Whitemarsh supervisors table Roberts Avenue triplex after residents oppose waivers

The Whitemarsh Board of Supervisors on July 7 voted to table SLD 02‑26, a proposed three‑unit, three‑story building at 201 Roberts Avenue, after residents sharply criticized the developer's requested waivers and urged the board to preserve the single‑family character of the neighborhood.

Chair Tull moved to table the application to the board’s next regular meeting and suggested the applicant and neighbors meet before then to try to resolve concerns. The motion carried by voice vote.

The application would replace an existing greenhouse and attached single‑family dwelling with a triplex. Solicitor Kilkenny summarized the procedural history: the zoning officer determined prior nonconforming uses were not abandoned, the applicant obtained dimensional variances from the Zoning Hearing Board, and subsequent appeals were withdrawn, leaving the Zoning Hearing Board decision final.

Applicant Robert Rutoski described design changes he said were intended to reduce safety risks and better fit the block: moving parking off the street into a rear alley, repaving the alley entrance, changing the building elevation to read like a single‑family house and adding what he said would be about 69 trees and shrubs. “We tried to make it look like a single family home,” Rutoski said, describing interior circulation that would limit the building’s appearance from the street.

Residents and neighborhood leaders urged the board to deny the waivers. Kathy Burke, who lives two doors down, called out concerns about stormwater runoff on a steep street and said she was “heartened by the planning commission’s recommendation to deny the developer’s plan.” James Pickle, a long‑time neighbor, accused township staff of mishandling zoning records and described a history of contested communications; he said neighbors had been pressured to withdraw appeals and warned the community would prefer a single‑family house to a nine‑bedroom building. “Nine freaking bedrooms,” Pickle said, describing what he viewed as incompatible density.

Several neighbors raised repeated concerns about sewer capacity, on‑street parking, sight distance for vehicles turning onto Hallowell Street and the effect of more units on a narrow, heavily parked road. Multiple speakers noted that both the Zoning Hearing Board and Planning Commission had expressed reservations about the project and urged the supervisors to uphold the advisory bodies’ recommendations.

Board members focused their questions on the specific waivers under consideration — including requests to combine preliminary and final land‑development review, to accept aerial imagery in lieu of some field surveys, to waive sidewalk installation, to reduce setback and buffer widths, and to replace a large storm pipe requirement with smaller piping for downspouts. Technical staff and the applicant exchanged details about parking counts (the applicant proposes six spaces; the ordinance requires five for a three‑unit multifamily under the township rule of 1.5 spaces per unit), tree plantings and proposed stormwater measures.

Rather than vote on the waivers, the board chose to delay action so staff, the applicant and neighbors can reconvene. Chair Tull encouraged a neighborhood meeting to “see if there are some ways to meet in the middle” before the next meeting.

What happens next: SLD 02‑26 remains tabled until the board’s next regular meeting; the board recommended face‑to‑face talks between the applicant and nearby residents and additional staff review of the waiver requests.