Glade Run development begins in Zelie
ZELIENOPLE — The borough has given final approval for the first two phases of the seven-phase Glade Run Development project.
“The developer’s guessing probably a year and a half, two years for phase 1,” Jason Sarver, the borough’s code enforcement and zoning officer said.
The development, which has been 12 years in the making according borough manager Andrew Spencer, will bring 411 homes into a 252-acre plot.
“It would be the last major parcel of ground (in the borough) that could be developed,” Spencer said.
The first phase of the project would bring 24 single-family homes, 28 town houses, a “clubhouse” and parking — all stemming from an entrance on Beaver Street. This is to be followed by an additional 28 single-family homes in phase 2.
For the developer, though, the council’s approval Monday night came with some conditions.
“Final approval was given for phase 1 and phase 2 — with contingencies,” Spencer said. “There were several items that needed to be addressed, through our borough engineers, which are normal things that they review.”
These items include permitting that the developer must satisfy with state agencies, Spencer said, and approval for utilities and sewage with the borough and Western Butler County Authority, respectively.
“There will need to be traffic studies done, which would be a PennDOT function, and the borough would actually have to accept that as well,” Spencer said. “And there were concerns about addressing pedestrian traffic at the site.”
How soon construction starts depends on how long it takes the developer to satisfy all the conditions, according to Spencer.
“It’s really on them and how quickly they do the process,” Spencer said. “From what I understand, it could be a year.”
While the first two phases of the development have made final approval, the overall seven-phase project also was given preliminary approval by borough council Monday.
“There’s a lot of history in this development,” Sarver said.
Rumors and mistrust initially surrounded the project, as with most developments, according to Sarver.
“That’s why there’s a community group, it’s called Citizens in the Know,” he explained. “They kind of act as representative for the community and kind of investigate different things and make sure things are on the up and up.”
The borough — along with Citizens in the Know, the developer’s engineers and the planning commission — formed a committee to address concerns over the massive project, Sarver said.
“They all came together and really took the concerns from every direction, and created this zoning ordinance that this plan is going to go in,” he explained. “ It was basically the rules for this.”
The process to develop the ordinance, and satisfy all parties, took nearly 10 months, Sarver said.
“There were many different things,” he said. “There are some farms around there and people and they said, ‘I don’t want this against us,’ so we negotiated buffers around the entire thing. I mean, there’s all kinds of different stipulations in there.”
Sarver said the transparency and conversation between the borough, the developer and himself have been invaluable, and he continues to meet with residents as the project progresses.
“Council gave me the directive,” Sarver said. “They want me to communicate with anybody that is interested and make sure they are in the know of everything.”
While the process has been a long one, many of the questions and conversations have lead to meaningful change in the development’s plans, according to Sarver.
“There’s been a lot of thought, time and — I don’t want to say blood, sweat and tears — but there has been,” Sarver said with a laugh.
