Townhouses

The Washington County Planning Commission voted unanimously Monday night to approve a site plan for a 166-unit residential development off Maugans Avenue. County Planner S.T. Goodrich said the development, called Seneca Ridge, includes 73-single-family homes and 93 townhouses on 52 acres across the street from Maugansville Elementary School. The development is proposed by FB-One Limited Partnership. The development is expected to bring in about 72 students who would attend Maugansville Elementary School, Western Heights Middle School and North Hagerstown High School.

scottb@herald-mail.com The Hagerstown City Council on Tuesday narrowly approved a special zoning designation for a company that wants to build a 706-unit residential development on property behind the Centre at Hagerstown. The council voted 3-2 to grant a Planned Unit Development, or PUD, for the proposed Hager's Crossing development. A PUD typically allows higher-density development on a property than would be allowed under existing zoning. The PUD allows The Rachuba Group, which is based in Eldersburg, Md., to build single-family homes, townhouses and apartments in the development, city Economic Development Coordinator Deborah Everhart said.

A developer who wants to build apartment buildings and townhouses on the parking lot next to Hagerstown's Pangborn Park said Thursday he will drop the plan if he confirms that City Council members oppose it. All five council members said Tuesday they oppose a plan to build 28 townhouses and 10 three-story apartment buildings on 6.5 acres along Pangborn Boulevard between Security Road and the park. Richard McCleary, a Williamsport developer and co-owner of the property, said he heard the council opposes the plan, but hadn't spoken with any city officials about it. McCleary said he will speak with city officials early next week and if they confirm that the council opposes the plan, he will instead build duplexes on the property.

A plan to build apartment buildings and townhouses on a parking lot next to Hagerstown's Pangborn Park is opposed by all five City Council members, who would ultimately decide whether to approve the proposed development. The council has authority over the plan because the developers are seeking a special zoning designation, called a Planned Unit Development (PUD), for the project. Plans from the developers, Pangborn Park Limited Partnership, reviewed last week by the City Planning Commission, showed 28 townhouses along Security Road and Pangborn Boulevard, plus another 60 units in 10 three-story apartment buildings behind the townhouses.

Hoping the developers behind a plan to build townhouses and apartments near Pangborn Park will scale back their plans again, the Hagerstown Planning Commission on Wednesday delayed taking a position on the plan until March 13. The commission is charged with recommending that the City Council approve or reject the plan. The commission agreed to ask the developers to replace two six-unit apartment buildings closest to the park with townhouses, and to make the rest of the proposed apartment buildings two stories instead of three.

Federal money would fund new townhouses By STACEY DANZUSO / Staff Writer, Chambersburg CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Franklin County Board of Commissioners Thursday approved an application for federal funds to build 10 new townhouses in Washington Township to augment low-income housing options in the county. Phil Wolgemuth, a planner with the Franklin County Planning Commission, said the application for $500,000 would be submitted today to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, which administers the federal grants.

City planners will review townhouse plan By DAN KULIN / Staff Writer A proposed 72-unit expansion of the Eastridge Townhomes off Eastern Boulevard is expected to be discussed during a Wednesday meeting of the Hagerstown Planning Commission. The proposed development would include 38 two-story townhouses and 34 one-story townhouses, according to plans submitted to the city Planning Department. Each single-story townhouse would have a garage, according to the plans.

The site plan for the first phase of a 520-unit housing development on Robinwood Drive was approved by the Washington County Planning Commission during a meeting Monday. Construction is slated to begin later this year. The first phase of Rosewood Village, which is adjacent to Hagerstown Community College, includes 77 townhouses and 42 elderly living units, according to Timothy Lung, senior planner for the county. Approval of the first phase was contingent on the developer drawing up plans for a temporary school shelter near the entrance of John F. Kennedy Drive.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - More than 600 new residential building lots were approved in Berkeley and Jefferson Counties in 1998, and some officials are calling for a review of how new housing developments are regulated. [cont. from news page ] In Berkeley County, 377 new lots for home construction were approved last year, according to an annual report from the Berkeley County Planning Commission. The lots are equal to 352 acres. The commission's annual report was completed on Jan. 14. Since then another 439 lots on 742 acres have been approved, according to Sherry Cunningham, administrative secretary for the Planning Commission.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A Shepherdstown man has filed a second federal lawsuit against Jefferson County, claiming the county blocked a townhouse development that would have placed low-income housing near Morgan Grove Park. Aubrey E. Henry is seeking $6.5 million in damages. He alleges that Jefferson County illegally blocked his attempts to develop his 13.69-acre Town Run property along U.S. 480 west of Shepherdstown, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court in Martinsburg.