Wednesday, April 24, 2013
The new owner of Hatboro's 40-acre office park intends to carry out extensive stormwater management improvements.
Since spending $9 million late last year to move Hatboro's 40-acre office complex Station Park from foreclosure onward, new owner Alliance Partners has now set its sights on extensive flood-prevention protocols. Max Ryan of Alliance Partners and engineer Dave Gibbons shared conceptual ideas this week with the Hatboro Borough Council regarding how the company could devise better stormwater management to prevent flooding both inside and outside of the business park. The hope, Ryan said, is to "manage what's eluding the site." As it stands now, Gibbons said the existing 24-inch pipe where water is discharged is full during a so-called two-year storm. Storm severities are determined by the likelihood of their occurrence. A 2-year storm, for …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
The Hatboro Borough Council did not take a position on a plan to construct 16 two-story apartments in a flood-prone part of town.
On the same night the Hatboro Borough Council denied financial assistance to flood-ravaged homeowners seeking government buyouts, elected officials heard an application for a commercial landowner seeking to build in a floodplain. The application, which entails constructing 16 two-story apartments where several auto repair businesses stand on 332 S. York Road, garnered little comment during its borough council review Monday night. Council President John Zygmont said the council did not take a position on the application, which goes before the Hatboro Zoning Hearing Board on Wednesday night. Councilman Bill Tompkins said that if the property owner, Horizon Property Management, receives the requested waivers to build in a flood zone, the …
Monday, March 11, 2013
Several Hatboro residents from the frequently flood-ravaged Woodwinds complex asked the Hatboro Borough Council to chip in 3 percent of the 'local' monies needed for a buyout.
Should your Hatboro municipal tax dollars help support federal and state buyouts for a dozen property owners? The Hatboro Borough Council gave a resounding "no" Monday night as elected officials made clear that the borough would not foot the 3 percent "local" match for 12 Woodwinds homeowners seeking a combined Federal Emergency Management Agency/Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency buyout for their frequently flooded homes, which abut the Pennypack Creek in the north end of town. Tracy Thatford, a Woodwinds resident of 15 years, said she understood the funding breakdown to be 75 percent from FEMA, 22 percent from PEMA and the remaining 3 percent from the borough. Council President John Zygmont quickly interjected, "from the very …
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
The owner of 332 S. York Road is advancing two separate plans for the frequently flooded Hatboro commercial property.
Plans to buyout and demolish an often flooded Hatboro commercial property is again back on the table. During Monday night's Hatboro Borough Council meeting, the governing body approved the submission of a government buyout application for 332 S. York Road, the site where Manja Pizza and several auto repair shops are situated. It is also where Quig's Pizza had been located until Hurricane Irene filled it with feet of water, forced its closure and required that the building be gutted. For more news and updates about Hatboro and Horsham, subscribe to our free newsletter,"like" us on Facebook or follow @Hatboropatch on Twitter. Last spring, George Kiriakidi, an owner of Horizon Property Management LLC, which owns the handful of …
Monday, January 14, 2013
The owner of 332 S. York Road is planning to come before the Hatboro Borough Council in March to talk about a proposal to construct homes on the oft-flooded property.
Before plans advance to build 16 two-story townhouses or apartments in a flood zone, the Hatboro governing body is expected to hear more about the plan in March, officials said. Horizon Property Management LLC, which owns the 332 S. York Road structures housing a handful of car repair shops and Manja pizza shop, was supposed to go before the zoning hearing board last week to seek approval to knock down all but the restaurant on the 1.76-acre parcel to make way for 16 residential units. At the last minute, the owner postponed its appearance at the meeting. During Monday night's Hatboro Borough Council meeting, Councilman Bill Tompkins said Horizon is looking to make a presentation at one of the council's two March meetings. Tompkins said …
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Hatboro officials said the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency is carrying out a final review for possible buyouts of a dozen Woodwinds condominiums.
Hatboro's application for possible government buyouts of a dozen residences at the oft-flooded Woodwinds development is moving ahead, an official said. Acting Borough Manager Fred Zollers said he was in contact with a representative from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency earlier this month who notified him that the borough's application was advancing to the agency's "final review committee." "We should get some word abck from them," Zollers said of the buyout application, which was submitted in July. "Our application was found to be substantial enough to pass on to this review committee." If the application is approved in full, the agencies would provide money to 12 homeowners to purchase and demolish the Drummers Way …
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
The Hatboro pizza shop is expected to reopen on Wednesday.
Like the rest of Pennsylvania, Manja Pizzeria in Hatboro, seems to have dodged a bullet in terms of Hurricane Sandy damage. "Everything is Ok, no flooding," Anastasia Sampaio told Patch Tuesday morning. "Only a broken window on the side of the building. Looks like a large branch or something hit it." The 332 S. York Road eatery will remain closed Tuesday so owners can get everything back in place and turn the gas back on, she said. Manja will open Wednesday at 10:30 a.m., Sampaio said. Last year, the site - which sits adjacent to Pennypack Creek - sustained substantial damage. Then housed by Quig's Pizza, the building had several feet of water inside following Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. Prior to Manja opening this spring, the …
Monday, October 29, 2012
Many occupants of the 79-unit Woodwinds complex in Hatboro voluntarily evacuated ahead of Hurricane Sandy, an official said.
Joann Gefter has no intention of reliving a near-death situation to leave her flooding Hatboro home. This time, instead of waiting until Pennypack Creek waters are raging and filling the first floor of her home at Woodwinds with water, fish and smelly debris, Gefter, her husband Gary and their 1-year-old daughter, Tatum, left while the going was good, on Sunday. "We learned our lesson the first time," Mrs. Gefter told Patch in an e-mail Monday afternoon. "My family packed up what we needed and went to my parents in Philly. Our neighbors left too." For more Hatboro and Horsham Hurricane Sandy news and updates, subscribe to our free newsletter,"like" us on Facebook or follow @Hatboropatch on Twitter. Mrs. Gefter, Gary and their …
Saturday, September 15, 2012
September is National Preparedness Month.
You've heard all the "no-duh" tips before about preparing for a disaster - keep water and non-perishable food on hand, have a flashlight with extra batteries... But this month the federal government is hoping you will get down to details to make a plan for, not the unthinkable, but the inevitable: wild fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods or even terrorism and pandemics. To get the word out, FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has built an extensive Web site to help citizens plan and prepare. Ready.gov offers instructions on how to ready your family, your home, your car and even your business for an emergency. The site includes tips specific to disasters common in your area. For the Hatboro-Horsham region, flooding - think …
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
In the event that the state and federal governments buy out a dozen oft-flooded homes, Hatboro would maintain the space.
While the jury is still out on whether state and federal agencies will purchase 12 Woodwinds condominiums, the Hatboro Borough Council set the wheels in motion for that possibility. The council, following direction from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, on Monday night approved an open space maintenance agreement that pertains to the area where three buildings are situated on Drummers Way. Originally six buildings – totaling 24 homes within the 79-unit development – were eyed for government buyouts. FEMA and PEMA have whittled the original request down to 12 homes. Borough Manager Fred Zollers said Hatboro was given no timetable as to when buyout decisions will be made. But, in the …
stay at home dad
5:41 pm on Friday, March 15, 2013
Ain't nobody arguement going south but yours Bob. Sooooo. the math shows a loss and yes, there's a lotta cozy in Hatboro. how is authority money managed? Who decides why Tanner playground, for instance, doesn get $10K, and why a parking lot that is already a parking lot with very few customers (unlike Produce Junction) gets paved for a whoppin $400K? 400K? really? OMG, the head of Authority is … more ›