Business development is starting to pick up in Chestnuthill Township. Wednesday evening the township's planning commission reviewed three plans for new buildings.

All three are for ongoing projects that are getting much closer to breaking ground.St. Luke'sThe 715 Professional Building is a medical building which will house a St. Luke's facility and has been through planning and essentially approved by the supervisors but the township was reluctant to issue any final approvals without the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation highway occupancy permit and the sewage permits being approved.PennDOT has made a request for a minor change in the width and location of the driveway which enters off Route 715. Additionally, PennDOT is requesting that the driveway entrance off Route 209 be a complete in and out. The township supervisors have been against that design. The concern is that with the recent changes to the intersection of Routes 209 and 715, to keep traffic moving, the driveway located along Route 209 should be a right in/right out only.The commission will ask the township supervisors to submit a letter to PennDOT outlining the concerns. Once the HOP is issued, the plan should be back before the supervisors for final approval.Route 115Also on the agenda was the Mastermind Route 115 Land Development Plan. The last time the plan was before the township the property was to be used as a retail and restaurant space. The plan has been modified and the developer is now planning to use the property for office space.According to the planning commission, the plan still needs to have quite a few drafting modifications due to the change in usage. The other open items, such as alternate open space and stormwater fund security will be decided by the supervisors when the plan comes before them.The project still needs a final HOP approval and a sewage planning module. It is not known yet if a Department of Environmental Protection permit is needed.The planning commission voted to table the plan until some of the items are resolved.Mount EffortThe Mount Effort Shopping Plaza - Phase I was also on the agenda. The project involves the building of a Gerrity's supermarket on property located at the intersection of Route 115 and State Road in Effort. The property will also house a preschool and a Martz Trailways park and ride.The Mount Effort project has been in the works since July 2013. The preliminary Land Development Plan has been reviewed by the planning commission and there are a few items which require waivers.One of the main concerns of the developer and the owners of Gerrity's is parking. The SALDO in Chestnuthill requires landscaped islands and reserve parking spaces.The developer, Keith Beccia is asking to eliminate the landscaped islands in the parking area, but is adding additional landscaping on the site as a compromise. The total number of parking spaces required by the SALDO are 583 with an additional 151 reserved spaces.Beccia is proposing 612 constructed spaces rather than the 583, but is offering many less reserved spaces.According to Beccia, Joe Fasula, the owner of Gerrity's has done a number of marketing studies and convenience is very critical to potential customers."We have presented a plan that has the lowest number of parking spaces we can have,' said Beccia. "The number of parking spaces in front of the building are critical to the plan."Beccia also requested some adjustments to landscape screening and buffers.The last item of concern was the design of the supermarket itself. The SALDO requires that any building longer than 100 feet be designed to resemble multiple shops. Fasula provided a rendering of the front of the building, which the commission members agreed did not require a waiver, however the side view of the building would possibly require a waiver since it too is over 100 feet long."This is the view from Route 115," said attorney Joseph Hanyon, representing Fasula. "They are going to want to make it look appealing, but they are too early in the design to know how that section of the building is going to be used in the interior, so we may need a waiver eventually."The commission members agreed to recommend acceptance of all of the requested waivers. The issue of the total number of parking spaces is a conditional use issue and needs to be brought before the supervisors at a public hearing.