Limerick Board Hears About Upcoming Development

A new medical office, a relocating biochemical research company and an outdoor advertising company all came before the Limerick Township Board of Supervisors at Tuesday night's meeting to talk about their plans. 

The medical office, which will be the new home of the Rothman Institute, was the only one of the three that was up for a vote. The board voted unanimously to approve their conditional use application.

The institute's new office will be on Enterprise Drive, directly across from Physicians' Care Surgical Hospital, and architecturally will match the hospital building. 

Rothman Institute doctors will have offices there and will have access to the surgical center for their patients.

The other two businesses, Steen Outdoor Advertising and Rockland, Inc., were before the board to get some feedback from the supervisors prior to beginning their projects. 

Steen Outdoor Advertising hopes to place a 14' by 48' billboard on a commercial property on Possum Hollow Road, near the Philadelphia Premium Outlets and Route 422. 

The company will have to seek zoning relief because they are in a zoning area that doesn't allow billboards, and they are asking for a billboard twice the size allowed in the ordinance. 

The property on Possum Hollow Road is only a few hundred yards from a zoning district that would allow a billboard, said attorney Bob Brandt, but the owner of that property has no interest in having a large billboard placed there. 

Supervisor Thomas Neafcy said he thinks that the company should go to the Zoning Hearing Board and let that board decide on the application. 

"I think our ordinance adequately defines billboards," Neafcy said, noting that he would oppose the variance request if it was up for a formal vote. 

Supervisor Kara Shuler also expressed opposition, while Supervisors Elaine DeWan and Ken Sperring both said they would stay neutral if the company considered moving the billboard closer to the edge of the property. Moving it there would place the billboard closer to a zoning district where it would be allowed. 

Solicitor Joseph McGrory advised Brandt and his clients that their zoning application would determine any future action. 

The second company to come before the board is planning a relocation from their current headquarters in Gilbertsville. 

Rockland Immunochemicals Inc., a biochemical research and development company, hopes to relocate to a property on Jones Road in Limerick Township. 

Rockland does research and manufacturing of antibodies, and provide them to many of the top research and development labs and hospitals worldwide. 

Richard Smith, the COO of Rockland, told the board that they want to expand and add jobs. The Jones Road property has an existing 60,000-square-foot building that Rockland will renovate, and they will use the rest of the acreage for the live animals they keep. 

Supervisor Joseph St. Pedro said, "I think this is a good project, bringing 55 employees to our community."

Neafcy agreed. 

"This puts us on the map. With a biomedical research company, it opens the door for others to follow, and it gives us high-tech, good-paying jobs," Neafcy said. 

Other business

• The board announced that they will hold a regular meeting on October 30 instead of on Election Day, November 6. This meeting will be counted as the first November meeting. The second November meeting will be on Tuesday, November 20.
• The November 20 meeting will be dedicated to the township's budget. The budget will be presented to the public at that time.