The Kennett Township Board of Supervisors approved two motions at their March 6 meeting related to the Kennett Area Community Service’s (KACS) planned new facility on West Cypress Street in Kennett Square Borough.

The first motion grants approval of the development plan for the agency’s proposed one-story, 29,527-square-foot building, 14,135-square feet of which will be used for professional offices and 10,392 square feet that will be designated as a food cupboard. Each project will be completed in phases, and an additional 5,000 square feet is being proposed to be constructed at a late date. 

The total 5.61-acre site – located in both Kennett and New Garden townships -- will also include parking area improvements, as well as public water and sewer service. Access to the proposed property will be from two entrances on West Cypress Street, with one in New Garden and the other in Kennett.  

The proposed building and most associated parking will be located in Kennett Township, and the remainder of the parking, the sewer connection, and the proposed driveway access to West Cypress Street will be located in New Garden Township. 

The supervisors also voted to waive traffic impact assessment fees that normally would be assigned to KACS at the new location, which will save the agency between $60,000 and $70,000. Last year, New Garden Township approved a motion that waived permit fees for the portion of the proposed building that falls within the township.

“Southern Chester County is fortunate to have strong community leaders in Kennett and New Garden Townships,” said KACS Executive Director Leah Reynolds in a release issued by the agency after the Kennett Township meeting. “Working together, KACS’s new facility will provide the resources and services necessary to improve the lives of everyone in our community.”

In other township business, the supervisors voted to approve a requested waiver that allows the construction of a publicly accessible mowed pedestrian path as part of a plan to develop a 16.56-acre mixed-use development along Walnut Road. The proposed Parkside Development, immediately south of U.S. Route 1 and across from Anson B. Nixon Park, is projected to include 7 single-family dwelling units, 76 multi-family attached dwelling units, 100 apartment units, 11 detached garages and space for 2 commercial/retail businesses.

After discussion, the board agreed that the path will be five feet in width and will provide separate right-of-way of least ten feet in width.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].