffic. Conshohocken is already at 35 percent rentals. This will decrease our home values. It will not add to our community.

Resident David Small said he was very concerned about the sewers and traffic problems. The developers need to alleviate both of those issues.

Barton said there was surface parking under the building and the developer needs to get a variance for the parking. The setback issue is more problematic, he said.

The board decided to meet in December to consider a revised plan with less parking lot access driveways onto the internal driveway add more driveways onto Washington Street.

Council held a conditional use hearing on Aug. 21 and voted to deny the conditional uses on Oct. 16.

The conditional use was recommended by the Conshohocken Planning Commission with several land development requirements, said Stetler. Campbell said at the conditional use hearing that the conditional use would allow the walking trail, two storm-water outfalls and several rain gardens to be built within 100 feet of the Schuylkill River bank.

Engel said that a small, triangular-shaped piece of the property, located in Conshohocken in front of the proposed Building 200, would be subject to the requirements for a conditional use.

Follow Carl Rotenberg on Twitter @CarlWriter.

Kubota’s B2530 compact tractor has been chosen as the ideal groundcare solution for the world-famous Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, following the purchase of eight units from the UK’s leading provider of groundcare machinery.

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003, Kew is one of London’s top visitor attractions with almost 2 million visitors each year.

The site is one of the leaders in plant science and conservation with a collection of over 30,000 species of plant and trees within its 300 acres.

In order to keep Kew Gardens on top of the extensive maintenance programme that the grounds require, an army of groundcare machinery and personnel is required to keep the site in immaculate condition.

Tony Kirkham, Head of the Arboretum and Cultural service, commented: “As Kew Gardens is the top echelon of horticulture, we have to strive to be the best we can as the public expect to see the best when they come here.”

With that in mind, Kew purchased eight of Kubota’s B2530 compact tractors from local dealer Lister Wilder, following a competitive DEFRA tender.

The tender specified the need for a lightweight 25hp hydrostatic tractor with simple operator controls that would suit the variety of different operators required to use the machinery.

Other tender considerations included reliability, running costs and how environmentally friendly the tractor solutions were – all of which the Kubota’s scored highly on.

Tony continues: “The new machinery is absolutely critical to the business. With 300 acres to cover we need good tractors otherwise it’s down to wheelbarrows.

They’re our workhorses for moving materials, but we also have a number of attachments for landscaping work such as a flail for long grass, landscape rakes and tractor-mounted rotovators.”

With long working hours required to keep the centre in tip-top condition, another key focus of the tender process was that any specified machines needed to be backed by a high quality parts and service programme.

Tony continues: “The Kubota’s work hard, doing the most hours out of all the machines we have. That’s why it was imperative that a good service plan was part of the tender, as with the amount of work that needs doing we cannot afford to be without machines for long periods if they break down.

Having worked with Lister Wilder for so many years, I know that if we have a breakdown I can rely on them to pull out all the stops to get it fixed quickly.”

Tim Vines, of dealer Lister Wilder, commented: “We have enjoyed a long relationship with Kew Gardens and were happy to be able to supply them with the right solutions, that they required to help maintain the site.

“Following the DEFRA tender, it was clear that Kubota’s B2530 was the best machine for the job thanks to its versatility, ease of use and exceptional reliability. They will be a great addition to the machines already working at Kew and should help keep the site in pristine condition for years to come.”

For more information on Kubota and its extensive range of solutions for the construction, groundcare and agriculture sectors visit www.kubota.co.uk or call 01844 268000.

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Volunteers who fanned out across Ashland counted at least 106 deer this fall, down from tallies of about 190 deer during fall counts in 2011 and 2012.

However, fewer volunteers were available to count the animals, said Michael Parker, an organizer of the deer count and chairman of Southern Oregon University’s Biology Department.

Volunteers previously covered 63 sections of Ashland, but in a count earlier this month they reached about 48 or 49 sections, Parker said.

A handful of tally sheets are still out and could boost the count, he said.

Anecdotally, many volunteers said they saw fewer deer in the areas they did cover, Parker said.

“Generally, there was a feeling that there were fewer deer,” he said.

Organizers and volunteers first started counting deer during a half hour window at dawn in fall 2011 to get a baseline estimate on the number of deer in town.

Only deer that are visible to volunteers can be counted, not animals that are hidden in backyards or bedded down in thick vegetation.

Some residents welcome the sight of the wild creatures, but others are concerned deer eat gardens and landscaping, collide with vehicles and — especially during fawning season — threaten pets and people.

In 2012, the Ashland City Council passed a ban on the feeding of deer and other wildlife in town and also allowed residents to build taller deer fences to protect gardens, lawns and landscaping.

Some people who have put up deer fences said the fencing not only keeps the animals off their property, but seems to disrupt their routes through town.

Parker said volunteers hope to carry out another count in spring 2014.

That count will help reveal how many fawns survived the winter, he said.

Staff reporter Vickie Aldous can be reached at 541-479-8199 or vlaldous@yahoo.com.