Planners file action on Greenfield project | News, Sports, Jobs

Blair County Planning Commission members tabled action Thursday on reviewing a proposed project for the city of Greenfield.

A. Duie Pyle, owner of over 35 acres of property located along Cottontown Road, was looking to develop the parcel for commercial use. An office building with 42 dock doors and a maintenance building with associated truck/trailer and employee parking areas were proposed.

The site is located near Smoky Run and Beaver Dam Creek, which have been designated as cold water fisheries. Recent wetland investigations of the property located floodplain/riparian wetlands along Beaver Dam Creek. Most of the site slopes north to south toward Beaver Dam Creek. Runoff along the slope entering the site, along the north property line, provides the hydrology of wetlands along Cottontown Road, according to the project narrative.

The property was previously used as farmland, most recently for hay cutting, but in the past was an arable field. The adjacent land use is primarily commercial as the lot is included in the Marasco Business Park. Plans for the property are to raise the northern end of the site to maintain existing hydrologic flow patterns.

The existing ridge off Cottontown Road will be reconfigured to access the site. Infiltration tests were completed and showed unfavorable groundwater levels for infiltration. Construction of a forested riparian buffer along Beaver Dam Creek was proposed to provide water quality treatment for runoff from the site. A series of underground pipe containment systems was proposed to provide discharge rate control at three level spread locations, the narrative explains.

But there are some concerns about the project.

“This project requires additional environmental review because of the proximity to cold water fisheries,” said Chairman William Hall.

“We need to ask for more information; it is inconclusive as to whether this project is consistent with our countywide plan,” said MacKenzie Caron, regional planner.