Chester County Press 9-13-2017 Edition

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Chester CountyPRESS

www.chestercounty.com

Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas

Volume 151, No. 37

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Reservations about hotel plan in Kennett Square Kennett Square Borough Council supports a HARB board ruling to deny the demolition of three buildings in the historic district— delighting residents who lined up in opposition to the initial plan By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer

A boutique hotel might still be built in Kennett Square Borough, but the plans for one near the intersection of Broad and Cypress streets that were introduced just last month appear to be all but dead. At its meeting on Sept. 5, Kennett Square Borough Council voted 6-0 to support a decision by the Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB) to deny an application to demolish three buildings on the site where the hotel was proposed. Early in the meeting, Edward Foley, an attorney with Brutscher, Foley, Milliner & Land, LLP, who is representing the Kennett Realty Group for the project, requested that borough council table a decision on the matter so that the applicant could make War rages again at Battle a follow-up presentation to

INSIDE

of Brandywine site...4B

council in the near future. He explained that the Kennett Realty Group was already in the process of making revisions to the concept plans to address some of the concerns that have been raised. But when Kennett Square Borough Council elected to deny the request immediately rather than accommodate the applicant’s request to wait to see those revisions, it sent a clear message that the hotel plans, as they stand, are almost certainly dead-on-arrival, and it would take more than minor revisions for the project to move forward. Clara Saxton, a member of the HARB board, outlined the reasons why the plan to demolish the three buildings, which are within the boundaries of the borough’s historic district, are not consistent with the borough’s HARB ordinance. Saxton explained that the Continued on Page 2A

60 Cents

A perfect day for mushrooms

Photo by JoAnn Bissinger

The annual Mushroom Festival last weekend in Kennett Square drew a record crowd, thanks to great weather and a jam-packed lineup of events. For photos of the big day, see Page 1B.

Kennett Square Borough London Grove latest Council OKs agreement-of-sale township to say ‘No’ to gerrymandering for Weinstein lot The Kennett Library is purchasing the property to construct a new library building By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer Kennett Square Borough is officially selling the Weinstein lot to the Kennett Library so that a new library building can be constructed on the site near the intersection of State and Willow streets in the downtown area. The Weinstein lot is just one block east of the current library building. At the Sept. 5 meeting, Kennett Square Borough Council unanimously Continued on Page 4A

Unionville field hockey falls to Henderson...5A

INDEX

Penn Township board opposes sale of Chester Water Authority By Nancy Johnson Correspondent

At their Sept. 6 meeting, the Penn Township Calendar of Events......2B Board of Supervisors Obituaries...................3B passed a resolution expressClassifieds..................5B ing to the Chester County Commissioners their strong opposition to any potential sale of Chester Water © 2007 The Chester County Press Authority (CWA). CWA serves 42,000 customers in the city of Chester and parts of Delaware and Chester counties, including Penn Township. In May, the CWA Board of Opinion.......................7A

Courtesy photo

The future site of the new Kennett Library building.

Directors received an unsolicited $320 million offer from Aqua America to purchase the customers and assets of the company. The board rejected the offer with a vote of 9-0. However, there is concern that, because of CWA’s financial health, as well as its history of low rates and good service, it may receive another proposal at any time. Chester County customers of CWA currently pay an average monthly water rate that is about 33 percent lower than Aqua’s

By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer London Grove Township has become the latest municipality in Chester County to sign on in its rejection of gerrymandering in Pennsylvania voting districts, but not without argument. By a 3-2 vote at its Sept. 6 meeting, the township’s Board of Supervisors agreed to adopt a resolution that adds the township to a growing list of Pennsylvania cities, towns, boroughs, and counties who have already adopted similar resolutions in support of fair redistricting practices,

including 14 municipalities in Chester County. London Grove Township joins New Garden, West Bradford Township and Oxford Borough as the latest municipalities added to the list. Those voting in favor of the petition were supervisors Dave Connors, Mike Pickel and Thomas Szakas. Those not voting in favor of the petition were board chairman Richard ScottHarper and supervisor Steve Zurl. Last Wednesday’s presentation, led by township resident Russ Losco and former supervisor Eric Continued on Page 3A

East Marlborough will be getting Aldi supermarket next year By John Chambless Staff Writer

average monthly rate. “I fully support Chester Water Authority. They are a great local company which supplies water at very competitive rates and provides good service to our community,” said Curtis Mason, the chairman of the Board of Supervisors. “They also support our community by providing open space and recreation. Keep our water provider local.” While the current CWA board has consistently said that its mission is to provide

East Marlborough Township will be getting its own Aldi supermarket next year, and the township supervisors approved the conditional use order for the new business at their meeting on Sept. 11. Aldi will be moving into the former Sears Paint and Hardware store at 817 W. Baltimore Pike. The Sears store is in the process of closing. An Aldi representative who was at the supervisors meeting estimated the market will open in the second quarter of 2018. Aldi is the common brand of two leading global discount supermarket chains that have stores in 18 countries. Locally, there are Aldi stores in Exton and Coatesville. Board chairman Richard Hannum, Jr., read each of the specifications for the conditional use order aloud. The Aldi store will not be allowed to store items

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