The zoning hearing over a supersized Marple Township home ended with a tentative agreement between the neighbors, the township and the owner. The home at 2 Willowbrook Road has a footprint of 3,900 square feet in a neighborhood where most homes are split levels with a third of that. Work began to enlarge the existing home, but a stop work order was issued after zoning violation issues came to a head. John McBlain, representing Marple Township, said the agreement includes having an engineer present a revised plan and fulfill two requests of the neighbors. McBlain said the revised plans need to show three changes: removing a structure over the basement steps, reducing the rear porch to conform to setbacks and fit within the building envelope, and reducing the garage to conform to the building envelope requirements. McBlain said the township wouldn’t oppose a variance for the corners of the building that remained outside the building envelope. He called it a small amount. He said the last issue was the building coverage percentage that was still being negotiated. He said they will either achieve compliance or come to an agreement on what to recommend to the zoning board. Lee Stivale, representing the property owners, said they believe all parties have suggested a reasonable agreement and it will be put in writing.
Source: Daily Times; 11/22/2024