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LOCK HAVEN -- The Clinton County Planning Commission reviewed plans Tuesday evening for a new Dollar General store in Porter Township.
The commission offered generally positive comments about the effort.
The submission was made to the planning office on Nov. 22 and started the 30-day clock ticking on the effort, but planners felt the initiative to be "pretty solid and complete."
Beyond some minor comments, it was recommended that the township engineer review the plans for compliance with the Fishing Creek/Cedar Run Watershed Stormwater Management Plan. The commission also said developers should set up a meeting with Clinton County's GIS department before addressing or naming any new roads.
In addition, commission members said, township officials should consider the possibility of horse-drawn buggies patronizing the business. If needed, developers should plan and provide for safe buggy parking.
Steckbeck Engineering and Surveying of Lebanon developed the plans for a new 9,100-square-foot retail store on the northwest side of Nittany Valley Drive. The store would be located on property owned by Charles and Ralph Dotterer. The parcel is near the intersection with Interstate 80 and across Route 64 from the Pilot Travel Center.
Plans call for the front parcel to become the Dollar General site and the rear parcel to be sold to neighbor Steven Bierly. The properties seem to meet all the setback requirements proper to the zoning, Clinton County Planner Tim Holladay said.
The parcel is served by public water and sewer services and the systems have adequate capacity to deal with the business. The property is zoned commercial and there are no floodplains, sinkholes or wetlands complicating the plans.
The commission members said they believed this was a proper use in the commercial district.
The commission also recommended that since the right-of-way through the Dotterer property serves multiple properties, it should be a named street with an address attached to the retail business.
Also, a PennDOT highway occupancy permit must be obtained, buggy traffic should be considered, and compliance should be made with the stormwater management plan for Cedar Run and Fishing Creek.
Concerning the PennDOT occupancy permit, Holladay noted that the transportation department might be scrutinizing the Dollar General traffic configuration in light of the present traffic flow from Pilot Travel, and depending upon that review, the commission might be revisiting the matter in coming months if changes are needed.
The erosion and sedimentation plan has been submitted to the Clinton County Conservation District and a NPDES permit has been requested. The District has determined the application package has enough detail for a technical review.
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) discharge program required all operators of large construction activities to obtain permit coverage.
Most construction-related NPDES permits are administered by County Conservation Districts through delegation agreements with DEP. Conservation districts process and authorize the permit applications, conduct site inspections, respond to complaints, and in certain circumstances, conduct enforcement actions.