Gateway Kia zoning hearing board application tabled after applicant fails to appear

The Warrington Township Planning Commission on Aug. 6 tabled consideration of a Gateway Kia zoning hearing board application for 1425 Easton Road after an applicant representative failed to appear to answer questions.

Staff summarized the filing: the lot is about 292,624 square feet with existing commercial buildings; the applicant proposes a 5,451‑square‑foot addition to the 12,950‑square‑foot dealership and additional vehicle inventory parking, plus an underground stormwater basin. Staff said the application requests a special exception to allow the expansion of automobile sales in the WV district and variances to exceed the township’s nonresidential building footprint limit (8,000 sq ft) and the maximum building length (60 ft) — the proposal calls for an 8,401‑sq‑ft footprint and a 155‑ft building length. "The applicant is proposing to construct a 5,451 square foot addition onto existing 12,950 square foot dealership showroom and service building as well as construct a parking lot for vehicle inventory storage," a staff member said while summarizing the submission.

Commissioners agreed they were not comfortable proceeding without the applicant present and moved to table the matter until the applicant requests to appear before the commission. A commissioner asked whether tabling could invoke the 90‑day deemed‑approval clock; staff replied that, because the submission is to the zoning hearing board rather than a land‑development application, the 90‑day deemed‑approval rule is not invoked at this stage. The commission voted to table the Gateway Kia matter and will reconsider it when applicant representatives attend and can answer outstanding questions.