This Zoom meeting focused on environmental impact of proposed sewage treatment plant, Newtown-Yardley Road sidewalk proposal, gas leaf blower survey results. more..
Get Started for FREE
Sign up with Facebook Sign up with X
I don't have a Facebook or a X account
|
Newtown News of Interest
These Scoops are excerpts from articles published in local newspapers and other sources that may be of interest to Newtown area residents. Please click on the "From" link to access the full original article. Any opinions and "insights" appended to these article summaries are solely those of John Mack and do not represent the opinions of any other person or entity. Curated by johnmacknewtown |
|
Scooped by
johnmacknewtown
December 12, 2024 6:57 AM
|
This Zoom meeting focused on environmental impact of proposed sewage treatment plant, Newtown-Yardley Road sidewalk proposal, gas leaf blower survey results. more..
|
Scooped by
johnmacknewtown
September 7, 2024 8:03 AM
|
Newtown township's population is currently declining at a rate of -0.23% annually and its population has decreased by -1.11% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 19,875 in 2020.
The average household income in Newtown township is $180,890 with a poverty rate of 3.73%. The median age in Newtown township is 45.3 years: 42.3 years for males, and 47.7 years for females.
Newtown township Demographics
According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Newtown township was:
The race most likely to be in poverty in Newtown township is Black, with 7.1% below the poverty level.
I was told that Newtown needs more people to move in so that tax revenue can be increased without increasing the millage rate. That may be why the BOS recently voted to approve an amendment of the zoning to allow high-density housing in the Business Commons (OLI-LI district). Read "Public Hearing to Consider Establishing LI/O-LI Overlay District”, which was held at the August 2024 BOS meeting.
The process has started to begin developing the 2025 draft Budget. Department heads are prioritizing expenditures and capital projects.
The question is, do we need high-density apartment buildings in the Business Commons to ensure that Newtown's population/tax base will increase and not continue to decrease? Keep in mind that Toll Bros will be building 45 single-family homes soon and another developer wants to building a 100-unit apartment building in the center of town.
Fore more, read this Patch article: “#NewtownPA LI/O-LI Overlay Ordinance Problems”
|
Scooped by
johnmacknewtown
July 8, 2024 8:03 AM
|
Finding an affordable rental home remains out of reach for most low-income workers in Pennsylvania, according to a new report. In fact, most would need to work more than three full-time jobs just to afford a modest, two-bedroom home in the Commonwealth.
Out Of Reach, a new report released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, looked at data to determine the discrepancy between wages in Pennsylvania and what residents actually need to earn to afford a rental home in the state.
The results are grim. At Pennsylvania's current minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, some of the state's 1.6 million renters would need to work 145 hours per week — or 3.6 full-time jobs — to afford a two-bedroom rental home at the current fair market rate of $1,365.
"This year’s report confirms what housing advocates have known for years: we cannot accept our housing crisis as 'normal,'" the report states. "Instead, we must build a nation where everyone has a quality, accessible home they can afford in a thriving, healthy community."
To afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent in Pennsylvania, full-time workers need to earn $26.26 per hour, the report found [more like $40-$60 per hour for Newtown*]. This is assuming the person spends no more than 30 percent of their income on rent.
Many do not earn that much. According to the report, the average worker in Pennsylvania earns $20.11 per hour, making the Commonwealth the 27th most expensive in the United States for renters.
Some parts of the state are worse than others. In Philadelphia, the fair market rate for a two-bedroom rental home is $1,737. For a minimum wage worker to afford that, they would have to work 4.6 full-time jobs.
* "Market Rate" apartments in Newtown go for about $2,000 per month for 1-bedroom apartments and $3,000 per month for 2-bedroom apartments (see here). That requires an annual income of about $80,000 to $120,000 (if 30% of income is devoted to rent), which I believe is more than the average worker in the Business Commons makes.
Therefore, creating Overlay Zoning that allows for "Town Center" or "Mixed Use" apartment complexes in the O-LI District - where the Business Commons is located - does NOT, in my opinion, help these businesses, which was the original intent of the Overlay Plan.
|
Scooped by
johnmacknewtown
June 21, 2024 10:08 AM
|
At the June 12, 2024, #NewtownPA Board of Supervisors meeting, Planning Commission (PC) member Terry Christensen, criticized the Corners at Newtown Traffic Impact Study (TIS) provided by the developers (BET Investments). The study was presented at the 4 June 2024 Planning Commission meeting (see https://johnmacknewtown.info/4jun24pc.html#Corners).
Mr. Christensen suggested the study was incomplete because it did not take into account the traffic that would be generated by the nearby approved Steeple View development in the Borough.
Mr, Christensen also questioned the methodology by which housing density was calculated which suggested a much lower density than would be expected.
|
Scooped by
johnmacknewtown
June 19, 2024 10:14 AM
|
This is a video of the presentation I made at the 17 June 2024 Meet Mack Monday Zoom meeting. The contents include:
* Anti Chick-fil-A at the Bypass Update, Including Petition Results
* Wawa Coming Soon – Will It Sell Beer/Wine 24/7?
* LI/O-LI District Overlay Problems: High Density Housing, More Traffic Congestion
* Corners at Newtown “Garage Core” Apartment Complex: Should We Amend JMZO to Allow This New Use in the Town Center District?
* What’s (not) happening with Pedestrian Crosswalk Improvements?
* Indoor Pickleball Club Proposed for Vacant Bed, Bath, and Beyond Site
* “Pollinator Garden” in Roberts Ridge Park
|
Scooped by
johnmacknewtown
June 9, 2024 8:00 AM
|
More Apartments, More Restaurants, More Congestion
Newtown Township supervisors will consider enacting an amendment to the Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance (JMZO) to establish an LI/O-LI "Overlay District" at the 12 June 2024 Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting. Overlay Zoning is a regulatory tool that creates a special zoning district, placed over an existing base zone(s), which identifies special provisions in addition to those in the underlying base zone.
At the February 16, 2021, Newtown Board of Supervisors Work Session, Supervisors discussed an Economic Development Committee memo that proposed zoning changes for the LI (Light Industrial) and O-LI (Office-Light Industrial) districts in Newtown Township. The ultimate goal was to attract new, high-paying businesses to the area.
A lot has happened to change the focus of the Overlay, which now includes uses that are beyond what was originally intended, including multi-story mixed use apartments/high density housing and drive through restaurants.
Why is this a problem? Read what residents have to say...
Related Content:
|
Scooped by
johnmacknewtown
April 12, 2024 11:23 AM
|
Discover the Latest #NewtownPA information about Roadwork, Fate of the Washington Crossing Bridge, Planning for Future Housing Projects, and More…
Read the online version: https://www.johnmacknewtown.info/noiapr24.html
|
Scooped by
johnmacknewtown
April 2, 2024 1:14 PM
|
Managing Growth and Development: Housing Projections Analysis
The 109-page FINAL DRAFT of the 2024 Newtown Area Comprehensive Plan (“the Plan”; LINK: https://tinyurl.com/FinalDraftCompPlan) was approved for advertising by the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors at its March 27, 2024, meeting. Other members of the Jointure – Wrightstown and Upper Makefield – are expected to do the same, if they have not done so already.
The Plan was developed by the Bucks County Planning Commission (BCPC), and current version dated 2/27/24 is the result of several years of back and forth deliberations among Jointure members. Its purpose is to address the challenges faced by the members. The Plan, which contains nine guiding principles for the future, is a blueprint for the future.
Each Jointure municipality will hold a public meeting to answer questions and hear comments from residents. Newtown Township’s plans to include this at its May 22. 2024, Board of Supervisors meeting.
In order to help Newtown Township residents prepare for the scheduled May 22, 2024, meeting, I hope to prepare several short synopses of major sections of the Plan. This first synopsis focuses on:
Principle #1 - PROMOTE SMART GROWTH
Read the analysis in Newtown Patch...
The goal of the Plan developers with regard to housing, as it was explained to me at a Jointure meeting, was to determine if the Jointure had enough open space where housing is permitted to accommodate the projected population growth. The answer was yes. They used a figure of 224 new residents for Newtown by 2030. This number was from DVRPC; Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and is based on 2020 Census data analysis. However, what comes first? The chicken (people) or the eggs (developers getting their way)? That is, if you build it, people will come. Although the planners (BCPC) think there is enough available space WITHOUT changing the zoning, they also suggest that zoning be changed to allow more housing (e.g., in the OR and OLI/LI districts which ONLY exist in Newtown). How can this be a plan to promote "smart growth?"
Perhaps the "Smart Growth" section needs an update...
Related Content:
|
Scooped by
johnmacknewtown
August 24, 2023 7:51 AM
|
One word kept coming up during a review of a planned upscale apartment complex at Sycamore Street and Richboro Road. And that word was “density.”
BET Investments, a real estate management and development company owned by Bruce Toll, attended the August planning commission meeting seeking input on its plans to redevelop the Corners at Newtown Place with a 120-unit luxury apartment building with an interior parking garage.
The plan calls for the demolition of a series of stand-alone commercial and retail buildings on Cambridge Lane and the construction of a three-story apartment building that would wrap around a multi-level interior parking garage and have direct access to a common hall and a private, outdoor pool and recreation area.
"We have a project that would require multiple variances from the zoning hearing board. Instead of seeking those variances, we crafted an amendment that we believe addresses the items of zoning relief that would be required for the project and would allow us to proceed in some fashion," land use attorney Matt McHugh told the planners.
According to the draft ordinance submitted by BET, a new use - Parking Core Apartment Building - would be added to the zoning ordinance.
Related Content:
|
Scooped by
johnmacknewtown
June 27, 2021 11:22 AM
|
Concerned [Media, PA] community members say Media runs the risk of losing its hometown flavor. They say suburban sprawl and unchecked development is upending green space, causing housing prices to skyrocket, and making the borough less racially and economically diverse.
Areas of tree cover and homes of varying sizes have been replaced with even larger luxury homes, said resident Julie Smith, who has a background in environmental science. Local wildlife species have been displaced, she said, and the lack of trees and greenery is causing flooding to intensify and leading to the formation of sinkholes — her neighbor fell into one a few months ago, she added.
“I can’t remember how many … square acres of open space is left, and every last bit of it is vulnerable at the moment because of developers coming in. And they seem to be very well represented at council meetings, and very little seems to be able to be done to challenge them to help preserve the integrity of our town,” Smith said.
What About Affordable Housing?
Some residents of Media say the housing market there is far from affordable. According to the real estate website Zillow, the typical home price in the Media area is more than $476,000 — an 11.1% increase since 2020, as home prices surge throughout the Philadelphia region. In 2012, the typical home value was $305,000.
U.S. Census data from 2000 showed that 14% of Media’s residents were Black. By 2010, that number had plummeted to just 10%. As of 2019, only 6% of the population was Black.
Tamara Graham comes from a long line of Black residents of Media. “We’ve always been here. And we’ve always done pretty much our own thing. We’ve been generally self-sufficient through segregation — through the whole nine yards of it,” Graham said.
Although she grew up walking near creeks and hiking along the neighborhood trails, she said those opportunities are shrinking for her children’s generation.
Though it may not be the sole reason, Graham believes overdevelopment and green space loss is contributing to the lack of affordable housing and the decreasing Black population in Media.
Borough Council President Hall said he is sympathetic to the concerns about housing affordability…“One thing that I’ve learned about local government is this: It’s designed to go slowly. It doesn’t go slowly because we want it to go slowly. It goes slowly because we need input from our residents. It’s designed to get input from residents in a way that will maximize people’s opportunity to speak with us,” Hall said.
But some believe elected leaders are sitting on their hands as the pressures of overdevelopment squeeze the community.
The Media PA sign in the article says "Defend Open Space." What good is open space if it can't be used by residents? Yes, good for views as you drive by, but when the plan to convert Roberts Ridge Park into a meadow came before the BOS, I opposed it and worked with Elen Snyder - a local resident - to save the park and plant trees. See https://patch.com/pennsylvania/newtown-pa/newtown-township-approves-residents-plan-plant-native-trees
Also, what about the Clark Nature Center? The trails there have been closed for about 5 years! I am fighting to get those trails opened: https://patch.com/pennsylvania/newtown-pa/can-we-open-clark-nature-center-trails The township is supposed to be applying for a grant to do that (by removing some dangerous dead trees).
|
Scooped by
johnmacknewtown
March 2, 2020 7:10 AM
|
Families in the Philadelphia suburbs are struggling to pay for basic needs, including high child care and housing costs, according to a new study.
A family of four with young children needs to make about $90,000 just to make ends meet in the Philadelphia suburbs, a new study released this month by the nonprofit Pathways PA shows.
According to the study, more than 846,000 working-age Pennsylvania households lack enough income just to cover those basic needs.
The 2020 Overlooked and Undercounted report examines the cost of basic necessities by creating a "Self-Sufficiency Standard" for each Pennsylvania county. The newly released Self-Sufficiency Standard, which uses data from 2019, shows what you need to make just to be able to pay for housing, child care, food, healthcare, transportation, taxes, and other miscellaneous basic needs.
The most expensive suburban Philadelphia county is Chester, where families made up of two adults and two preschool-aged children need to earn more than $93,100 just to pay their bills.
The largest expense for young families in the region by far is child care, which costs more than housing if both parents work full-time and more than one child is in daycare.
"With one out of four Pennsylvania households lacking enough income to meet their basic needs, the problem of inadequate income is extensive, affecting families throughout the state, in every racial/ ethnic group, among men, women, and children, in all counties. Nevertheless, inadequate income is concentrated disproportionately in some places and among some groups," the report summary states.
Related: