Amid confusion on the part of some residents, the Bridgeville Planning Commission voted 5-0 last week to forward a $30 million flood alleviation plan to borough council.
For nearly two years, planning commissioners worked with an environmental engineer to craft the plan, which would dramatically alter the Baldwin Street corridor, including Bower Hill road. Planning commission president John McCans was not present.
The vote led to a few objections from audience members who mistakenly thought that the planning commission had just approved the plan into law.
In actuality, the planning commission does not have legislative powers. It simply makes recommendations to council. Bridgeville’s councilmembers are not obligated to follow the planning commission’s advice.
Rather, borough officials will review the plan and decide how to proceed. The project could appear on the agenda for the Nov. 12 borough council meeting, said Mike Tolmer, council president.
But even if the entirety of the plan was approved tomorrow, the project’s vast scope and enormous cost mean actual construction wouldn’t begin for at least a few years — and that’s in the best-case timeframe.