College Township panel recommends conditional approval of Sam’s Club plan

The College Township Planning Commission unanimously recommended conditional approval of Sam’s Club’s proposed pickup-area expansion on Oct. 6, according to StateCollege.com. The recommendation concerns the preliminary/final land-development plan and is not final Township approval. Township Council approval is still required before the project can move forward.

The proposed 2,500-square-foot addition would sit on the northwest side of the Sam’s Club at 381 Benner Pike and add space for online-order pickup and storage or staging. The recording of the Oct. 6 Planning Commission meeting lists the Sam’s Club pickup, signage, striping and building expansion as a meeting topic.

Pickup stalls would increase as total parking falls

The plan calls for 24 pickup stalls, compared with 14 existing pickup spaces. Those existing spaces would return to general parking. Total parking at the store would decrease from 316 spaces to 298, a level StateCollege.com reports would remain within zoning requirements.

Proposed signs would direct pickup traffic onto the outer circulation road and away from the main driveway. Commission members questioned whether drivers arriving from Dreibelbis Road would follow the signs or cut in front of the store.

The project engineer said the pickup area is intended to separate pickup and delivery activity from regular store operations and improve safety. The engineer also said comparable Walmart and Sam’s Club pickup areas had not shown significant increases in traffic flow. Those are project-side statements, not established outcomes.

Grass pavers proposed for the south end of the main parking lot would offset the addition’s impervious area, with no net change in surface coverage, according to the report. The project would use the existing stormwater management system and require no new utility connections.

The commission’s recommendation does not authorize construction. Township Council must approve the plan before the expansion can proceed.