Supervisors back waivers and conditions for 287,000‑square‑foot industrial project at 3750 East Market Street

The Springettsbury Township Board of Supervisors voted to recommend approval of a preliminary/final land‑development plan for a proposed 287,000‑square‑foot manufacturing facility at 3750 East Market Street, subject to multiple waivers and conditions tied to contaminated‑soil constraints and PennDOT requirements.

Tom Englert of Site Design Concepts, representing the developer, told the board the existing structure on the site is “more or less blighted” and will be demolished to make way for the new facility. Englert said the site contains contaminated soils under an Act 2 consent agreement and that the developer has an individual NPDES permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Because of the contamination, Englert said, the design relies on a “managed release” stormwater approach that prevents infiltration into groundwater to avoid moving contaminants: “When you start infiltrating water back in there, any of those contaminants are gonna get pushed around,” he said.

Staff and Englert explained that the Act 2 closure limits options for excavation and requires monitoring wells and capping in place of full soil removal in the developer’s closure plan. As a result, the developer requested a set of waivers from local stormwater and plan standards (including time‑to‑dewater and rate‑control provisions) that staff said reflect the site’s unique constraints and DEP guidance for contaminated properties.

Board members pressed staff and the developer on the technical rationale. A planner explained that DEP expects infiltration when feasible but permits managed‑release strategies “when you simply can’t do that” because of contamination or sinkhole activity. The board also discussed tying a developer’s agreement to the financial improvement guarantee; planning staff said the developer’s agreement can accompany the improvement guarantee and noted PennDOT will require certain responsibilities be allocated among PennDOT, township, and developer.

A motion to recommend approval subject to the eight requested waivers was made and unanimously carried. The board then moved and approved a recommendation that included specific plan conditions — callouts for valve/check‑valve details on plan sheet C‑11 and, critically, that approval be conditioned upon “receipt and satisfactory review of the developer’s agreement.” Those conditions were recorded in the board’s motion.

What happens next

The recommendation now proceeds through the township’s review processes; the developer must provide the developer’s agreement and satisfy the specified plan detail callouts before final action. The township also noted coordination with PennDOT will be required to obtain the highway occupancy permit governing driveway and related responsibilities.

Provenance:
- topicintro: SEG 184 ("This is 3750 East Market Street, the old Fincore site.")
- topfinish: SEG 536 (motion recording and plan‑condition vote)