Polk OKs next phases for development

The Polk Township supervisors approved both Phase II and Phase III of The Woods housing development Monday night. Phase I and IA of the development are already approved and work has been started in the area of Haney Road.

When the development is completed, there will be 94 single-family houses on 1-acre lots. Each house will have on lot well and septic system.

There are five different house styles ranging in price from $239,000 to $329,000. The property is owned BP Developers in Kunkletown, and the houses are being sold through Pocono Mountain Homes LLC. So far, five houses have been finished.

Phase II has 12 lots and Phase III has 23 lots, said Chris McDermott, an engineer with Reilly Associates in Stroudsburg. Phase II and III run along Catalpa Road, while Phase I and IA run along Corktree Road. Catalpa Road will connect to Haney Road.

“It will remove the sharp 90-degree turn,” said Brian Ahner, the chairman of the supervisors.

McDermott said yes and suggested that the section of Haney that already has residents on it remain Haney and only the new section be named Catalpa.

He said they plan to begin work on the roadway this spring.

McDermott also said the developer has agreed to put in a 14,000-gallon underground tank of water to aid firefighters in case of fire. He said the tank will hold enough water to put out a fire at one house. If it is used, the fire department will have to refill it.

In other business, the township has created a new ordinance regulating the drilling of water wells. The ordinance would affect new wells only.

The proposed ordinance has to be advertised and voted on at the next supervisors’ meeting. It is available to read on the township’s website.

The ordinance would require that new wells be at least 100 feet away from any existing or proposed on-site sewage disposal system. The distance is measured to the perimeter of the aggregate of the absorption area.

The well would not be allowed to be located less than 50 feet away from any septic tank, treatment tank, dosing tank, lift pump tank filter tank or chlorine contact/storage tank. And the well cannot be located within 10 feet of the property line or any public or private street or road right of way.

Ahner said the ordinance was created because several people seeking to sell their houses have run into problems because the buyers can’t get a loan due to the water well-being less than 100 feet from the septic system.

“The standard is 100 feet, but some are like 60 feet,” he said.

The homeowners have come to the township seeking help from the municipality. The township’s stance is that it is an issue between the buyer and the seller.

In the matter of another township ordinance, the township’s solicitor James Fareri said he is working to revamp the current gun ordinance involving carrying a gun on park property. He will amend it to reflect the state law that allows people with a permit to carry a concealed weapon to do so on park property.