ADAMS TWP — The decision to move the supervisors meeting outside to the Adams Township Rotary pavilion was made Monday night to accommodate nearly 50 citizens who chose to attend.

“We were expecting a big group,” said Russell Ford, supervisors chairman. “We set this up this morning.”

The pavilion, equipped with a presentation computer screen and a microphone, became the stage for an extended discussion on Amherst Village Phases 5 through 7.

Several residents asked the supervisors to speak about the recent revelation that Amherst Phases 5 through 7 apparently encompass a property still owned and lived on by a township resident.

This was discovered last week during the township's planning commission meeting, when Jones Lane resident Ruth Jones asked what was going to happen to her property.

As previously reported by the Eagle, Jones owns a 1¼-acre lot inside the plan that had not been marked on plan documents.

Rob Crouthamel, a resident, said he's been tuned into the progress the development has made over the last few months when it comes to township approval.

“I was not aware that there was a long-standing resident with property underneath that plan,” Crouthamel said. “I feel like I was misled.”

“I was appalled with what I heard,” said Tina Wilson, a resident who also attended the planning commission meeting. “We were misguided about what that development included.”

Wilson said she'd “revoke immediately” conditional use approval the supervisors granted in June following a public hearing about Phases 5 through 7 in May. As it now stands, Phases 5 through 7 include 142 acres for 288 single- and multifamily housing units about a mile north of Route 228.

Amid applause from the public, Wilson said the township was not properly advised about the plan and should take corrective action.

Ford said while the board discussed the situation that occurred at last week's planning commission meeting, the issue is not the board's responsibility now.

“We are way past the comments that you're making now,” Ford said. “This is a situation between a developer and a personal land owner.”

Resident Mary Elizabeth Snow said that as a mother she's taught her children about the steps it takes for things to be approved in government. She asked who's responsible for maintaining that order when it comes to things like development approval.

“Whose job is it to (inform) the supervisors?” Snow asked. “There's a system of checks and balances.”

Ford said many contracts between developers and land owners often accompany “contingencies,” some of which may depend on the final approval of a plan and some of which may be verbal instead of written.

These arrangements are private matters, according to Ford.

“When a development ... comes through, we don't go and look at every one of those contracts to make sure there is a binding contract,” Ford said.

However, Ford said moving forward, the township would be mindful of the status of agreements between parties.

“We will require before we listen to the development to see the sales contracts that are binding,” Ford said. “We will change in the future.”

The planning commission tabled further approval of Phases 5 through 7 last week after determining Jones' situation needed to be looked into by developer Chris Kaclik and Allan Beechey, project manager and senior engineer for Sheffler & Co.

Ford said Monday if the developer and property owner work out an agreement, the plan will resume the planning commission process.

If the parties aren't able to arrive at an agreement, Ford said the township will ultimately not get involved.

“It is not our situation,” Ford said.

He reminded the public the plan hasn't reached the stage of securing final approval yet.

If they were present during the meeting Monday night, Jones, Kaclik and Beechey did not identify themselves.