There is now a two-month continuance in the zoning hearing for the proposed Shops at Concord. Two sessions of the he hearing were held in Concord Township in December and January, but they were then continued to February. However, that session was continued to March 18, but that too has now been continued to May 20.
The proposed shopping center would be in the empty 23-acre lot at Route 202 and Ridge Road. While that property is in Concord, it borders Chadds Ford Township. The plans include a Giant supermarket with a proposed gas station, something the Concord zoning officer said is not permitted there, as it’s not an acceptable accessory use.
But while the two-month delay is in effect, members of Save-Ridge.org, a predominantly Chadds Ford group, are still protesting.
Caróle Sinclair-Thompson is the organizer of the protest that took place on Sunday, March 15. She speculated on what might be happening during that two-month lapse and expressed some hope about what might happen.
“I think they’re redoing their plan. I think the whole idea of it being a building, there is a question of what a building is,” she said.
Sinclair-Thompson was referring to part of the zoning hearing that concerned itself with three pads on the proposed plan. Those three pads are separated only by narrow, 2-inch expansion joints, which Concord’s zoning hearing officer said was actually one building in excess of 62,000 square feet, which would require a conditional use hearing for approval.
One of the possible tenants is a Giant supermarket. And while neither the shopping center nor the Giant have been approved, Ginat still had a liquor license conditional use hearing in Concord on Feb. 24.
“I think they’re reworking it. The whole thing with the liquor license is questionable, whether they’re going to try to get a liquor license before they get a building permit. That seems odd to me,” she said.
Sinclair-Thompson then brought up what she hopes is being considered.
“I hope that they’re eliminating the gas pumps [proposed for the Giant]. I would hope they’re eliminating the whole thing. My dream would be that somebody else would come in and but [the property] or that Concord Township would buy it and maybe put a Lenape Indian museum there, and a dog park,” she said. “But that’s just a dream that I don’t think will come true. In reality, I just hope that they modify what they’re doing and make it more Chadds Ford-like.”
Another protestor was architect Modesto Bigas-Baledon.
“I would think they’re reconsidering their development plan,” he said while speculating what the applicant might be doing during these two months. “I hope they are considering some of the input that’s been given to Concord Township during the hearing process. That would be positive.”
He went on to say he’s hoping the applicant will reconsider the proposed tenant mix for the center and wants there to be time to properly review any updated plan, if one is to come out of this public hiatus period. Bigas-Baledon added that he hopes they will eliminate the gas station.
Many, if not most, of the residents involved with Save-Riudge.org live along or just off Ridge Road, and their homes are on well water. They fear that any gas spill could pollute their wells, making them unusable.
Other residents, such as Qaizar Hassonjee and Paul Lincoln, expressed stronger attitudes.
What I hope they’re doing is rethinking the whole plan,” Hassonjee said. “What they had previously proposed was going to be a big issue for the neighborhood and the community. They were proposing a gas station that could contaminate our water supply. And if that gas can get into our aquifer, that would poison all of our drinking water. And there’s no guarantee that it will not contaminate.”
He also said they don’t want any more traffic on Ridge Road because it’s a windy, curvy road. When he was reminded that PennDOT might want Ridge Road widened and used as an entrance and exit for the proposed center, Hassonjee said he is opposed to that, too, adding that all ingress and egress should be off Route 202. He said explicitly that he does not want Ridge Road widened.
“We are not against development, but we want to make sure it’s a responsible development that does not cause issues with safety and security for the residents,” he added.
Paul Lincoln was even more adamant.
“There are two possible options with what they’re doing. One is the first design that came with obvious noncompliance with the gas station…and large contiguous building ordinances. So, they could be changing that. But this could also be a graceful exit,” he said.
Lincoln explained that he thinks they might be reconsidering the entire proposal because of all the community opposition to the plan.
What Lincoln hopes is that the whole application will go away.
“I hope they walk away, I mean, this shopping center. The developer has the right to do whatever he wants with it, but they’ve completely missed the market in this area of Concord and Chadds Ford townships for things that we really want and need. We don’t need extra supermarkets; we don’t need extra car washes or gas stations. This is the wrong place and feels like the wrong time to develop this land in the manner that Robert Hill [applicant] wants.
Residents will have to wait until May 20 to find out what’s going on unless something is revealed sooner. In the interim, the Concord Township Council is expected to announce its decision on Giant’s liquor license hearing at its meeting on April 7.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
