Forward Township supervisors approve Merten Farms with conditions
FORWARD TWP — Three property matters on the board of supervisors agenda Tuesday were approved, although one came with a caveat.
The three-member board granted final approval to phase one of Merten Farms, a planned multifamily housing development along Marburger Road near the border with Adams Township. The vote was two to one in favor, with Susan Oliver-Stough voting against.
However, this approval was contingent on the developers of the property — the Marburger Road Development Company — addressing the concerns of township engineer Tom Thompson. Those concerns were raised in a letter Thompson sent to the developers March 11.
“Some of those conditions were they needed a developers’ agreement and a stormwater management operation and maintenance agreement,” Thompson said. “They need to add some certificates to the drawings for the stormwater. That was the majority of those comments.”
“The supervisors cannot sign off on the final plan until all the contingencies have been met,” said township manager Tom Hartwig.
Forward Township’s planning commission narrowly gave their approval to Merten Farms’ phase one plans by a 4-3 vote at its Feb. 27 meeting. Those who voted against approval expressed concern that the complex, as presented, would have only one entry and exit point onto Marburger Road, among other possible issues.
Oliver-Stough, who also serves on the planning commission, expressed concerns about both the singular entry/exit point and the property’s proximity to a natural gas line. She was one of the three planning commission members who voted no for approval in February.
“Yes, you are in compliance with our township ordinances at the time you applied. You are not required to have a second entrance or exit,” Oliver-Stough said. “That does not mean you can’t put in a second exit.”
Oliver-Stough brought up the possibility xthe singular entry/exit point could lead to disaster if there was a failure of the nearby gas well.
“So here you have a situation with 116 units with multiple people there … who are going to be crammed into this one area. The road in and out is going to be a choke point,” Oliver-Stough said. “It’s their only avenue of escape if there’s a failure of that natural gas well.”
Shortly afterward, the board of supervisors granted preliminary approval for the sports complex tentatively planned for the Cashdollar family’s property on Watters Station Road.
The Cashdollar plans have gone through the submission process multiple times since it first went before the public in mid-2023, with the planning commission tabling the project twice before they finally gave it their approval at their most recent meeting.
The plans, which have recently undergone slight changes, call for an outdoor soccer field along with three enclosed buildings, which would feature an indoor soccer field, four pickleball courts and two pole vaulting tracks.
During this process, township residents packed meetings to express their concerns about the project, which include the possible impact on traffic along Watters Station Road and the facility’s ability to handle stormwater.
Oliver-Stough, while acknowledging the community’s concerns, said the developers had done everything asked of them by the township.
“I think the community has voiced their opinion, and especially the residents living nearby,” Oliver-Stough said. “This complex is in compliance with township requirements at the time that they applied, so we’re not in a position to create more requirements for them.”
