A divided Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) rejected the amended site plan presented by Brandywine Senior Living at their Wednesday, Sept. 19 meeting at Borough Hall.
“We’re supposed to be strict. We’re not supposed to be lenient in cases like this,” said Chairwoman Lee Albright.
Neighbors commented with words of dissent toward the proposed facility changes.
Steve Wolschina of Moore Lane spoke of the duties of the commission in reference to the ordinance they uphold that safeguards the historic district.
“You’re charged when you agreed to take this job to fulfill what is in that ordinance and in the guidelines,” Wolschina said. “Your name, the Historic Preservation Commission, is right there.”
Leave the decision to the planning and zoning boards, he urged.
“I think you lose credibility in granting something like this,” he said. “Why should this candidate be any different? It is different. It’s a for-profit business in a historic area.”
Albright explained that the commission had to be careful of creating a precedent by approving of the application.
“We have to take the long view,” she said. “Our job is to protect the historic district. We all take it very seriously.”
The commission previously had made a site visit to the facility on Warwick Road on Friday, Sept. 14 and reviewed materials provided to them.
The building, which formerly was the Haddonfield Home, has been uninhabited since June 1, Brenda Bacon, CEO and President of Brandywine Senior Living, said during the prior site visit.
Brandywine has proposed an underground parking garage that would hold 22 vehicles with three spots remaining above ground. There are currently 19 above ground parking spaces on site.
The replacement structure calls for more than the current 182 trees on the property, according to the revised HPC submission dated Aug. 10.
It is important for the residents to have access to natural light, said Bacon, and thus walk out terraces would be constructed. Currently, the structure only has a basement recreation room.
On holidays, Bacon said, the facility would coordinate with area churches for overflow parking and a shuttle to avoid the possibility of visitors parking on Moore Lane.
Excluding underground parking, the two-floor brick addition would be a total of 38,326 square feet.
Below ground, the operational space would be 11,105 square feet.
“We’re continuing to try and to compress it,” said Brandywine Representative Robert W. Bucknam, Jr. during the commission’s meeting.
The reconstruction would approximately cost between $15 million and $16 million, Bacon said, and would be completed over the period of eight to nine months.
“We’ve done our best to address the direction of the planning board and the comments of the HPC,” said Bucknam.
Moore Lane resident Susan Garra said that the Brandywine facility would decrease the quiet neighborhood’s ambiance.
“There is not actually a need,” she said, citing that there are numerous senior living facilities in the surrounding areas.
“Brandywine is not coming to Haddonfield as a partner,” Garra continued.
As the next step in the process, Brandywine will present their plans to the planning board in October.
“This is not the end,” Bucknam said.
