[Image: Inside a two-bedroom $million Arcadia apartment in Doylestown PA.]

New apartment communities are being built or in the planning stages in Falls, Lower Makefield, Middletown and Newtown. But Doylestown may be a special case.*

"Doylestown hasn't seen a multi-family dwelling in a generation," said Jason Duckworth, president of Arcadia Land Co. He thinks the old courthouse town now has a young, semi-urban atmosphere that makes it perfect for apartment living.

Arcadia developed a community of 60 homes initially called Arcadia Green but now known as Mayfield in Newtown Township and Arcadia and Rockwell Custom of Media plan to build a townhome community of 3,300-square-foot homes called Clear Springs Court in Doylestown with elevators in the buildings. Prices will start around $1 million.

The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors met on 18 September 2023 to resume hearing a validity challenge of its ordinance brought by a developer [KRE Upper Macungie Associates LP] seeking to build a multistory, 245-unit apartment building on Lower Silver Lake Road.

[KRE] also filed a preliminary motion to disqualify supervisor John Mack from hearing the challenge arguing that his blogs and Facebook postings have shown his bias against the filing (read “Developer Moves To Disqualify #NewtownPA Supervisor John Mack From Zoning Challenge Hearing”; https://sco.lt/83oLrc).

At the hearing., Solicitor Dave Sander asked Supervisor Mack "if he can hear and decide this case fairly based on the evidence presented to the Board of Supervisors in this proceeding?"

This video documents his response: https://youtu.be/-SS9chFp5kk 

[See update below.]

The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors on Monday night will resume hearing a validity challenge of its ordinance brought by a developer [KRE Upper Macungie Associates LP] seeking to build a multistory, 245-unit apartment building on Lower Silver Lake Road.

The meeting, which is open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 18 at the Newtown Township Building on Durham Road.

[KRE] also filed a preliminary motion to disqualify supervisor John Mack from hearing the challenge arguing that his blogs and Facebook postings have shown his bias against the filing.

The first order of business on Monday night will be for the supervisors to decide on KRE’s attempt to disqualify Mack from participating in the hearing.

Citing blogs and Facebook comments by Mack, KRE attorney Joseph Blackburn argued that Mack has shown his bias against the project and "has no intention of applying the law" and should be "disqualified" from hearing the challenge.

Attorney Joseph Bagley submitted a preliminary motion to exclude statements in the developer's validity challenge made by members of the planning commission and by Mack. "The burden of proof in the case is KRE's," he argued. Bagley also cited the second-class township code, which says a member of the board "shall not be disqualified from voting on any issue solely because a member has previously expressed an opinion in either an official or unofficial capacity."

At the September 13, 2023, Newtown Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, Peggy Driscoll, Chair of the Planning Commission, presented her synopsis of the Commission's concerns regarding the Corners at Newtown Redevelopment plan.

The plan includes a large apartment building with 120 apartments and amenities surrounding a parking garage. The building would be 45 feet in height and over 200 feet in length.

The Commission had some concerns about the proposed density in such close proximity to the Borough’s apartment complex called Steeple View and the impact on traffic and stormwater management.

Supervisor Mack asked about the possibility of obtaining an engineering analysis of the parking garage to determine if the ground can support the weight.

"These developers [are] coming in and what they're proposing is just ridiculous," said Ms. Driscoll at the end of her presentation.

Topics include:

• Video of Opening Presentation
• Lower Dolington Rd Trail Update – Addressing punch list items
• KRE “Validity Challenge” to Zoning – What’s Next?
• Corners at Newtown Redevelopment Plan – “Text Amendment”
• How Concerned Are You About Overdevelopment? – Survey Results

More...

Welcome to the September 11, 2023, Meet Mack Monday Zoom meeting presentation by your host John Mack, #NewtownPA Supervisor!

The goal of Meet Mack Monday Zoom meetings is to inform residents of township issues that impact them and to get feedback and comments from residents about such issues. This helps me keep better informed of residents’ concerns when I vote on the issues at Board of Supervisors meetings.

TOPICS INCLUDE:

• Lower Dolington Rd Trail Update – Addressing punch list items
• Public Hearing Followup – Kushner RE opened its zoning "Validity Challenge" case before the Board of Supervisors by first seeking to disqualify supervisor John Mack from hearing and voting on the challenge. What's next?
• Concerns Regarding Corners at Newtown Redevelopment Plan – Developer seeks a “Text Amendment” to Newtown’s zoning to allow the construction of a 120-unit “parking core” apartment building
• Residents concerned about overdevelopment: Latest Survey Results

Find the detailed presentation notes here: https://bit.ly/11Sep23_MMM_PresoNotes

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...

Welcome to the VIDEO EDITION of my News of Interest (NOI) e-newsletter.

It’s been a hot summer so far and many residents are away. Sometimes things happen in the summer without very much public attention. But things HAVE been happening this summer in Newtown Township that Newtown area residents should be aware of. This August 2023 issue of my News of Interest (NOI) e-newsletter includes a few of these community news items that I will be reviewing in the following slides.

In case you are not yet an online subscriber to this newsletter, which features summaries of local news stories and township actions, you can easily subscribe and opt-out at any time. LINK: https://www.johnmacknewtown.info/news.html

How concerned are residents about overdevelopment in Newtown Township? To answer that question, I started a short survey, which has received 170 responses (including 130 responses from Newtown Township residents) plus over 120 comments, as of July 18, 2023.

Over 80% of survey respondents are “Very Concerned” about overdevelopment in Newtown Township. See chart:

Selected Comments

• The supervisors are already allowing too much development.
• Our Planning Commission strives to work with property owners to insure careful development and redevelopment of open properties with an eye toward preservation of our infrastructure, impact on our municipal services and overall appearance of the Township
• Smart development is what Newtown needs and we need Supervisors (thanks John) willing to stand up to developers that want to change the zoning for their financial gain.
• I think most people in our area are concerned about ongoing development, and particularly higher density with ever-increasing traffic. But it’s not sufficient to just say “Stop the development!”  Land/property owners have rights, too. Rather than just railing against developers, my question is why there seem to be so many holes in the township’s zoning laws
• Newtown has lost it charm. It’s just like everyplace else now. Over commercialize. It’s a shame what newtown has become. It’s just going to get worse.
• I get it. People always resist change. But it is inevitable and certain. Nearly all of us live in homes that are on land that was once either green or farmed at one time.
• I love the small town feel of Newtown, but I am fearful we are losing our charm. The developers are sacrificing our town for their greed

View ALL COMMENTS...

What do you think? How concerned are you about overdevelopment in Newtown Township? (1=Not Concerned, 10=Very Concerned)

TAKE MY SURVEY

KRE Zoning Challenge, Wireless (5G) Communications Ordinance, LDR Trail update, Tara Blvd crosswalk safety, tractor trailer parking on LDR,  more…

This is my personal summary of the July 12, 2023, meeting of the #NewtownPA Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). This is not a complete nor an official summary.

Access the 2023 BOS Chronicle for detailed summaries of all 2023 BOS meetings plus the BOS voting record (UNOFFICIAL) for 2023.

Agenda Items

• Planning Committee Report: Comments on KRE Upper Kacungie Associates ZHB Challenge
• Board Member Report: JZC 5G Ordinance Safety Discussion
• Public Hearing: 

1. KRE Substantive Challenge and Curative Amendment
2. KRE Atty Blackburn Moves to Muzzle Mack!

• LDR Trail Update
• Tara Blvd Crosswalk Discussion
• Detailed Notes
• Official Video
• Video Transcript

Read summary, view video...

A developer seeking to build a multistory, 245-unit apartment building on Lower Silver Lake Road is asking the board of supervisors to disqualify vice chairman John Mack from hearing its validity challenge of the township's ordinance.

KRE Upper Macungie Associates LP is challenging the substantive validity of the township's ordinance arguing that the ordinance does not include a multi-family, mid-rise apartment use, which it is planning on Lower Silver Lake Road.

In addition to laying out their arguments [challenging Newtown’s zoning], the lawyers submitted preliminary challenges to the supervisors, including one seeking to disqualify supervisor John Mack from hearing the challenge.

[KRE] has also filed a preliminary motion to disqualify supervisor Mack from hearing the challenge arguing that his blogs and Facebook postings have shown his bias against the filing.

Attorney Joseph Bagley submitted a preliminary motion to exclude statements in the developer's validity challenge made by members of the planning commission and by Mack.

Bagley also cited the second-class township code, which says a member of the board "shall not be disqualified from voting on any issue solely because a member has previously expressed an opinion in either an official or unofficial capacity."

Citing blogs and Facebook comments by Mack, KRE attorney Joseph Blackburn argued that Mack has shown his bias against the project and "has no intention of applying the law" and should be "disqualified" from hearing the challenge.

[Here's the "evidence" Mr. Blackburn submitted:

• "Not on My Bypass" FB Group
• "Developer Challenges #NewtownPA Zoning to Allow 245 Unit Apartment Building in OR District"
• June 2023 Newsletter
• My comments at the June 14, 2023, BOS meeting]

"The burden of proof in the case is KRE's," he argued. "They have the burden to show that the ordinance as applied excludes a certain use. In this case, they allege apartments. This is not based on any statements by any supervisors or any planning commission members. We base it on the ordinance as written on the land that it applies to and on certain expert testimony."

The board of supervisors will be meeting with its legal counsel sometime over the summer to review the developer's request and Bagley's preliminary motion. It will announce its decision when the hearing continues on Monday, September 18.

Developers challenge #NewtownPA zoning laws: e.g., "Upscale" apartment complexes; Crosswalk safety delay? How should remaining COVID relief funds be spent? LDR trail update, more...

Read...

The owner of The Corners at Newtown Place business center wants to redevelop the 3.9-acre Newtown Township property into a three-story, 120-unit apartment building with related amenities.

The center is at Buck Road (Route 532) and Newtown-Richboro Road (Route 332) and includes Jake’s Eatery, Steak and Hoagie Factory, Domino’s Pizza, Steven Robbins Eyewear, Inner Circle Physical Therapy and other establishments.

“The JMZO (joint municipal zoning ordinance) does not currently provide for the type of multi-family dwelling proposed by the project,” stated Matthew McHugh of Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzbur, the attorney for owner BT Newtown Corners LP. “As such, applicant is proposing a text amendment to the JMZO to allow for and regulate such use.” The JMZO governs zoning law for Newtown, Upper Makefield and Wrightstown townships.

The proposal for The Corners at Newtown Place comes at the same time Newtown Township officials plan to fight another plan for a four-story, 245-unit apartment building for a vacant parcel on University Drive, just off Lower Silver Lake Road. That plan, like The Corners one, requires a change in the JMZO as one of the first steps toward becoming reality.

The McHugh submission on The Corners at Newtown Place includes a proposed text amendment to the JMZO setting forth rules and regulations for a “B-11 parking core apartment building use, subject to certain conditions, in the TC (Town Commercial) District.”

The two apartment building proposals come amidst a settlement agreement recently approved by the Newtown Township board of supervisors that will allow for a Wawa with gas pumps at the corner of the Newtown Bypass and Lower Silver Lake Road. The supervisors had been fighting zoning amendments needed for the Wawa until voting 3-2 in favor of the settlement.

Supervisor John Mack, who voted against the settlement, called the three proposals – two pending and one now approved – a “Newtown Zoning Armageddon(tm)” in a newsletter recently sent out to township residents.

“It’s a call to arms for residents who moved to Newtown to escape overdevelopment and crime,” Mack wrote. “These battles, I fear, will eventually lead to developers rewriting zoning ordinances (laws) meant to protect the promise of Newtown as ‘a great place to live, work and worship’ as well as enjoy open, undeveloped space.”

In the newsletter, Mack also mentions the possibility of the Newtown-Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority building a new sewage treatment plant on the same land where the four-story, 245-unit apartment building is proposed. The treatment plant, if it happens, would presumably prevent the apartment building from coming.

“I’ve been told the authority can acquire the land via Eminent Domain,” Mack wrote.

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.

While a $35 million expansion of the Village at Newtown Shopping Center that will include a new Solstice Restaurant, Iron Hill Brewery and several other establishments is rapidly taking shape, a new 12,500 square-foot Old Navy and 400 square-foot Chick-fil-A expansion is being proposed at the adjacent Newtown Shopping Center.

In the meantime, township officials are considering a proposed Wawa with gas pumps just off the Newtown Bypass near its intersection with Lower Silver Lake Road. Company officials have filed a challenge to the joint municipal zoning ordinance that covers Newtown Township, Upper Makefield and Wrightstown because it doesn’t designate areas for a combined convenience store/gas pumps use.

[Also read: “Mack & Fisher Respond to Questions About Development”]

A zoning hearing board meeting to consider variances for the proposed Wawa and the Newtown Shopping Center work is set for Thursday.

[Meet Mack Monday & discuss this: February 3, 2020]

As for the overall bright business outlook in the township, growth is good so long as it’s well thought out and managed, said Jim Worthington, owner of the largest business in Newtown Township, the Newtown Athletic Club.

But it’s not all positive, stressed Newtown Township Supervisor John Mack. In particular, he cited the proposed Old Navy as the wrong kind of business growth for the township.

Mack said he’s gotten 75 comments so far from Newtown-area residents in opposition, including comments that the store is not up-scale enough and many residents would prefer Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods or Wegman’s.

[What do you think? Take Mack's "Old Navy/Chick-fil-A Proposal Survey"]

The supervisor cites the Old Navy as the kind of commercial development that “brings only few low-paying jobs which does little to add to our revenue.”

On the other hand, Mack had a generally favorable view of businesses that will move in as the result of the Village at Newtown expansion “although parking is sometimes a problem. I understand that malls have to rethink their business plans to compete with Amazon.”

Township officials have to take a very hard look at the types of projects being allowed, said Mack, who added he is suggesting a voluntary moratorium on all new commercial development in the township while officials and residents “meet with commercial developers to ensure that their plans jibe with our new 10-year comprehensive plan, which currently is in the works.”

[Read "It’s Time to Update Newtown's Comprehensive Plan!"]

At the November 13, 2019, Newtown Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, Durham Partners Group, LLC, submitted a Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB) application for twenty seven townhomes and associated dimensional variances on the property located at 413 Durham Road in the PS-2 (Professional Service) Zoning District. The BOS heard from the applicant’s professionals that the proposed townhouse use is much lower impact from a traffic and development standpoint than a permitted medical office building.

Strike One!

After extensive questioning by Supervisors, the BOS voted 4-1 to send the Township Solicitor to the December 5, 2019, ZHB meeting to oppose the developer’s request for 7 variances.

See video here.

Strike Two!

Heath Dumack, the engineer hired by the developer, appeared before the Newtown Planning Commission at its November 19, 2019, public meeting “as a courtesy.” PC member Paul Cohen said “I don’t want to be too impolite about it, but this is crazy! This is just a blatant effort to squeeze as much as possible out of this. To come in and propose - where there’s supposed to be one home - twenty-seven is... incredibly bold.”

Listen to the Q&A here.

Strike Three?

The next step for Durham Partners Group is to appear before the Zoning Hearing Board. Will the third time be the charm or will it be strike three and "yer out!"? With the Township Solicitor there to oppose awarding variances for this plan (see below), it is my hope that the ZHB denies the application.

Newtown Township residents deserve amenities that make Newtown an attractive and vibrant place to live, work and do business.

Newtown Supervisors John Mack and Dennis Fisher have received many questions, concerns, and complaints about commercial and residential in Newtown Township, especially with regard to the renovation going on at the Village of Newtown Shopping Center, the potential for commercial development along Newtown Bypass, and the further development of high density housing. Fisher & Mack have selected the most-often asked questions to answer in this Newtown Patch article.

Read the article here...

Growth, especially in Newtown, has boomed and developers continue to put pressure on the township to approve the construction of more homes, convenience stores and shopping centers. And by “pressure” I mean lawsuits and threats of lawsuits. Remember, lawsuits cost the township time and money. At some point — and that point may be now — there is just not enough space and infrastructure (roads, water and sewer services) for it all.

What will Newtown and the other “jointure” municipalities — Wrightstown and Upper Makefield townships — look like in 10 years? How much land will be preserved as open space? How will we protect our water and air from pollution?

I fear that Newtown will become a “Pottersville” (as in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”) in the next ten years unless we have a plan in place that puts the brakes on overdevelopment in Newtown, which has been years in the making.

More...