Upper Dublin bus depot hearing continues with argument for use variance

Residents continued to speak out against the school district’s plan to put a school bus depot behind Fort Washington Elementary School at a recent township zoning board hearing.

The school district is seeking four variances to build a 10,517-square-foot building in an A-residential zone for vehicle maintenance, parts storage and office space, with base infrastructure for future purchase of electric vehicles. The site would include 118 parking spaces for 50 school transportation vehicles, 10 grounds department vehicles and 58 staff.

The accessory building variances being sought are for: an eight-foot fence – two feet above the maximum allowed; a 30.6 feet height, where 22 feet is allowed; a maximum area of 10,517 square feet – almost double the 600 square feet allowed; and permission for more than one commercial vehicle exceeding 9,000 pounds to be parked on a property within a residential district.

Whether or not the project requires a use variance was brought up at the hearing.

Kate Harper, a lawyer hired by township resident Virginia Cairo-Vitella, contended the proposed maintenance facility and bus parking area would require a use variance.

Mark Hosterman, an attorney representing the school district for the project, maintained it “is a permitted accessory use.”

“I disagree about the nature of the application,” said Harper, who called two witnesses — Cairo-Vitella and resident Joanna Waldron — to testify.

Showing a photo of the school, playground, and surrounding area before the 2021 tornado hit and took out the trees, Cairo-Vitella said it showed “what it was and what it could be,” and should not be considered “unused space.”

“This is currently used for overflow parking in the car line,” the field of dreams, baseball and softball games and the soccer fields, she said.

She also testified about the view surrounding residents would have of 50 vehicles parked, as well as safety issues for students who walk on Highland Avenue and would have to cross where buses would come in and go out.

The property belongs to the school district, which has “the prerogative to determine how to use the property,” Hosterman said.

“They should make decisions for the best interest of the community,” Cairo-Vitella shot back.

As for the view, Hosterman said the pictures “fail to depict landscaping for the transportation facility,” which will be required by the township.

Washington Lane resident Joanna Waldron spoke about the historic resource inventory overlay, noting many homes on the historic resource list are in Fort Washington, and the impact of the bus depot on the character of the neighborhood.

A bus depot “would damage that characteristic of the district because it will create noise pollution, light pollution and impede the viewscape of a field,” she said.

The school, the municipal complex and the athletic equipment shed are not on the historic list, said Hosterman, noting the site for the depot is bounded by Route 309, Fort Washington, Highland and Loch Alsh avenues.

“I believe the school district will have to do a historic resources review” as part of the land development process, he added.

Efforts by some residents to speak about the choice of the location, cost of alternatives and refueling of buses were ruled immaterial to the variances being sought.

Resident Jacqueline Pine, a civil engineer, argued the proposed facility “is not an accessory building to Fort Washington Elementary School,” as the principal use of the land is educational and athletic. Petitions circulated opposing the variances have garnered 2,775 signatures, she said.

Pine and others also spoke about the impact of buses on traffic that already backs up near the school in the morning as well as the exhaust fumes on students playing outside.

Noting the variance to build a fence around the buses 2 feet higher than permitted has been described as a security measure, resident Jennifer Kowalski said, “If it’s such a security risk that it needs a fence, why would you bring it into the neighborhood.”

Zoning board Solicitor Joseph Bagley reminded the audience the board’s job was to rule on the variances being sought and “not deciding whether to permit a bus depot.”

With testimony by residents of record — those living within a half mile of the site — which required evidence having concluded, the board will allow public comment at the next hearing scheduled for Dec. 16, he said.

“Public comment can be personal views — what you want the zoning board to do or not,” Bagley said. “It has the same restrictions as free speech.”