A special meeting for a proposed 60-unit luxury apartment complex in Franklin Township will be held later this month.

Franklin Township supervisors will schedule a special meeting to approve or deny Phifer Rentals Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance plans.

Board Chairman Nick Storm said the meeting is necessary because there was no planning commission meeting last week to review the plans.

Afterward, resident Gail Maholick asked if they were providing anything for recreation.

Township solicitor Tom Nanovic said the last plan the township saw showed a dedication of real estate.

Resident Terry Shaner was against that.

“It’s useless,” Shaner said. “We don’t want that, we want the percentage of the money.”

Nanovic said he doesn’t believe they are giving it to the township, but rather are setting it aside for recreation.

Shaner said they need the money to fix up the ballfields, and hoped they would go for the money.

“It’s my recommendation that we take the money to fix our parks we have now,” Shaner said. “We don’t need this piece of land, there’s a solar panel on it and stuff; it’s useless.”

Nanovic said they can’t make them give money.

But Shaner disagreed, adding it says so in the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, and that, “if you don’t agree with the acreage, you can get money for the value of that. ...”

“If they don’t agree to it, then you don’t approve the plans, they don’t build it,” Shaner said. “If you don’t approve that, then they can’t build (the job).”

In January, after a three-hour special meeting, township supervisors granted Phifer Luxury Apartments an extension until March 31 upon review with its new engineer Greg Haas of Keystone Consulting Engineers.

The project on a 5.39-acre of property on the southwest corner of Fairyland Road and Wagner Street calls for the construction of three apartment buildings.

Jay Cooperman and Derrick Drey are the developers representing Phifer Rentals, who recently purchased the property.

Cooperman estimated that once the 60-unit apartment complex is built, it could generate between $125,000 and $150,000 in tax revenues.

Cooperman said the plans originally received zoning approval for 48 units in November 2024.

Several residents voiced concerns at that meeting about water, sewer, and increased traffic.

Todd Zellers asked if the township did a traffic analysis.

No construction can take place until they submit a final plan.

Shaner urged the board to not grant them the easements, and to shoot down the plan entirely.

At the special meeting in January, supervisors reviewed unresolved engineering and subdivision issues with township engineer Greg Haas, including:

• Approval required from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for the sewage planning module tied to the proposed sewer connection. All required documents must be submitted to the Planning Commission and supervisors.

• A PennDOT highway occupancy permit is required for the proposed driveway connection to Fairyland Road (State Route 2015).

• The erosion and sediment control plan must be approved by the Carbon County Conservation District. Because more than 1 acre will be disturbed, a stormwater permit is also required.

• A developer’s agreement, including financial security and a cost estimate for site improvements, must be finalized with the township.

• Notes on the land development plan must be updated to reflect any waivers approved by the supervisors.

• Township regulations limit developments to 12 dwelling units per single access point. The plan proposes 60 units, and a waiver has been requested to allow one access.

• Addresses must be assigned in compliance with the 911 emergency system.

• Curbs are required around parking areas; a waiver has been requested, and the engineer raised no objections.

• The plan designates 1.3 acres for recreation, exceeding the required 1.078 acres based on township standards.