This Zoom meeting focused on environmental impact of proposed sewage treatment plant, Newtown-Yardley Road sidewalk proposal, gas leaf blower survey results. more..

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:

• White: 78.16%
• Asian: 10.23%
• Two or more races: 7.59%
• Black or African American: 2.44%
• Other race: 1.55%
• Native American: 0.04%
• Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0%

The race most likely to be in poverty in Newtown township is Black, with 7.1% below the poverty level.

Much more data here...

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.

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.

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

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...

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

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...

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.

More...

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.