Plum subdivision plan get initial OK

The Plum Borough Planning Commission recently got a look at the first housing development proposed in the borough in years.

Planning commission members gave Grasinger Homes Inc. of Plum a preliminary nod for a subdivision called Colonial Pointe, consisting of 36 single-family homes on a new street -- Winchester Drive -- off Elicker Road and across from Barnes Road.

Grasinger Homes was the developer of both Rustic Ridge and Green Valley Estates, both in Plum.

Borough Planning Director Greg Bachy said Colonial Pointe is the first housing plan proposed in the borough in a few years.

Bachy said Plum had about 50 home starts last year, compared with 44 in 2009.

Michelle Grasinger, who will market the development for Grasinger Homes, said the houses would be priced from $170,000 to $250,000.

"It fills a nice gap for the first-time homebuyer who wants to move up," Grasinger said.

John Grasinger, an owner of Grasinger Homes, said the three- and four-bedroom homes would be a mixture of two-story, split-entry and ranch-type structures.

"It's not a cookie-cutter (development)," Michelle Grasinger said.

Bachy told planning commission members preliminary approval means they were looking at the concept plan.

"The details like whether the stormwater (management) works can be deferred to final approval," Bachy said.

Bachy said Grasinger Homes submitted a traffic study, geo-technical storm-water plan and an erosion sedimentation-control plan.

The details of those plans would be considered when the company comes back to the planning commission for final approval.

Jon P. Sweringen, landscape architect with Fahringer McCarty Grey in Monroeville, said Grasinger Homes plans to develop Colonial Pointe on about 22 of 92 acres it owns in the area.

Lot sizes will range from 10,000 to 13,000 square feet, Sweringen said.

Plum Council will consider the Grasingers' preliminary subdivision request during its May 9 meeting.

If approved, Grasinger officials plan to come back to the planning commission in June to request final subdivision approval with the goal of beginning construction in the fall, John Grasinger said.