Fairmount Homes gets green light from West Earl Twp. for expansion

When: West Earl Township Board of Supervisors meeting, Feb. 19. Supervisors Dave Thornton and Butch Keppley were absent.

What happened: Supervisors approved a lot consolidation and land development plan for the Fairmount Homes retirement community. The plan calls for an addition of 16 age-restricted semi-detached, single-family cottages on approximately 26 acres at 232 Cats Back Road.

Background: In October, supervisors voted to rezone the land from agricultural to medium-density residential.

Larger lots: Two lots at 252 and 262 Cats Back Road were consolidated on the existing Fairmount campus, totaling 24.73 acres.

Details: Fairmount is a continuing care retirement community consisting of 114 licensed health care beds, 74 licensed personal care beds, 103 apartments, and 52 cottages, according to its website. It is governed by a nine-member board from the Weaverland Conference of the Old Order Mennonite church.

Driveway waiver: One of the waivers the board approved was a minimum driveway width for each of the 16 cottages. Each property will have a 10.5-foot-wide driveway instead of the township minimum of 12 feet wide.

Timeline: John Becker of Fairmount Homes said construction contractor EG Stoltzfus intends to start construction in May.

Road closure: Supervisors also approved a request from the Clinic for Special Children to close township roads for a 5K race on May 17. The roads will be closed from approximately 8:30-10:30 a.m. The township will close the following roads for the race: North Hershey Avenue, Brethren Church Road, Center Square Road, North Maple Avenue, Balmerstown Road and Peace Road. The board also voted for West Earl Fire Police to assist with traffic control.

What’s next: Supervisors will meet at 7 p.m. March 10 at the township building at 157 W. Metzler Road, Brownstown.