11 September 2023 Meet Mack Monday Meeting Summary
Twelve Newtown Twp residents attended this Zoom meeting, which focused on the following topics (view the presentation below...):
- 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
- Listen to Edited Discussion Audio
- Detailed Meeting Notes
Video of Opening Presentation
The following is a 25-minute video recording of the presentation that was made at the beginning of the meeting:
Lower Dolington RD Trail Punchlists
On August 2, 2023, residents, representatives of RVE, and two supervisors “toured” the LDRT at the request of resident Mike Marcus, a licensed civil engineer. The residents’ objective was to review with the Township Engineer issues that they thought needed to be addressed. I refer to this as the “Citizen’s Punch List.”
I believe resident input is essential in projects such as trails. Perhaps if the township held more meetings to specifically discuss the project details with residents, many of the concerns expressed by residents could have been dealt with beginning construction.
On August 29, 2023, the township released a LDR Trail project “FINAL PUNCHLIST” based on RVE's field inspection conducted on August 2 and August 23, 2023. According to the instructions given to the contractor – Associated Paving Contractors, Inc. – by the Township Engineer: “All (33) items shall be performed at the expense of Associated Paving Contractors, Inc. unless otherwise noted. Work must be completed by Friday, September 8, 2023.” As of 14 September 2023 none of the items on the official punchlist have been performed.
KRE’s “Validity Challenge” – What’s Next?
[The plan for this development was covered in the 11 May 2023 Meet Mack Monday Zoom meeting. View the video... ]
The hearing will continue on 18 September 2023. More about that here...
Just a few comments by Newtown Patch readers:
- This is why you cannot give in even once to these challenges to the Township Ordinances. These builders and developers will do anything to get their way. Now when they exhaust legal means or it looks like things may not go their way they want to remove a supervisor? The ordinances and the Supervisors are there to protect the interest of the community from developers who could care less about the community and just build and walk away with their money.
- John, in my opinion, you are doing what the people of Newtown elected you to do and I thank you for that. I find it to both appalling and reprehensible that a developer would want to violate the 1st Amendment AND the citizens of Newtown Township because you are outspoken and put the welfare of your constituents before corporate greed.
- The arrogance of these developers is over the top. Not only do they feel the laws shouldn't apply to them, they now think the officials we, the citizens, elected should not have standing to make decisions on our behalf. This isn't the Old Soviet Union or Communist China KRE, abide by our laws and ordinances or move along.
#NewtownPA Sewer Authority Investigating Plans For Treatment Facility on Lower Silver Lake Road
— johnmacknewtown (@johnmacknewtown) September 8, 2023
During remarks before the Newtown Borough Council on Wednesday, the authority’s executive director Warren Gormley said the authority is looking into the feasibility of acquiring a… pic.twitter.com/3UZelQngvl
Corners at Newtown Seeking "Text Amendment" to Zoning
This is not strictly-speaking a “Challenge” to Newtown’s zoning in the same sense of the “Validity Challenge” that KRE filed with the court. MET investments – the developer that is proposing this project – is offering to “collaborate” with the township to amend the text of a specific use of the zoning ordinance to allow for the type of housing it wishes to build. Specifically, the proposed text amendment states:
B-11. Parking Core Apartment Building. A building where individual apartments surround a central parking garage to feature a walkable oriented streetscape in keeping with a traditional village. Each apartment unit has direct access to the outside or to a common hall and each unit is designed for and occupied by a single family.
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. View the video below:
See the Summary of the 15 August 2023 Planning Commission meeting for more details.
How Concerned Are You About Overdevelopment?
To answer this question, I started a short survey, which has received 188 responses (including 141 responses from Newtown Township and 14 Borough residents) plus over 130 comments, as of September 4, 2023. Over 80% of survey respondents (including Newtown Twp residents as well) are “Very Concerned” about overdevelopment in Newtown Township.
Listen to Edited Discussion Audio
Below is an edited recording of the discussion I had with residents during this meeting. Among the topics discussed were:
- Lower Dolington Road Trail problems identified by residents and by the township engineering firm, and
- The proposed plan to amend the zoning to allow the development of a 120-unit "Garage Core" apartment complex off of South Sycamore Street, behind the 711.
Detailed Meeting Notes
See the meeting notes embedded below or download the PDF file here.
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