East Penn Township supervisors unanimously approved conditional final plan approval on Monday night for the Inn at Birch Wild at 3236 W. Lizard Creek Road.

Owners Cheryl Roger and Rhonda Roman have been working on the project for several years.Plans called for a four-unit guest house and main lodge with indoor pool; a three-unit guest house; inn keepers suite; barn/banquet hall; and the creation of an outdoor ceremony/event site.According to Dean Kercsmar, East Penn supervisor chairman, the township planning commission recommended conditional approval at its April 15 meeting.Kercsmar said for the main inn to be used prior to completion of the entire project, developers need to get a certificate of occupancy from the township, give the township a letter from the sewage enforcement officer authorizing use of an on lot sewer system pending construction of a new system, submit plans showing how they will utilize the parking area at the main inn, and mark and pave at least one handicap accessible parkingspace.The township granted preliminary plan approval on May 5, 2014.According to the Inn at Birch Wild's Facebook page, pump and tanks for the sprinkler system had been installed as of Friday."This was the final major piece of the puzzle," owners posted. "We still need the electrician to make it live, which is now on the schedule. But today was huge. So we are keeping our fingers crossed and thinking about six more weeks until final approval to open."In other action on Monday, supervisors approved a memorandum of understanding with the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor stating that the township will submit a permit application to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for a flashing strobe light on Route 895. The light would be located where the D&L trail crosses Route 895 and travels along Riverview Road to the East Penn Boat Launch."Our application is contingent on us only needing the level one certification for a traffic signal technician," Kercsmar said.East Penn would be in charge of maintenance of the light, a fact that has been a point of contention the past several months."We're the folks who have to meet the obligations," Kercsmar said. "D&L can just put this in and walk away. I don't mean that negatively, but we have to be mindful of what we're applying for."Dennis DeMara, representing the D&L Corridor, said his organization would pay for someone from the township to get the level one maintenance certification for the signal."We'd also work with you in the future if that person leaves and someone new needs to be certified," DeMara said. "We certainly hope that person doesn't change every year, but we'll work with you."The flashing light at Route 895 will be triggered when a person walking or biking approaches the crossing.The Department of Conservation and Natural resources has kicked in over $200,000 for the project."We have grant funding that runs out in a few months and we don't want to lose that," DeMara said. "We see this as the final project to complete the trail in the township."