Plans okayed for 111 new lots

J. Phillip Kesecker said he will wait for the economy to show signs of recovery before resuming building, but the Berkeley Springs developer has the first layer of planning approval for 111 new housing lots in eastern Morgan County.
On January 26, the Morgan County Planning Commission gave their okay for Kesecker’s concept of two subdivisions that will be built in phases.
The first will be built on 121 acres of the former Lawrence Michael farm along New Hope Road.
The Michael Farm subdivision would include 40 building lots with an average size of three acres. Lots would be built out in three sections, with 19 lots in phase one, nine lots in phase two and 12 lots in phase three.
A Michael family cemetery stands on the parcel to be developed, but Kesecker
said the cemetery board
has a deeded right-of-way for family members to retain access to the cemetery through the development once it is built.
Bob Bartley, who owns and farms an adjacent parcel of land, asked planners what would happen to Yellow Springs, a spring-fed run that cuts through one corner of the development and empties into Sleepy Creek.
“What about run-off into that?” he asked.
Bartley said a new proposed road from Theodore Hawvermale Road into the subdivision would have to cross that stream. He also worried about traffic from 40 new homes being added to Hawvermale and New Hope Roads.
Planning president Jack Soronen told Bartley that his board shared his concern about disruption of the stream, and said the Department of Environmental Protection would likely monitor the waterway when development began.
Kesecker Knoll
A second subdivision — Kesecker Knoll — will include 74 lots on 204 acres along Johnson Mill Road, north of Henry O. Michael Road.

Lots would be built out on the former Nester Farm in six phases. Phase one, with three lots, is already complete. Phase two, with seven lots, got preliminary plat approval from planners last fall. The remaining 64 lots would be developed in four future phases.
Asked about the timeframe for starting the project, Kesecker said it would start “as demand arises.”
“It’s not like these things are imminent. We’re just showing you our plans for the future,” said surveyor Mike Crawford, who is working on the projects for Kesecker.
Before either of the subdivisions can become active projects, the Planning Commission will hold public hearings to consider a preliminary plat permit and a final plat approval for each development.
Other permits
In other business, Planner Alma Gorse reported on small commercial building permits she has issued through the Planning Office. Gorse said two permits were granted for cell tower activity by T-Mobile and Sprint on Fulton Road and Short Mountain Road.
Another building permit was issued to new owners of the former Roseanna’s Bar & Grill along Martinsburg Road for an addition and a new roof for the building, which will operate as a restaurant and bar.
A small commercial building was also approved on a parcel between the new State Farm office and Dairy Queen on the west side of U.S. 522 south of Berkeley Springs. Gorse said the building will have to follow the county’s floodplain regulations, since it sits alongside Warm Springs Run.