(3/16) At its March meeting, the Liberty Township Planning Commission reviewed the Carmel of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph Monastery project.
The monastery construction project at 327 Water Street has a total of ten buildings projected to be built by 2032 and is in both Hamiltonban and Liberty townships.
In the original plan, the primary development, and access to the property were all within Hamiltonban Township, according to Brandon Guiher, of KPI. Liberty Township was originally only responsible for the stormwater management and septic system, Chairman Judie Hogan said.
Due to the development runoff draining into Liberty, the project had to meet requirements of both townships, Guiher said.
Liberty became aware of plan revisions when an application for an icehouse was recently submitted to the board of supervisors and the Adams County Planning Commission reviewed the project additions, Hogan said.
Comments from the Adams County Planning Commission noted the site layout is not consistent with the layout of the originally recorded plan.
Although the icehouse does not seem large in size and should not be an issue, it is an additional impervious structure that was not on the original plans for the monastery project, he said.
Guiher said more information is needed to review the icehouse design as well as find out the impacts of any additional structures that may or not be accounted for, Guiher said.
From the township’s point of view, the main issue in question is if the monastery’s storm water and sewer plans that were already approved are still applicable if there are extra buildings added without consultation with the township.
Guiher noted several potential additions on the updated site plan, including a "Building M" that is located in Liberty.
"If you remember previously, there were no structures in Liberty, it was all in Hamiltonban," he said.
The planning commission authorized KPI to research the original plans to see how the revisions have changed, as well as assess the impacts to stormwater management and septic systems.
Part of that research involves going back to the project designer and acquiring additional information about the handling of the drainage generated by the structures as well as the design of the septic system.
KPI will also review comments made by the Adams County Planning Commission and make recommendations to the board of supervisors on how they should be addressed.
The planning commission’s next tentative meeting will be April 19.
