West Deer approves expanding Oakwood Heights housing plan by 77 houses

The West Deer Supervisors have approved a plan that will allow a developer to build 77 single-family homes in the township.

The homes will be built in the already existing Oakwood Heights development off Bairdford Road, where there are now 47 single-family homes. The planned additions will bring the total to 124.

Construction is expected to begin in about a year. The starting prices of the homes is expected to be in the mid-$300,000 price range.

Supervisors approved the plan with certain conditions at their October meeting. Conditions included a $600 contribution fee for each home built to improve an existing road through the development and updates to a proposed pedestrian trail that would connect the new section to nearby Bairdford Park.

The new section will consist of two cul-de-sacs off Ashley Road, the main road through the development. Ashley Road has two entrances off Bairdford and West Starz roads, but those sections aren’t connected. In addition to the cul-de-sacs, some of the homes will be built along Ashley Road.

The $600 contribution fee to build the homes will go toward connecting the two sections of Ashley Road.

“It will provide for interconnectivity of Bairdford Road and West Starz Road, especially for emergency vehicles and ambulance service,” said Bill Payne, West Deer’s zoning and code enforcement officer.

The pedestrian trail will connect Bairdford Park to the two cul-de-sacs. There will be a trail entrance at each, with signs letting people know they’re entering the trail.

Steven Victor, owner of Victor-Wetzel Associates, attended the meeting on behalf of Leslie Road Associates, which owns the property.

Victor shared updates made to the original trail plan, which included widening the asphalt trail from 4 feet to 6 feet wide and adding a post and rail fence on both sides of the trail at each entrance. Victor also suggested placing trees at each entrance to enhance the trailhead.

“It’d be a clear delineator that this is the beginning point,” Victor said.

Supervisor Brandon Forbes asked if the developer would consider adding more trees or fencing to the trail in the direction of the park. He said that could provide more of a secure pathway and let pedestrians know they’re supposed to stay on the trail.

Two pieces of property, for example, are in close proximity to the trail. There was some concern people might wander off the trail and onto those properties.

Victor said the developer was adamant about additional privacy, like fencing, being up to the homeowners.

“When they purchase them, the trail will already be in place, the trailhead will be there, and therefore they’ll have full notification that when they buy here, they’re buying immediately adjacent to the trail,” Victor said.

Victor said additional landscaping or plantings could possibly be added to those areas to clearly show a trail is there.

Forbes liked the idea.

“I think it would also look really nice as you come up from Bairdford to see an additional eight or 10, four or five trees lining … all the way up,” Forbes said. “You can imagine years in the future having a larger canopy there.”