This Zoom meeting focused on Wawa delay, sewage treatment plant Moves, fire services agreement with Borough, LI/O-LI Overlay “By Right” Zoning, 2025 budget preview, more...

Includes:

• Opening Presentation
• Discussion
• Links to More Information
• Detailed Meeting Notes

Welcome to the September 23, 2024, Meet Mack Monday Zoom meeting presentation!

The goal of Meet Mack Monday meetings is to inform residents of township issues that impact them and to get feedback and comments from residents about such issues.

Rick g. - a Newtown Township resident - was “hoping the berm would obstruct the view from the bypass to help preserve the rural ‘ambience’ along most of the bypass. The berm across the street looks like it's 4-5’ higher and obstructs the view of the church.”

I decided to see for myself what was going on with the berm by driving by the site with video rolling. I posted what I saw on Youtube (view it here..). To date (29 July 2024) the video has been viewed more than 1,900 times!

More comments, questions, and answers...

A trip to the gas station typically can cost between $30 and $60, but over 30 drivers in the Richboro area are now facing price tags of upwards of $4,000.

One driver affected is 17-year-old Connor Lenahan who told NBC10 that it was a normal Thursday when he filled his tank at the station on the 800 block of Second Street Pike.

It was Friday morning when he noticed something was wrong.

"I went to start my car but it wouldn’t start, it took like three or four attempts to start and when I did get it on, it was very very jittery and it was having some problems accelerating," Lenahan said.

After taking his car to the mechanic, he was told the issue was bad gasoline. His mother took to social media asking if anyone else experienced the same issue. "She ended up getting around 35 people that reached out with the same problem," Lenahan explained.

Previously, there was a ten (10') foot embankment at the Bypass line of Wawa's Property. The plan is to cut that embankment to approximately four (4') to five (5') feet high. The berm has to be cut down in order to provide visibility ..." LINK: https://johnmacknewtown.info/blog/?viewDetailed=202111061001

This video taken on 22 July 2024 shows the progress to date regarding remaking the berm, which now seems covered in hay to protect seed planting for creation of a grassy berm (aka "Newtown Grassy Knoll").

From the plans, it appears to me that the tallest plantings along this berm are only 2-4 feet in height - shrubs really, not trees. In any case, they will not obscure the signage on the roof and the fuel pumps. It is clear that with the planned elimination of the berm along the Bypass and Lower Silver Lake Road, that the building sign and gas pump canopy will be clearly visible. See https://www.johnmacknewtown.info/zhbwawarnd2.html

O-LI/LI ordinance problems, Wawa coming (with beer???), Who has the best plastics ban – Newtown or Doylestown?, Pickleball: OK, amending JMZO to add high-density apartments: NOT OK!

Access the entire issue online: https://www.johnmacknewtown.info/jun24noi.html

17 June 2024 Meet Mack Monday Zoom meeting attendees discuss what's on their minds including:

* Tara Blvd crosswalk safety improvements
* The possibility of Wawa selling beer 24/7
* Problems with the LI/O-LI Overlay proposal
* and other issues

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

[Video by John Mack, 4 June 2024]

Land clearing has officially begun at the site of the future 5,500- square-foot Wawa convenience store and gas station on the Newtown Bypass.

Heavy machinery moved onto the site this week to begin land clearing operations in preparation for the construction of the new store and gas station at Lower Silver Lake Road across from Crossing Community Church.

Last spring, the supervisors voted 3 to 2 to approve a stipulation and settlement agreement with Provco that ended ongoing litigation and allowed Provco to move forward with plans to build the convenience store on a 4.95 acre parcel of undeveloped land in the township's OR zoning district.

 The chain won an expired Delaware County restaurant liquor license in a Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board auction, and paid $170,000 for another license in Bucks County.

This week, the convenience-store chain emerged as the winning bidder for two expired restaurant liquor licenses auctioned by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. In bidding that opened Sept. 27, Wawa plopped down $300,000 — more than double the average winning bid — for an expired Delaware County license, and paid $170,000 for another license in Bucks County.

Wawa currently has 24 stores in Pennsylvania that sell beer, said Lori Bruce, a company spokesperson, including four in Delaware County.

Bruce did not provide the location of the new store. Two Wawa stores in Bucks County sell beer.

 Read “Wawa Expands Beer Sales in Bucks County”; https://sco.lt/98Vh2m

In recent years, Wawa has begun to add alcohol sales to its stores as it faces new competition, like delivery services (AND LIKE 7-ELEVEN!).

Convenience stores in Pennsylvania may sell beer to-go provided they have the right license from the PLCB. Wine sales require an expanded permit and allow a customer to buy up to three liters of wine at a time.

BREAKING NEWS (5/10/2024; 9:04 AM):  The Twp Mgr just notified supervisors: "The Township has been granted an indefinite extension for the Chick Fil A zoning hearing application. The application will not be scheduled for review unless the applicant notifies the Township of its intent to proceed with the application."

Lots of people love Chick-Fil-A, but some aren't loving its proposed location in Newtown Township.

A petition opposing construction of the popular eatery at 98 Upper Silver Lake Road, near Newtown-Yardley Road, was launched on April 30, and has gotten [more than] 600 signatures, most from local residents.

"As residents living within 500 feet of the proposed construction site ... we are deeply concerned about the potential negative impacts on our community," states the petition, started by resident Donna Serdula. 

Serdula, who lives about 1,200 feet from the proposed 6,000-square-foot Chick-Fil-A, said it will be a traffic nightmare for her neighborhood, Wiltshire Walk, and for surrounding residents, too.

"It’s going to be huge. It’s bigger than the Wawa that’s going to be building near it,” she said.

“Why are they building this here? I mean, they already have a Chick-Fil-A that's a seven minute drive away,” she said. “They aren’t building it for the community. They’re building it to draw traffic from (I-295). They’re building it because the Wawa is going to draw traffic for everyone who wants hoagies and gas.

“Essentially, they’re turning Newtown into a truck stop,” she said.

“I opposed the Wawa for several reasons," said township Supervisor John Mack, "but primarily because there’s a lot of issues with the traffic at that intersection. It already backs up from Newtown-Yardley Road,” he said.

Chick-Fil-A has been scheduled to make its first case for variances for setbacks and signage before the township Planning Commission on April 16, but canceled three hours before the meeting, Mack said. [Many] residents had planned to attend. "Chick-Fil-A chickened out," Mack said.

What's Next?

???? The application will not be scheduled for review unless the applicant notifies the Township of its intent to proceed with the application

More...

According to a recent email from the Bucks County Water & Sewer Authority (BCWSA) to Newtown Twp: “Based on the provided information, we believe NBCJMA [Newtown Bucks County Joint Municipality Authority]  has presented enough evidence to allow the “AOP” project [Toll Brothers Twining Bridge/Durham Rd Housing Plan] for 45 EDUs to be added to the NICMP [Neshaminy Interceptor Connection Management Plan], and moved immediately to the released column.”

In summary, the Toll project can proceed, other EDU's/connections (e.g., Wawa?) will be processed on a case by case basis.

The Neshaminy Interceptor is a large sewer main that takes sewage from Bucks County to a Philadelphia treatment facility. When there is a major storm, the interceptor becomes filled with storm water that takes up much of its sewage capacity.

NBCJMA Executive Director Warren Gormley points to the Neshaminy Interceptor problem as a big reason why the authority is looking into the feasibility of acquiring a 17.5-acre tract on Lower Silver Lake Road for the construction of a state-of-the-art treatment facility to serve the authority’s 9,000 customers in Newtown Township and Newtown Borough. It would bypass the need for sending sewage to Philadelphia for treatment.

BREAKING NEWS (5/10/2024; 9:04 AM):  The Twp Mgr just notified supervisors: "The Township has been granted an indefinite extension for the Chick Fil A zoning hearing application. The application will not be scheduled for review unless the applicant notifies the Township of its intent to proceed with the application."

UPDATE (5/9/2024): I was just informed that the ZHB has granted Chick-fil-A an EXTENSION until July (when many residents will be away) - cheap move on their part - although typical of developers trying to sneak by public opposition!

A Newtown Township resident has launched an online petition drive against a proposal to build a Chick-Fil-A restaurant on the east side of the township.

Newtown Equities, LLC, has filed a zoning application with the township to build a 6,000-square-foot restaurant with a drive-thru at the former site of the TD Bank at 98 Upper Silver Lake Road near its intersection with Newtown-Yardley Road.

[Read “Chick-fil-A Wants to Set Up Shop at Intersection of NT-Yardley Rd and #NewtownPA Bypass”; https://sco.lt/5L9k7U]

The property is diagonally across the Newtown Bypass from the site of the new Wawa convenience store and gas station approved by the township last year through a settlement agreement.

Newtown Equities has not formally presented its plan at a township meeting. It had been scheduled to appear before the planning commission on April 16, but several hours before the meeting asked to be removed from the agenda.

[Read “Chick-fil-A CANCELS presentation before the #NewtownPA Planning Commission Meeting”; https://sco.lt/6k72zw]

Donna Serdula, a resident of the 50-home Wiltshire Walk development, which is located within 500 feet of the site of the proposed restaurant, said she's "deeply concerned" by the proposal.

So much so that she launched an online petition drive this week and said she's working to organize her neighbors in opposition to the plan.

“STOP Zoning Changes Allowing Chick-fil-A Construction in Newtown” petition.

As of 5/10/2024, over 659 people have signed the petition!

"What people don't realize is that this proposed Chick-Fil-A is not on the Newtown Bypass. It's on Newtown-Yardley Road and Upper Silver Lake Road. And Newtown-Yardley Road can't handle the existing traffic. In the morning, you're already sitting through two or three lights to get to the bypass. If there's a Chick-Fil-A there, you're not even going to be able to make a left onto the bypass. It's going to become impossible.

"And we don't even have the Wawa yet," added Serdula. "On top of that, the township is working to change the zoning of the Newtown Business Commons to bring in different types of uses to support the local businesses. That's going to bring in traffic.

"Chick-Fil-A doesn't want to build there because they want to support the community," Serdula said. "They already have a Chick-Fil-A a few miles away. They're building there because they want to pull in business from I-295 and from the drivers getting gas at the Wawa," she said.

Serdula said the township and its residents need to start thinking seriously about what they'd like Newtown to be - a quiet, residential community or a traffic nightmare.

Topics include:

• Wawa coming soon to Bypass
• Jointure will allow 5G antennas
• NAACP race and policing report
• ED streetlight payback period disputed
• more...

Read the entire issue online here: https://www.johnmacknewtown.info/noimar24.html

Contents:

• Construction Expected to Begin Soon on #NewtownPA Wawa
• Bucks NAACP Race & Policing in Bucks County Briefing
• Summary of the 28 February 2024 #NewtownPA Board of Supervisors Meeting
• Meet Mack Monday 26 February 2024 Presentation
• Mack Requests That the #NewtownPA Area Joint Zoning Council Fix Problems With the JMZO Signage Ordinance - Especially Regarding Neon Signs!
• #NewtownPA Township LED Streetlight Conversation Plan

Details...

Land clearing and construction could begin soon on the new 5,500- square-foot Wawa convenience store and gas station coming to the Newtown Bypass.

Newtown Township Supervisor John Mack reported Wednesday night [28 Feb 2024] that Provco Pinegood, LLC, is in the process of finalizing its land development plan and may soon start construction at Lower Silver Lake Road and the Newtown Bypass.

According to township officials, after finalizing its plan and submitting it for one final review by the township’s engineer, a pre-construction meeting will take place followed by the start of construction, a process that is expected to take about six months to complete.

Township manager Micah Lewis confirmed on Wednesday that Provco has already secured the required building permits for the project.

FINAL APPROVAL LETTER DATED 23 February 2024:

• Development may proceed in accordance with this plan and the terms of the Settlement Stipulation  dated June 14, 2023, as approved by order of the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County, PA dated July  6, 2023. 
• The Applicant shall comply with the Remington & Vernick Engineers review letter dated February 13,  2024. 
• The Applicant shall enter into a development agreement, a financial security agreement, and a  stormwater operations and maintenance agreement with the Township in a form satisfactory to the  Township Solicitor. 
• Prior to recording the final plan, the Applicant shall pay all outstanding fees and costs due to Newtown  Township for plan review. 

Welcome to the February 26 2024, Meet Mack Monday Zoom meeting presentation! I’m John Mack, your host and a Newtown Township 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 COVERED:

• LED Streetlight Project – What’s the Savings?
• Trash Collection Rising Rates – Time for a Change?
• Borscht Belt Neon Sign Decision Update
• Newtown Place Apartments – Revised Plan
• Single-Use Plastics Ban – What You Need to Know
• Bucks NAACP Race & Policing Report Briefing Summary
• Mack’s Pothole Patrol: If You See Something, Say Something!
• Human Relations Commission Report: Proposed Mural Project
• What’s With Wawa on Bypass?
  
  Download the PPT Notes: https://rebrand.ly/26Feb24mmm_notes

Welcome to “#NewtownPA Year 2023 in Images.” There were many unique and interesting issues that I and other Newtown Township supervisors confronted in 2023.

This is a selection of images that document what I consider the most interesting news items and issues.

Many of these were highlighted in my News of Interest to Newtown Area Residents email newsletter, Twitter account, Facebook page, or website.

This month, preliminary and final development plans submitted to the Bucks County Planning Commission were discussed at the township planning commission meeting on Aug. 8 and brought to the supervisors on Aug. 16.

Sketch plans were first presented to the township planning commission a year ago.

What does the plan for a West Rockhill Wawa include?

Julie Von Spreckelsen with Eastburn and Gray, who represents Provco, presented the proposal for a 6,049-square-foot convenience store, a canopy area with 16 gas pumps and 73 parking spaces, including seven oversized spots for larger vehicles such as landscaping trucks.

Spreckelsen also provided updates on progress made over the past year, such as meeting with neighboring property owners to hear their feedback.

“We incorporated their suggested changes all in an effort to reduce impact as much as possible,” she said, which included increasing the berm on the rear property line, adding more landscaping and fencing, and moving the trash enclosure from the back of the property to the front.*

This is my personal summary of the June 14, 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
  • Capital Grille Restaurant
  • Brandmar (The Grey Stone) Expansion
• Engineer’s Report
  • ARLE Funding Program: Pedestrian Safety - Sycamore St versus Newtown-Yardley Rd
• Solicitor’s Report
  • Wawa Settlement Agreement
• Newtown Zoning Armageddon(tm)
• Detailed Meeting Notes
• Official Video
• Video Transcript

A years-long battle to put a Wawa in Newtown Township has ended on the side of Wawa.

The township board of supervisors voted 3-2 at its Wednesday night meeting to approve a settlement agreement that ends all litigation between the township and the project’s developer, Provco Pinegood Newtown LLC, and clears the way for the 5,585 square-foot store with fuel dispensers on a 4.95-acre property at the corner of the Newtown Bypass and Lower Silver Lake Road.

Before the vote, township Solicitor David Sander explained that the settlement will end a validity challenge filed by Provco to provisions of the joint municipal zoning ordinance that governs zoning for Newtown, Upper Makefield and Wrightstown townships. Those provisions do not allow eight fuel dispensers – the number proposed by the developer – or the types of signs Provco wanted to put up. The township zoning hearing board had held a series of hearings on the validity challenge and another had been scheduled for June 27.

The settlement also ends litigation pending in Bucks County Court of Commons Pleas on the ZHB’s denial of fuel dispenser and sign variances, and the supervisors’ denial of land development approval for the project. In addition, the agreement reduces and simplifies the signage Provco had been proposing and also limits the number of fuel dispensers to a maximum of six.

By virtue of the settlement, Provco will also install six electric vehicle charging stations with two plug-ins each that will be available for public use. The developer will also put up solar panels to help power the new Wawa, Sander explained.

Supervisors’ Chairman Dennis Fisher voted in favor of the settlement agreement along with fellow board members Phil Calabro and Elen Snyder. Kyle Davis and John Mack voted no. 

But Mack had a much different take, saying the settlement’s approval sets a very bad precedent and will lead to a “zoning Armageddon” in the township.

“There’s a slippery slope happening here and it’s really unfortunate,” he said. “We just exhibited to every other developer that we will cave in.”

Davis said he felt a Wawa at that location could be a danger, enticing kids to cross highways to get to it. He and some residents also said the township should have made a full copy of the settlement agreement available to residents before voting on it. Davis’ motion to table consideration of the settlement to another date in the interest of transparency, seconded by Mack, was voted down 3-2.

Before Wednesday night’s vote, several residents implored the supervisors to keep fighting.

“If you settle, over time you’ll get more pumps and more signs,” said Tom Crawford, who lives on Lower Silver Lake Road. “They will keep coming back at you. I’m not opposed to Wawas in the appropriate places, but this will be the first step toward turning the Bypass into another Route 1 corridor. If you’re going to give up, you should be voted out of office.”

Resident Bradley Cooper had similar thoughts, adding approval of the Wawa will have a “domino effect.”

The township is in discussions with Provco on a potential settlement of litigation regarding its proposal to build a Wawa convenience store and gas station in the township.

The supervisors have been meeting in executive session to draft a settlement agreement, according to township sources. No additional details were forthcoming.

It was also not known if the settlement is for all the litigation regarding the Wawa project or just one aspect.

Provco has been fighting the township on a number of legal fronts, including the validity challenge before the zoning hearing board and an appeal in Bucks County Court of the township’s vote denying approval of its land development last fall.

Provco is seeking to build a Wawa convenience store and gas station on Lower Silver Lake Road and the Newtown Bypass in the township’s office-research zone.

Nine Newtown Twp residents attended this Zoom meeting, which focused on the following topics (view the presentation below...):

• Video of Opening Presentation
• Deluca Construction Project – Appeal to Board of Supervisors (BOS): The applicants are seeking to subdivide a 3.08 acre parcel at 70 Twining Bridge Road into two lots for single family homes whereas the CM District permits only one home on 3 acres. Will they succeed in getting the BOS to change its mind and NOT oppose the plan? 
• Finally! Work Recommences on Lower Dolington Rd Trail!
• Zoning “Validity Challenges”: Provco/Wawa (Combo Convenience Store/Gas Station in OR District), Kushner RE (245 Unit Apartment Building in OR District)
• Capital Grille Restaurant and Parking in Shopping Center
• Speed Limit Enforcement: Newtown-Yardley Rd
• Single-Hauler Municipal Trash Collection?
• Detailed Meeting Notes

More...

This is my personal summary of the May 10, 2023, meeting of Newtown 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 Commission Report
  • Applebee’s, 2 West Road
  • Billboards
• Public Comment Regarding Wawa & Pedestrian Safety
• 4 May 2023 Engineer’s Report
  • Lower Dolington Road Trail Fiasco
  • Business Commons Sidewalk Project
• Fire Services Agreement Amendment
• April 2023 Police Report
• See My Detailed Meeting Notes for more details, including Sterling Act Resolution, Bills List, Meeting Room AV Improvement Proposals, etc.
• Etc

More...