Grass Height Not To Exceed Eight Inches in East Whiteland; Sinkhole to be Repaired

Have a lazy neighbor with an unruly lawn? At Wednesday night's East Whiteland Board of Supervisors meeting, the board approved an amendment establishing a maximum grass height of eight inches. The board also authorized the Public Works department to move ahead on repair of a sinkhole on Phoenixville Pike by Great Valley High School and discussed the Uptown Worthington property rental cap.

Maximum Grass Height Set at Eight Inches

The board approved an amendment to the Township’s International Property Maintenance Code to establish a maximum height of eight inches for grasses cultivated as lawn.

According to Township Manager Terry Woodman, eight inches has traditionally been the township's standard maximum grass height. The max height was already recognized several years ago, before the township adopted the International Property Maintenance Code. When the code was adopted, the township was supposed to reestablish jurisdiction for a certain grass height in inches, but the township neglected to do so.

If a neighbor has an unsightly lawn, residents can call the township to report the nuisance, Woodman said. "Usually, [the calls we receive are] a neighbor calling saying 'The people next door haven't mowed since April, the land is unsightly, and I'm having a graduation party—can you please do something about this?'"

If a complaint is made, generally a code enforcement officer goes out to the property to see if the offending lawn is indeed eight inches or longer. If it is, the code enforcement officer will try to contact the offending owner by knocking on the door or calling to remind them they need to mow the lawn. If verbal notice is ignored, written notice will be given. If written notice is ignored, the township will take the issue to the district justice, Woodman said.

The board unanimously approved the amendment.

Sinkhole on Phoenixville Pike to be Addressed

Director of Public Works Bill Steele requested permission from the board to address the sinkhole problem on Phoenixville Pike near Great Valley High School.

The area has been repaired twice so far this year, Steele said, but with the amount of rain the township has been getting, conditions for sinkholes are prime. 

Because the sinkhole is located near Great Valley High School, it's difficult to arrange a time to work because of the near-constant flow of buses, Steele said.

"Once school is finished, we'll be in a position to go out there and do this work. Come September, we have school buses again. We have a little window here," Steele said. "I don't think it's a hole that is going to go away. It's stable right now, but … we haven't fixed the problem, we just put a band-aid on it."

A geologist will look at the hole and has recommended a company to do some pressure grouting, Steele said.

"We'd prefer to treat this as an emergency situation," Woodman said. "…and to authorize staff to work with the company recommended by the geologist to put in the grout."

The board unanimously authorized the Public Works department to continue with work to repair the sinkhole.

Discussion Continues on Uptown Worthington Rental Cap

Brian O’Neill of O’Neill Properties, the developer of the Uptown Worthington site, and attorney Lou Colagreco spoke at a public hearing to request the removal of the rental cap on the Uptown Worthington Properties.

Currently, the agreement is that up to 50 percent of the Uptown Worthington properties can be rented properties, but at least 50 percent must be owned, Colagreco said. O'Neill is asking for the rental cap to be removed due to financial restrictions. (O'Neill spoke at the on the same topic.)

Supervisors Bill Holmes and John Mott expressed concerns similar to those raised by the Planning Commission at the May 25 meeting regarding stake ownership, as well as concerns about the future of the property, in the unlikely event that O'Neill were forced to sell the property because of financial difficulties. 

"We're trying to make sure this project goes forward but keep the interests of the township at stake," Holmes said.

The rental cap will be discussed and potentially voted upon at the next Planning Commission meeting, June 22.