Elan Gardens Senior Living is making changes to a planned addition to its South Abington Twp. facility to address concerns about the project, but neighbors say the expansion shouldn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n
The facility is seeking a variance from the zoning hearing board to construct the addition with multiple buildings an average of 41 feet high \u2014 six feet higher than the maximum building height of 35 feet allowed under township zoning on its 22-acre property at 465 Venard Road. It will add 48 units to the existing building and 16 one-story buildings.\n<\/p>\n
The board approved the 57-unit facility\u2019s request to construct the addition, known as Elan Commons, but denied their variance request for the buildings to be 44 feet high.<\/p>\n
The addition will be further away from neighbors than the previous plans, being 310 feet from the neighbors. The visual impact to neighbors, officials added, will be mitigated by the grading, tree line and distance from the proposed building to neighboring properties.<\/p>\n
James Tressler, the attorney representing Elan, said the reduced height is in line with the current building, which was built in 1996 and is further away from neighbors.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur idea, in keeping with being good neighbors, was to move the structure as far as we could off the rear line,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Tressler hopes Elan will be able to move forward with the project diligently while being sensitive to the neighbors and their concerns while also meeting a need for the growing elderly population.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would like to be as neighborly as possible with the rear yard neighbors and their concerns,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Elan officials reflected the need for senior living units in its latest application.<\/p>\n
\u201cElan\u2019s regional studies confirm a demonstrated and growing need for independent and senior living options in the community,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n
Neighbors living around the facility oppose the project, saying it will change the character of the area and violate a special exception the township granted the facility in 1995, which stated Elan Gardens could only build on 4 acres of the property and not obstruct nearby residences.<\/p>\n
James Brando, an attorney representing 11 residents living around the property, filed an appeal of the board\u2019s May decision in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas seeking to overturn it.<\/p>\n
The plans, he contends, are not allowed in the township\u2019s residential zoning district, of which the property is a part. They contain multiple attached buildings and duplexes, both of which are not permitted in the zone.<\/p>\n
Several residents who are part of the appeal said they remained concerned about the plans and plan to continue fighting them.<\/p>\n
Alex Fried, who has lived on Quail Hollow Drive with his wife, Ruth, since 1998, said variances like the ones Elan seeks are intended to address genuine hardships affecting the construction or use of the property and not accommodate a development plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think the zoning ordinance should be applied fairly and consistently to all property owners,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Alex Fried and his neighbors aren\u2019t opposed to facilities like Elan that care for the elderly, they said they feel that the expansion is a substantially different that what is allowed on the property under current township zoning, and not consistent with the residential characteristics that surround the facility.<\/p>\n
Ruth Fried said the neighbors are committed to fighting the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t belong in our neighborhood and we will fight it until the end,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The township zoning hearing board will hear Elan\u2019s request on Aug. 25.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Elan Gardens Senior Living is making changes to a planned addition to its South Abington Twp. facility to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[182,139,178,180,179,181],"class_list":["post-269044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-top-stories-stt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}