Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Further Review of Possible CCRC Within East Vincent

The Board of Supervisors of East Vincent Township has decided to table the CCRC amendment until they can better study the results of the Phoenixville & Chester County Regional Plans reports. The Board of Supervisors are also planning to work with the planning commission in order to discuss what a needs analysis would entail for a CCRC and then also placement of such facility which the Planning Commission would like the opportunity to review this issue as part of their overall study of the 724 corridor. An example of 2 senior Housing Studies (needs analysis) found through research online can be located on the right hand side of this blog.

During the meeting, a supervisor from East Vincent noted that East Pikeland has 2 successful CCRC's within their township. We concur that placement of the CCRC is critical in that it remain away from residential housing like the Cold Stream Crossing CCRC in East Pikeland. The placement of that facility is along route 113. In this case, residents are not directly impacted by the large facility. We hope that our township supervisors take into account the impact that a large facility will have in a residential area, not just the possible successful amount of revenue that the township might experience. As mentioned by another supervisor, there are other ways for the township to generate revenue.

Also, CCRC's can only be successful by reaching a certain fill rate. Having too many in an area can over saturate a region. This may or may not happen in East Vincent, but it is certainly reasonable to determine the actual needs of the residents of East Vincent for a CCRC or some other form of retirement housing. Some large businesses are invested in after careful planning and later fail. Eventually, the surge of retirees of the baby boom era will reduce in numbers, and what will become of all of the CCRC's within Pennsylvania?

We are appreciative of the supervisors' decision to table the CCRC until they can further research the topic. A CCRC is not something that any township should quickly commit to and the planning of such facility is not on the same level as planning a residential housing development. There are many more components and complexities to consider.

The next Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for September 22nd at 7 pm. Please plan to attend.

Part of the goal within the EVRACCRC is to help educate East Vincent residents which will include research. Please review any supporting documentation to the right of the blog or links contained within the post.

Thank you for your support,

EVRACCRC
EVRACCRC@gmail.com