Radnor Township Planning Commission Meeting – July 6, 2026
Radnor Township Planning Commission Meeting – July 6, 2026
The Radnor Township Planning Commission met on July 6, 2026, at 6:30 PM in the Radnorshire Room. The meeting covered approval of prior minutes, a revised plan for the Oak Hill elderly housing project, and a zoning ordinance amendment regarding nonconforming uses. The commission voted on the Oak Hill project but continued the zoning discussion to the next meeting due to lack of a voting quorum.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes from June 1, 2026: Approved 4-0, with Commissioner Kunda abstaining.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Joe Cosse (resident of Wayne, Bloomingdale Avenue) asked about the expected completion date of the Oak Hill project. The owner, Greg Lingo, responded that the project is demand-driven, with 65 deposits on phase one, vertical construction hoped to start by spring 2027, first move-ins anticipated in winter 2028, and full completion by approximately 2030.
Discussion Items
- Application 217384-1075 – Oak Hill Project (Revised Plan): Greg Lingo (owner, Rockwell Radnor) and Rob Lambert (Site Engineering) presented the revised plan for a 15-building home for the aged on a single lot. Changes included moving the assisted memory care building to improve the arrival vista, adding a loop road for full circulation (improving emergency access), a traffic circle and boulevard, a greenhouse, and minor grading and signage adjustments. The plan had previously received approvals from the Zoning Hearing Board and Shade Tree Commission. Two review letters (from Gennett Plumbing and Gilmore Associates) were marked "will comply." The total unit count remained unchanged. Staff and commissioners asked about square footage changes (not provided) and sight distance concerns at a garage entrance on the loop road; the applicant noted that stop controls could be added if needed. Commissioner Rob praised the revised plan as organic improvement. Commissioner Kunda recused himself from the vote.
- Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Nonconforming Uses (Chapter 280): The commission discussed proposed amendments to define abandonment and other terms for nonconforming uses. Staff and commissioners raised several concerns:
- Commissioner Kunda (absent from prior meeting) questioned the provision for compulsory merger of nonconforming lots (Section 280-176 D), arguing it could destroy property value and asked how the zoning officer would enforce it.
- Commissioner Kim expressed a desire for flexibility to create more housing and used a hypothetical example of converting upstairs apartments above a Rita's (a former Asian restaurant) into three units. Staff clarified that the amendment does not change current permitted uses; it only restricts uses after abandonment. Commissioner Kim noted that under the example, only proprietors or watchmen could live above the commercial use after abandonment of the commercial use for over a year, raising concerns about tenant evictions. Staff acknowledged landlord-tenant law complexities but stated the zoning change would limit future use.
- Commissioner Bagner noted that the amendment was presented as a 10-year cleanup but does not align with the ongoing "New Vision" code overhaul project, and the timing (coinciding with the departure of the zoning officer) raised questions. She also expressed concern about language that could weaken enforcement of irregularities.
- Doug (staff) explained that the amendment is a reaction to past litigation where the lack of precise definitions favored landowners, and that it aims to protect citizens from predatory speculators.
- The commission did not vote on the amendment due to lack of a quorum (Commissioner Kunda recused, and others were absent or not voting). A motion to continue the discussion to the next meeting (August 3, 2026) was made and seconded, but the meeting was adjourned before a formal vote on the continuance.
- Old Business – Wayne Business Overlay District Master Plan: The agenda listed this item, but it was not discussed due to the early adjournment.
Key Outcomes
- Oak Hill Project (Application 217384-1075): Approved 4-0, with Commissioner Kunda recusing himself. The approval is subject to compliance with cleanup items noted in the Gennett and Gilmore review letters.
- Zoning Ordinance Amendment (Nonconforming Uses): Discussion was continued to the next regular meeting on August 3, 2026, due to lack of a voting quorum. No vote was taken.
- Meeting Adjourned: A motion to adjourn was made and seconded, and all present voted in favor, ending the meeting without addressing the Wayne Business Overlay District item.
Meeting Transcript
And we will start with the Pledge of Allegiance. Under God is the question. All right, thank you. Um first item is the minutes from the June 1st, 2026 meeting. Uh is there any commissioner comment? Any staff comment? Motion to approve. Motion by Gollis. Second. By Kim. All right. All in favor. Aye. Aye. That passes. Oh, it's not there. Passes four to nothing with Commissioner Kunda abstaining. The next issue is application 217-384-1075. Primarily for elderly residents. This is a revised plan that has been reviewed multiple times back in 2023, I think it started, and also once again in the past year. Looks like the uh plan project owner. Yep, uh, my name's Greg Lingo. I'm the owner of uh Rockwell Radner, who's the uh owner of the property. The um we were in front of this board previously, most recently before going to the zoning hearing board to get some relief, which we were were able to attain. Um and just a reminder, the relief we were looking for had to do with some steep slopes that were um impacted slightly as a result of creating more circulation within the community. We were able to get a um a road all the way around the property rather than before it kind of dead-ended. And then in addition to that, um, in terms of a sense of arrival and a real upgrade to the community was taking the assisted memory care building, which is the first big building on the right there, and moving it over closer to the property line so that as you drive up, you're not looking at the back of that building, but instead you're looking at a nice vista uh of the rest of the complex. Um with me tonight is Rob Lambert from Site Engineering. Uh good evening. Um as Greg mentioned, the the plan um was all previously approved, so the same number of units, um, same general configuration we're developing in the same portion of the site. Um we were here before uh the zoning hearing board uh to get your recommendation. We got the zoning approval. Uh we have been to Shade Tree. We have a recommendation of approval from uh the Shade Tree Commission. Um we did receive two uh review letters, one from uh Gennett Llumbing and one from Gilmore Associates. Um both letters are will comply. I'm happy to go through any any questions you have in them. Um we went through uh a whole plan that was approved and is actually under construction currently. Um most of these are kind of cleanup from the areas where we change stormwater and grading and um there's a fair amount of you know adding striping and signs and things like that that that really don't have an impact to the plan itself. Um but overall, as as Greg mentioned, we move the uh uh assisted living memory care building kind of off to the right. We have a uh an area of parking, but what we really created was as you come off of Eagle Road, you come up, you get to we have a little bit of a traffic circle roundabout um as a relief as you go up the hill, and then you have a boulevard, right? So we actually separated the ingress and egress from this, have a little bit of boulevard to have landscaping up the center to a point of arrival uh right at the main building. You can enter the uh personal care memory care building separately, um, but if you're gonna enter the complex, you have really a nice a nice sense of arrival there. Um what we also did was we have a driveway that now goes fully around the perimeter, and this was really in response to some of the discussions with emergency services, talking to them about how they would access the property, uh, where they would go. Um, and so we were able to uh provide that full circulation around the perimeter of the buildings uh with a new driveway. Um and then just little minor tweaks. We added a greenhouse to the plan um just to create a another place to go on the property. So um overall, um excited to kind of continue the construction moving forward, happy to answer any questions you have um staff to is there any comment from uh I believe most of the comments in my letter are just clean up items. I do have one question. Do you have uh the numbers with you of the buildings got slightly larger?
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