A
PLAN FOR COMMUNITY FACILITIES
Overview
Community facilities refer to civic and institutional land and improvements owned and operated by governmental and quasi-public organizations (non-governmental organizations). These services include among other things, education, recreation and open space, police, and fire protection. Community facilities are important from a planning perspective in that they directly impact a community’s health, safety, welfare, and quality of life.
For the purposes of this Comprehensive Plan, several cultural and historic sites are also included in the discussion of community facilities. In addition, several privately owned properties under deed restriction and conservation easement are considered, as they have been preserved as open space.
This chapter provides an inventory of Charlestown Township’s existing community facilities and existing recreational and open space facilities; an open space disposition analysis; and recommendations for meeting future community facilities needs. It is based on Section 301.(a)(4) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Code (MPC) which requires that the Comprehensive Plan provide:
“A plan for community facilities…which may include public and private education, recreation, municipal buildings, fire and police station, libraries, hospitals…and other similar facilities or uses.”
Existing Community Facilities
This section provides an inventory of existing community facilities including municipal offices, public libraries, emergency services, health care providers, schools, and various facilities noted for their cultural and/or historical significance.
Due to its rural nature and low population density, Charlestown Township does not host the number and type of community facilities that may be found in more densely populated suburban areas. For example, it does not contain any medical facilities, fire stations, police stations, libraries or a municipal building. When necessary, the Township has contracted with outside service providers to fulfill these needs. Township residents also have access to services and facilities in neighboring municipalities and through countywide and regional programs.
Existing community facilities are described below and shown on Map 6:
Municipal Building
Township offices are located at 4030 Whitehorse Road, just north of Phoenixville Pike and Route 29. Presently, the Township does not own a municipal building. Meetings of the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission are held at the Great Valley Middle School in neighboring East Whiteland Township. The Historic Society meets in the Township offices, and the Park and Recreation Board meets at Charlestown Elementary School.
Public Library
Although Charlestown does not have a public library, residents may become members of one of the 17 libraries in the Chester County Library System. This system allows members access to materials available at all of the seventeen libraries. Libraries in close proximity to Charlestown include, the Phoenixville Public Library, Chester Springs Library (West Pikeland Township), Chester County Library (West Whiteland), Malvern Public Library and the Paoli Library.
Emergency Services
Emergency services consist of police, fire, and ambulance services. All such services are provided by outside organizations. Countywide 911 emergency services are available through the Chester County Department of Emergency Services. In addition, a community townwatch organization operates in Charlestown providing services in response to specific local needs.
Police Protection:
Police services are provided by the Pennsylvania State Police. There are two State Police stations in Chester County located in Embreeville and Avondale. The Embreeville barracks patrols Charlestown Township.
Fire Protection:
Fire services provided to Charlestown Township are divided into two service areas administered separately by the Kimberton Fire Company and the East Whiteland Volunteer Fire Association. The service area boundaries generally run along Yellow Springs Road, Hollow Road, and Route 29.
The Kimberton Fire Company, located on Kimberton Road in Kimberton, just north of Charlestown, provides fire protection, rescue, and emergency medical service (EMS) to the northeastern section of the Township. It has approximately 36 active fire and rescue personnel. Fire fighting and rescue apparatus includes two engines, a tanker, a ladder truck, two brush units, a squad truck, an ambulance assist squad, a traffic and crowd control unit, and a spill containment cargo trailer.
The East Whiteland Volunteer Fire Association, located in Frazer, provides fire, rescue, and EMS service to the southern and western portions of the Township. Fire and rescue equipment consists of three engines, a heavy rescue vehicle, a 4WD brush unit, a traffic control unit and an ambulance.
Map 6. A Plan for Community Facilities
Ambulance Service:
Ambulance service is provided by the East Whiteland Volunteer Fire Association and the West End Ambulance Company located in Phoenixville.
Community Townwatch:
Charlestown Townwatch acts as a liaison between various emergency service providers and Township officials. It also provides patrols and volunteers for many of the Township’s special events and assists in the coordination of equipment and personnel.
Health Care
Charlestown Township is located in close proximity to several medical facilities within the county, affording its residents with access to a variety of medical services. Nearby hospitals include Phoenixville Hospital, Paoli Memorial Hospital, Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital, Chester County Hospital, and Brandywine Hospital. Two medical centers (generally smaller with limited services and facilities; usually walk-in type facilities with staff and equipment capable of treating minor injuries[1]) are also located in the County in proximity to Charlestown Township. They are Med Center100, in neighboring Uwchlan Township, and the Westtown Medical Center.
At farther locations in the county are the U.S. Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Coatesville and the Southern Chester County Medical Center (a full service hospital) in Penn Township. In addition to those facilities within the County, Charlestown residents also have access to major health care facilities in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
Educational Facilities
Chester County contains 13 school districts. Charlestown Township is within the Great Valley School District along with East Whiteland Township, Malvern Borough, and Willistown Township. Total school district enrollment is approximately 3,900 students in three elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. The schools include:
Elementary Schools:
Charlestown Elementary School
Kathryn D. Markley Elementary School
General Wayne Elementary School
Middle School:
Great Valley Middle School (formerly General Wayne Middle School)
High School:
Great Valley High School
Charlestown’s children attend the Charlestown Elementary School located on Charlestown Road. It accommodates kindergarten through fifth grade with a total enrollment of approximately 570 students. The original building started as a consolidated school in 1925. Since that time, two additions have been built to accommodate increasing enrollment, and another facility expansion is planned for 2002.
After elementary school, Charlestown students attend the Great Valley Middle School, then the Great Valley High School. Both are located in East Whiteland Township. The Great Valley Middle School formerly the General Wayne Middle School, relocated to its new site in 2000. The new, state-of-the-art building was dedicated on September 17, 2000. It serves approximately 850 students. The Great Valley High School, located on the same campus has an approximate enrollment of 1020 students, grades 9 through 12.
Also located in Charlestown Township is the Charlestown Playschool - a nursery school and kindergarten housed in a former 18th century church located on Charlestown Road near Pickering Road. The Charlestown Playschool is a non-profit, co-operative school founded in 1936 by Elizabeth Foster (now “Miss Betty” Stonorov, the school director). Financial support is gathered and administered by the Charlestown Playhouse Preservation Fund. Generations of Charlestown residents have attended the Playschool, which has become an important and special part of the Charlestown community.
The Valley Forge Christian College, located along Cold Stream Road and Charlestown Road in the Township’s northern corner, is one of six higher education institutions in Chester County. The College is located on the site of the former Valley Forge Military Hospital. The college population consists of approximately 618 students, 45 faculty and 55 staff. There are plans to increase student enrollment to 2000 students, with 243 faculty members. A Master Plan for campus improvements is also currently under development.
Postal Service
U.S. postal services are provided by the Devault Post Office located on Devault Lane near Whitehorse Road. The Township could consider lobbying to have the name of the Post Office changed to the Charlestown Post Office.
Great Valley Nature Center
The Great Valley Nature Center is a quasi-public facility. It has been in existence for more than 20 years offering programs to raise awareness of environmental issues and promote environmental education. The 10.5 acre property is situated at the intersection of Hollow Road and Route 29. It encompasses many diverse habitats, including a small stream, wetlands, a large pond, fields, and woodlands. It contains a system of nature trails, a Bird of Prey Center, wildflower gardens, a Lenape Indian village, and a 1793 springhouse. The Center's Education Building is a historic fieldstone barn built between 1790 and 1815. It contains a Please Touch exhibit room for children, an auditorium, a classroom, and a teachers’ resource library.
Swiss Pines
Swiss Pines is a privately owned
property, approximately 15 acres in size, on Charlestown Road just south of
Pickering Dam Road. It is a
Japanese garden and wildlife preserve with flowers, statuary, nature trails,
streams, and ponds. As a private
facility, Swiss Pines does not
benefit from any public monies
or public grants or tax relief.
Charlestown Historical Society
The Charlestown Historical Society (CHS) was formed in 1973 as a non-profit, non-political organization. Its mission is “to provide future generations with a small ‘window on the past’ - showing through artifacts and records what life was like in this quiet farming community in the 19th Century.” CHS maintains the Jacob Wisner House (known as the “Rapp House”) on Yellow Springs Road. The building was donated to CHS in 1977 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. CHS also owns property located on Union Hill Road, just south of the intersection with Aldham Road; this property was donated by Stinson Markley.
Old Charlestown Burial Ground
This Revolutionary War cemetery is maintained by Charlestown Township. It is located on Charlestown Road, across from the Charlestown Playschool.
Existing
Recreation and Open Space Facilities
Existing recreation and open space facilities include Township owned park and open space lands, lands designated as open space and recreation within existing Planned Residential Developments (PRD), and privately held recreational facilities. Township owned park and open space lands are administered the Charlestown Township Park & Recreation Board. Open space and recreation within the PRDs is owned and managed by the homeowners association. Private facilities are those that require membership.
Parks and open space lands are differentiated by the degree to which they are equipped to accommodate recreational uses. Parks usually contain some amount of recreational facilities such as ball fields and athletic apparatus. In the context of this Plan, open space is defined as any public or private land set aside for aesthetic use, educational use, active or passive recreational use, cultural use, or other purposes having environmental value.
Recreation and open space lands
are also evaluated in terms of their suitability for active and passive
recreational use. Active recreation involves activities that are
relatively intensive, both in terms of participation and in terms of the use of
land or facilities where various activities take place. Active recreation is generally
associated with facilities such as playfields for soccer or baseball, tennis
courts, basketball courts, and the like.
It tends to be group-oriented, demanding
some form
of organizational structure. It
frequently requires some knowledge or skill for adequate participation. In general, active recreation comprises
one-half of the park acreage of most parks.
Passive recreation usually involves low intensity recreation by individuals or small groups in a more natural surrounding. Activities such as walking, picnicking, and fishing are considered passive recreation. Only minimal site preparation and facilities are required to accommodate most passive recreational activities. Lands constrained from development for environmental reasons are often suited to passive recreation.
Charlestown Township Park
Charlestown Township Park, the Township’s only community park, was acquired in 1977. This 44.5 acre park is located in the northern corner of the Township at Charlestown, Cold Stream,
and Township Line Roads – the site of the former Valley Forge General Hospital. The park supports both active and passive recreational activities. It contains four soccer fields, a football field, two clubhouses, a playground, picnic facilities, and a walking path. Increased use and the opportunity to integrate the Park with facilities at the Valley Forge Christian College, inspired the Township to prepare the November 1, 1999 Master Plan for Park improvements. The Park is scheduled to undergo various enhancements over the next 10 years, as indicated in the Charlestown Township Park Master Plan that was adopted June 19, 2000 (Appendix H).
Charlestown Township Open Space
The Township owns three open space areas suited for passive recreation. The first, referred to as the Pickering Preserve, is located along Pickering Dam Road and Route 29, adjacent to Charlestown Hunt. It is comprised of five contiguous tracts totaling 95.6 acres. Seventy-seven acres are deed restricted. These tracts were acquired in 1983 and 1986. The open space encompasses a section of the Pickering Creek and the surrounding stream valley. It is characterized by steep and very steep slopes, woodlands, and floodplain. Hiking trails run through the open space and along the creek, connecting to trails in Charlestown Hunt, as well as to other Township trails.
The second Township open space area is located in Devault, on Whitehorse Road near Devault Lane. This 6.2 acre parcel was acquired by the Township in 1972. It is used for storage of salt and other materials, but is available for use as a viable municipal building facility.
The existing Township owned land on Yellow Springs and Hollow Roads, together with the newly acquired adjoining tract to the north (the former Pyle Farm), comprise the third Township open space area. The original parcel adjoins the Rapp House. In 2000, the Township acquired an additional 55 acre parcel located on Yellow Springs Road, adjoining the original land. Together these tracts comprise 75 acres of contiguous open space. Both parcels are former farms and offer a spectacular view along Yellow Springs Road and beyond to distant hillsides. They are representative of Charlestown’s agrarian heritage, rural character, and beauty.
Designated Open Space
Designated Open Space refers to land within existing PRDs that has been set aside as open space, and land that is designated as open space on County tax maps. There are three such areas in the Township all of which accommodate passive recreational use. Two are contained
within PRD’s – Charlestown Oaks and Charlestown Hunt – one is within the Hollow Run Farm subdivision. The Charlestown Oaks development, off Yellow Springs Road, south of the PA
Turnpike, contains approximately 85 acres of open space. Much of this land is on very steep slope areas. A trail system runs along the property’s perimeter.
Charlestown Hunt, located to the northeast, off of Route 29, contains approximately 96 acres of open space primarily along the perimeter of the development. This open space adjoins the Pickering Preserve (see above). A trail system winds through the open space, connecting to trails in the Preserve and to other existing trails. Charlestown Hunt also contains a recreation center for residents of the development. It includes tennis courts, a swimming pool, an indoor
activity center, and a playfield.
Private Recreation
Private recreation is represented here as the Pickering Valley Country Club/Golf Course on Whitehorse Road. Although the majority of the land lies in Schuylkill Township, some of its acreage lies within Charlestown’s borders.
In addition to the resources listed above, Charlestown
Township residents have access to many regional park facilities including
Valley Forge National Historic Park, Marsh Creek State Park, French Creek State
Park, Warwick County Park, and the impending Exton Park next to the Church Farm
School in West Whiteland Township.
Further information on recreation and open space can be found in the Township’s 1993 Open Space, Recreation, and Environmental Resources Plan.
Open
Space Disposition
An open space network is a continuous system of undisturbed land that traverses the landscape. In contrast to islands of open space that lead to fragmentation of natural systems and isolation of wildlife communities, an open space network provides natural corridors that enable properly functioning natural systems and habitats. They act as natural buffers along streams, filtering out pollutants and reducing erosion; they allow for diversity of wildlife and movement of wildlife across a larger area; and they provide buffers between developed areas. In addition, open space networks assist in preserving areas of significant scenic and cultural value and can create opportunities for recreation.
The Open Space Disposition analysis, as shown on Map 7, provides an in depth look at the Township’s open space and recreation facilities. It examines existing Township owned park and open space lands and designated open space, along with properties under conservation easement and properties eligible for Open Space Option development. It also shows Charlestown’s trail system. Its purpose is to provide a visual record of the locations of these lands, and to serve as a basis for the creation of a Township-wide open space network linked by an established trail system.
In mapping these properties, a pattern emerges which shows the amount and distribution of all existing and potential open space lands. More importantly, it enables the identification of properties that would act as links between other open space areas. Furthermore, these properties can now be prioritized based on their importance in terms of contiguity and on their ecological value. Efforts to secure open space can be guided accordingly.
Map 7. Open Space Disposition
Properties Under Easement
Properties under easement are those tracts that contain land development restrictions as recorded in the property’s deed (Appendix F). They also include properties under easement through the Natural Lands Trust and the French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust. Conservation easement restrictions may range from the prohibition of large signs, to the prohibition of residential, commercial, and industrial development. These lands represent a significant amount of open space dispersed throughout the Township. Together, with Township owned lands and designated open space, they provide a foundation upon which to build and expand an open space network.
Open Space Option
The Open Space Option provides an alternative development technique in which 40% of a tract’s gross acreage must be permanently set aside as open space. A minimum tract size of 25 acres is required for eligibility as an Open Space Option development. On properties
containing a historic resource, a single lot comprising 40% of the gross tract area may be provided in lieu of open space. This lot must contain the historic resource and must be deed restricted against further subdivision.[2]
Map 7 shows properties eligible for Open Space Option development base on minimum tract size and historic resources criteria, as well as adjacency to these properties. Properties eligible for the Open Space Option present an opportunity to expand the open space network and preserve critical natural and historic resources.
Trails
Thanks to its rural and agricultural heritage, Charlestown has an extensive system of existing trails. These trails provide off-road pedestrian and equestrian access throughout the Township and connect to existing trails in neighboring municipalities. In terms of use and accessibility, the trail network constitutes one of the Township’s most important recreational amenities.
The historic Horseshoe Trail, which extends 130 miles from Valley Forge National Historic Park to the Appalachian Trail in Central Pennsylvania, crosses through Charlestown Township. There are approximately nine miles of Horseshoe Trail in the Township, of which over six miles are non-paved, traversing mature forests of Oak and Beech and offering spectacular views of the rolling countryside.
Trails at the Charlestown Oaks and Charlestown Hunt PRDs have been connected to the Township trail system to become part of the integrated network. There is also a potential to utilize existing trails and an abandoned railroad bed in East Whiteland Township to link to the Chester Valley Trail, which is being constructed between Downingtown and Valley Forge.
Thus, Charlestown’s trails are of regional and local significance. Existing trails should be preserved wherever possible. Where development removes an existing trail link, an alternate off-road trail should be provided. New trails should also be encouraged to link existing and future open space resources and easements should be encouraged to preserve the viability of the Township’s trails.
Recommendations
for Future Community Facilities
Recommendations for future community facilities focus on three main areas – the development of a municipal building and municipal services center, the acquisition of open space, and the establishment of a designated trail system. These recommendations strive to maintain a balance between the development of service facilities and the preservation of the community’s natural resources and rural character. Recommendations are as follows:
1.
Develop a Municipal Building and Municipal Services Center
As mentioned above, Charlestown Township is currently lacking a municipal building and municipal services center. This Plan advocates the development of such a facility in one of three possible locations – the Township owned property on Yellow Springs Road, the Township owned property in Devault, or Charlestown Township Park.
The development of this facility would address specific Township needs related to the provision of amenities for an increasing population, including services for the elderly. The Municipal Services Center could include an activity center, a senior center, a public works/maintenance facility and a playground/park.
2.
Create a Township wide open space network
As discussed in the Open Space Disposition section, the Township could derive many benefits from the creation of an open space network. Therefore, it should create and pursue opportunities to acquire more open space. The Township should strongly encourage the use of the Open Space Option, especially on properties considered high priority. Another avenue could entail the use of innovative land planning techniques such as Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) and Conservation Design. The Township could also reach out to landowners to promote conservation easements as an alternative to development of their land.
3.
Establish and protect a designated trail system
To maintain the Township’s trail system, existing and proposed trails should be shown on the Official Map. The Township should work to secure easements from property owners and developers to preserve viable trail access. Priority should be given to the Horseshoe Trail, trails that connect to significant open space resources, and trails that connect to systems beyond the Township’s borders. A trail protection ordinance should be adopted that
prohibits developers from removing existing trails without providing acceptable alternative routes.
4.
Develop an open space management plan.
While the acquisition of open space is of paramount concern, the management of this land is also very important. After land is formally designated as Township open space, long-term stewardship is necessary to ensure its viability. Therefore, the Township should develop a plan that would outline strategies and options for open space management, and support the committee that is being formed to oversee open space management.
These recommendations are also intended to compliment those put forth in the 1993 Open Space, Recreation and Environmental Resources Plan, as shown on Map 8. This map is a duplicate of that contained in the 1993 Plan.
Map 8.
Open Space and Recreational Resources Plan (from 1993 Plan)
(to be inserted)