At the Town Hall Meeting this week, Mt. Pleasant residents had several concerns in addition to the college student-landlord issues. I addressed the vacant lot at 958 Mt. Pleasant Road in yesterday’s post and sent a related email to the Board of Supervisors and Township Manager Mimi Gleason (with link to the post on Community Matters). I am pleased to report that I received a response from Mimi with the following information:
(1) Township staff is following up with the complaints about 958 Mount Pleasant Avenue. So far, we have not gotten a response from the property owner, but are continuing to work on it.
(2) Staff from the Chester County Health Department also was at the site this week. As far as we know, they have not issued any kind of decision yet.
(3) Staff from the PA Department of Environmental Protection are supposed to inspect the property next week.
(4) Now that the complaints about 958 Mount Pleasant Avenue have been brought to the Township’s attention, we will do everything we can to address the situation.
Thank you to our Township Manager for her follow-up with the Mt. Pleasant Ave. vacant lot; I am sure that we will begin to see a clean-up in that area.
One of the other concerns that surfaced at the Mt. Pleasant Town Hall Meeting was the vacant houses at the end of Henry Ave., the future site development to include 8 townhouses & 1 family home. Developer F & H Main Line has an approved land development plan. Much to the chagrin of neighboring Mt. Pleasant Road residents, whose homes back up to the construction site, the property was completely clear-cut and specimen trees were not saved. According to these neighbors, specimen trees were to be saved and unfortunately that did not occur.
Community members are concerned about the vacant houses that have been left accessible by the developer. Although the vacant houses are slated for demolition, there does not seem to be a timeline. In the meantime, the houses have not been boarded up — the windows and doors are open and are encouraging the local kids to run in and out. There are no posted ‘keep out’ signs nor is there any fencing surrounding the construction site.
Note: I created a set of photos that I feel highlight the Henry Ave. development site — the clear-cutting of the property and the safety issues surrounding the vacant buildings.
Click here to review the photos with comments on Flickr. If you prefer a slideshow presentation, click here.
Please review the photos and then offer your comment. Do you think that the vacant buildings post a safety concern to the community? Does the developer bear a responsibility to secure the site from the public? Do you think that the township is responsible to make sure that the developer secures the site? In my opinion, accessibility to these vacant houses is a serious accident waiting to happen, would you agree?