Mainly clear, cool, and comfortable. Some patchy fog late..

Mainly clear, cool, and comfortable. Some patchy fog late.

The Reserve at Palmer Pointe, located at 3005-3053 Hartley Ave., features 13 buildings with 312 units and one clubhouse.

The Reserve at Palmer Pointe, located at 3005-3053 Hartley Ave., features 13 buildings with 312 units and one clubhouse.

PALMER TWP., Pa. – Looks aren't everything, but in the case of The Reserve at Palmer Pointe apartments, they indeed are.

Developer Palmer Point OE LLC was before the zoning hearing board Wednesday night to appeal the township's cease-and-desist order against the project. The order states the developer is in violation of the May 2016 conditional use approval from the board of supervisors and that "Building 2" was constructed with an exterior façade that was contrary to the designs submitted and approved by the supervisors at the May 2016 conditional use hearing.

In 2016, the board of supervisors granted approval to the applicant’s predecessor, Lou Pektor's Greystone Capital, for the development of 13 multi-family residential apartment buildings consisting of 312 units and one clubhouse. Palmer Point OE LLC then acquired the property and project at 3100 Charlotte Avenue under the same conditional use approval.

The developer obtained zoning and building permits for phase one of the project on August 25, 2021, which included the construction of four apartment buildings and the clubhouse. Construction continued until June 27, 2022, when the developer received the township's cease and desist letter.

Township Zoning Administrator and Building Code Official James Raudenbush testified it was decided in late 2021 that the building permits would be issued even though the exterior façade was not finalized at that point. He, the township engineer and the planning director felt the issue would eventually be worked out with the board of supervisors, he said.

"We were being nice and didn't want to hold them up anymore," Raudenbush said.

Township Solicitor Charles Bruno, on behalf of the board of supervisors, said the submitted renderings for the project at the time of the May 2016 conditional use hearing showed a mostly brick exterior façade with some stone and accents of siding. This was what was approved, but was not followed with the construction of Building 2.

Vice President of Land Development for Metropolitan Companies, John Rathfon, on behalf of Palmer Point, testified he did not believe they were not in compliance with the conditional use because they are using a combination of the brick, stone, and HardiePlank siding that was approved for the exterior façade. He said it was never stated what percentage of each product was to be used.

Rathfon further stated they met with township staff multiple times and submitted several renderings of new building types to be used for the project.

Testimony from attorney Kevin Fogerty, on behalf of Palmer Point, concluded the applicant is not in violation of the May 2016 conditional use hearing, stating his client went through the "lengthy process" to receive building permits and meet zoning requirements, and consistently met with township staff to discuss plan submissions and renderings.

He says there was nothing communicated throughout the process that the exterior façade was a problem, or that it did not meet the architectural excellence standard.

"The developer went in with drawings showing combinations of brick, stone, and Hardie[Plank] that eventually led to the issuance of permits," Fogerty said. "There's nothing wrong with that."

The violation notice does not reference a specific exhibit number or state what exactly the developer was doing wrong, he further stated. Thus, he believes the developer's appeal of the cease-and-desist letter should be granted by the zoning hearing board.

Bruno had a much different opinion, saying Raudenbush's decision to order a cease-and-desist letter was appropriate.

"They self-created a problem by deciding to disregard the terms and conditions and mandates by the board of supervisors without getting any modification from the only entity that can give that modification," Bruno said.

Bruno said once the façade issue is decided, there are grounds for challenging building permits going forward.

"Your decision will allow them to build what the board expected to be built," Bruno said to the zoning hearing board. "The board of supervisors is taking a stand because they believe their authority is being disrespected and circumvented, and attempted to be disregarded."

The zoning hearing board will meet Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. to announce a decision on the matter.

Scroll down for comments if available

The postponement arose because one member of the five-seat zoning hearing board did not attend the meeting, which could have resulted in a tie vote.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Get local Breaking News alerts sent directly to your inbox.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Brand New App to watch all of WFMZ-TV News and Syndicated Programing 24/7 on your Streaming App enabled TV.

Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.