Special exception request for a group home in East Norriton withdrawn

EAST NORRITON >> One day after the East Norriton supervisors unanimously opposed a request for a special exception for a group home at 10 Tanglewood Court, the Devereux Foundation withdrew the request for the special exception.

In a June 24 letter to Zoning Officer Bryan Bortnichak, Lori McLaughlin, the senior vice president and general counsel for the Devereux Foundation, withdrew the request.

“The purpose of this letter is to inform you that The Devereux Foundation has made the decision to withdraw their request to East Norriton Township for a special exception permit to operate a group home at 10 Tanglewood Court,” McLaughlin said.

A hearing scheduled for July 14 before the East Norriton Zoning Hearing Board has been canceled, Bortnichak said.

“My understanding was that they (the Devereux Foundation) had a representative at our supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday night,” said supervisors’ Chairman Harris Dainoff. “They probably heard the resident’s concern. It didn’t help that there was a 20-minute conversation about another group home. I think that is why they decided to re-evaluate the group home request.”

Officials of the Devereux Foundation did not respond to a request for comment.

The special exception request was made to comply with a May 2014 ordinance enacted by the board of supervisors. The ordinance was adopted in response to resident complaints about one of the 16 group homes already located in the township.

On June 17, the East Norriton Planning Commission reviewed Devereux’s plans and unanimously recommended the zoning board reject the special exception request. On June 23 the supervisors had directed Solicitor Robert Careless to oppose the request at the upcoming July 14 zoning board hearing. At the same meeting, resident Ken Christovich asked the supervisors to oppose the group home plan.

Dainoff said the supervisors had examined the issue of group homes last year when the ordinance was adopted.

“It is important to provide for the community of people with disadvantages and it is important to protect everyone involved,” Dainoff said. “That is our biggest goal. That not only the residents are protected but also the patients are getting appropriate care and treatment.”

The group home ordinance requires a minimum of four off-street parking spaces, the installation of a sprinkler system and a fire alarm system, staffing by qualified caretakers and at least one caretaker during the overnight hours.

The four-bedroom home on Tanglewood Court went back on the real estate market on Monday, according to Zillow.com. The asking price is $339,800. The ranch-style house, built in 1986, has an assessed value of $199,070, according to Montgomery County property records.

Devereux operates 15 centers in 11 states, including Pennsylvania, that provide educational and medical services to thousands of clients with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The nonprofit provides services in more than 250 community homes across the United States.

Contact Carl Rotenberg at 267-907-6137 (c) and 484-679-8476.