Although most of the homes in the proposed Carey's Bluff development will lie within Glenfield Borough, one key element is planned for Kilbuck Township, where officials are hoping to protect Kilbuck and its residents from any future problems.

Developers of the community -- which will include both single family homes and condominiums -- along Toms Run Road want to place a sewage treatment plant on the Kilbuck side of the border, but officials want to make sure that plant doesn't end up costing Kilbuck in the future.

Where exactly a treatment plant is built is the first issue that must be resolved. Kilbuck officials believe township zoning laws require a setback of 100 feet from where developer wants to place the facility. This would put the plant into a landslide-prone hillside of clay and require construction of a "significant retaining structure," according to Kilbuck engineer Shawn Rosensteel.

The developer is hoping Kilbuck officials will agree to another interpretation of the zoning laws, according to attorney Kevin McKeegan, who attended Tuesday's meeting of the Kilbuck Township Planning Commission. McKeegan said that interpreting the parcel's zoning classification another way would eliminate the setback requirements.

Whether the developer is able to convince the township supervisors to adopt its understanding of the zoning laws, or the developer is forced to apply for a variance to avoid the setback, Kilbuck officials' main concern is that the township could end up being held responsible for the treatment plant somewhere along the line.

To make sure that Carey's Bluff residents continue to pay for their own sewage treatment, McKeegan said, the developer has proposed the creation of a homeowners' association, which will annually calculate and assess a fee on each property owner in the plan. That fee would cover the cost of operating and maintaining the facility, he said. Anyone who buys property in carey's Bluff will be subject to covenants that will require contribution to the sewer facility fund, according to McKeegan.

Kilbuck solicitor Chuck Means, however, said that the covenants are fine, but they are not enough to protect Kilbuck. The properties may not sell for a number of years, he said, prohibitively increasing the cost shared by the existing owners. The homeowners' association could become inactive or just go broke, he noted.

"We want to look for something that's more secure," he told McKeegan.

Means suggested a number of additional measures, including a bond or escrow account that would have to be established to cover the longterm maintenance and replacement costs of the plant, a maintenance agreement with the community that sets standards for the operation of the plant and mandates regular reports to the township, and even an intergovernmental agreement with Glenfield that says that if the municipalities ultimately are held responsible for the plant by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Glenfield will be held accountable for the majority of homes located in that borough.