WHAT?

A Zoning Board meeting was held on September 12, 2024 at the West Whiteland Township Building at 101 Commerce Drive Exton, PA  19341 at 6PM. This application was was the only item on the agenda.

The meeting was very well attended by many who oppose this project. Were you there?

SUMMARY of the West Whiteland Zoning Hearing Board 

September 12, 2024 meeting

A complete rundown of the September 12, 2024 meeting of the West Whiteland Township Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB) will involve many details & components. Plus, there was a wide variety of individuals' direct involvement in the proceedings. It's safe to say that the ZHB kept the process moving along at a brisk pace. However, certain aspects of Mr. Woolfrey's long history of trying to determine a profitable use for his land at the intersection of Burgoyne & Spackman once again dominated much of the meeting. This zoning variance which has been the topic of discussion is a variance application is asking to make this land a commercial zone, changing it from the residential designation it has now

A complete transcript of the meeting as entered by the court reporter, Jade. According to Mr. Weller from the Zoning Board,  "...the transcripts are  legally the property of the court reporter, so we are not allowed to  provide copies – or post them on the Township website.  If you would  like a copy, you will need to contact the court reporter directly."

The price per page for the transcript is $3.25 . The estimated price to acquire this document is $150. If the transcript has been purchased by the Township, then we are the ones who own it, and should not have to pay again to see it.

During this meeting, commencing at 6PM on September 12, 2024, a substantial amount of time was devoted to Mr. Woolfrey's percieved inability or unwillingness to develop his property for residential use. The overall consensus was that there was simply no way to make a profit from residential (single family homes) development. Many of the answers from Mr. W upon cross examination were his own conjecture or opinion, and were without any quantitative substantiation or professional analyses or studies. 

In addition to the attorney representing an opposed "party", several of the residents who were granted "party status" in this matter were given the opportunity to cross examine Mr. W and his witnesses. The questioning from these residents reflected a lot of consideration of the elements of this application that directly affected all of those opposed (including those residents who are excluded from the main part of the proceedings), and were particularly relevant, focused, & eloquent. Every party who addressed the applicant did so respectfully and in a determined manner, until he delivered mostly unsubstantiated and insufficient answers, which were based on his personal opinion.

A representative of the WWT Board of Supervisors solicitor's office was also present and expressing the Board's opposition to the Woolfrey application.

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**Click here to take a look at some specific aspects of the  9/12/24 cross examination.

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A SURPRISE MOTION

A motion was made toward the end of the meeting by Mr. W.'s attorney to amend the application to include building townhouses and/or apartments. The request was objected to by a party's lawyer, by the Township's solicitor, by all of the parties in the room, as well as by a mouse in the corner who was trying to remain impartial but felt that this was so unfair that he had to speak up. The ZHB unanimously rejected this motion. This motion came so far out of left field, and was almost a sad, tragic, and frankly humorous conclusion to a lively meeting where serious matters were discussed. It was denied almost before it was raised.

The reason given by a lawyer for one of the "parties" for his objection was that he had prepared his case given the original purpose stated in the application. He stated further that he would have to go through additional preparation in order to accept such an amendment to this application. The same reasoning applied to any "party" who had prepared their cross examination of the applicant to address the application as it was originally filed with the Township.

TRANSCRIPT OF THE ENTIRE MEETING:

 According to the ZHB, the transcripts are  legally the property of the court reporter, so the ZHB is not allowed to  provide copies – or post them on the Township website.  They advise that if you would  like a copy, you will need to contact the court reporter directly. 

The estimated cost of one of these transcripts is $150. If the Township has purchased this document, it should be available at no cost to the taxpayers.

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Conclusion: 

Much of the time spent on this matter related to Mr. W.'s attempts to develop this property for residential use, and his contention that such development was/is not practical or profitable. While many parties in attendance seemed to stipulate this, he seems to now want to double down on developing the land for another purpose. So maybe the position of the applicant is that the residents and parties with interest in this zoning application have to choose one alternative or the other. As a third option, it has to be pointed out that this land may not be destined for development.

The next ZHB meeting concerning this application has been scheduled for Thursday,  October 17, at 6PM. It will be a brief meeting, in which the Woolfrey matter will be continued to October 24, at 6PM.

The date to continue this matter has changed a couple of times since the September 12 meeting. As of October 3, the date has been set for October 17 at 6PM, but this will only be a brief meeting in which the Woolfrey matter is continued to October 24th at 6PM. You are free to attend this October 17 meeting, but  "no testimony will be presented or accepted" on October 17, according to Mr. Weller fo the ZHB  . This is subject to changes, according to availability of the meeting room, witnesses, etc..so please check back here & on the WWT website for an update.

When the next meeting takes place, apparently there may be one more "expert witness" called by the Woolfrey attorney or by the attorney for the opposition. There will also be time allowed for people who were designated as "parties" to testify. The other residents who are not granted "party" status will not be considered "until the end" as noted by the ZHB solicitor.

If you feel that have relevant information concerning what happened at this meeting - especially the highlights of what happened- please send that to: 

NoSelfStore@yahoo.com

A Zoning Board meeting was held on August 29, 2024 at the West Whiteland Township Building at 101 Commerce Drive Exton, PA 19341 at 7PM. This application was addressed first on the agenda.

The meeting was very well attended by many who oppose this project. Were you there?

Lawyers for both sides were present, as well as a representative of the Board of Supervisors. The land owner, Herman Woolfrey, was also there.

Woolfrey's lawyer was given the floor, in which he asked Mr. W about the long history of his attempts to develop this property, going back some 40 years.

The lawyer for an individual identified as a "party" was then asked if he wanted to redirect questioning to the land owner. He asked questions about why Mr. W. didn't proceed to develop the land in other ways. The bottom line was that there was simply no money in it (It is called "land speculation", and there is a reason for that.) . Mr. W. believes that a self storage business would bring him a return on his original investment in the land ($10,000), and would have minimal impact on the neighborhood and surrounding streets. He gave no serious evidence to support that claim.

After that, the Zoning Hearing Board members were given the opportunity to question Mr. W. There were several questions about how he expected traffic to be affected, and how trucks and RV's would be able to access the entrance of the property - especially given the low overhead bridge and the very narrow roads leading to the property. One of the Zoning Board members appeared skeptical about how a large RV would navigate Burgoyne Rd. Mr. W suggested that  32 ft. RV would be O.K. The board member also said that he has driven a fire truck on these roads, and that they are really quite narrow.

Nobody asked Matt (with his orange shirt & friendly wave), who takes healthy walks on a regular basis on this road how he felt about this. Matt was not in attendance, but many of us  often see him and are concerned for his safety. 

New residents surfaced at this meeting, asking to be granted "party" status, and as a result, more party members were identified and they became parties to this. This gives them or their lawyers the right to participate and for their views to be taken into consideration.

A new meeting of the ZHB concerning this matter was scheduled for September 12, 2024 at 6PM.

The portion of this meeting devoted to this matter ended around 8:20 PM.

If you feel that have more relevant information concerning what happened at this meeting, please send that to: 

NoSelfStore@yahoo.com