Quoting Julia: "When I first heard about a potential traditional neighborhood development in the center of Newtown Borough, which later became known as Steeple View, I was excited by the possibilities it offered to reinvigorate the business district and address the ongoing lack of parking in town. However, the current plan no longer provides many of the benefits originally touted, and will make the borough’s parking problem worse.
"In a 5–1 vote on Sept. 20, Newtown Borough Council granted conditional use approval for a controversial shared parking plan, permitting up to 40% of the required parking for the Steeple View development to be accommodated remotely at the Stocking Works, 1/4 mile south on State Street. By its own calculations, the developer intends to provide only a few parking spaces onsite at Steeple View beyond those required for the residential units planned.
"A major principle of conditional use approval is that a proposal be in the best interests of the borough, and be a benefit to the community and to the public welfare. Eliminating a popular, heavily used, convenient public parking facility is none of these things. State Street businesses will experience that loss quickly, according to the most recent plans.
"For almost 14 years, I had been one of this project’s strongest supporters. But within the past year and a half, I, along with many Newtown residents, have come to realize that, in its current form, and especially with the approved parking plan, Steeple View no longer offers the benefits to the public and business community promoted by the developer."
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I would say the farm is going to get a LOT smaller and traffic MUCH WORSE! Residents expressed similar concerns at my 13 November 2023 Meet Mack Monday (MMM) Zoom meeting. View the video: https://youtu.be/Ke7m-GSK7HQ
At that MMM meeting, it was noted that a portion of the farm is located in Newtown, which I was able to verify by examining the Bucks County Planning Commission Subdivision Map.
It is not known if the Newtown parcel is up for sale.