The Township has received $2,049,842 pursuant to the American Rescue Plan/Act (ARP/ARPA). Expenditures Approved as of June 8, 2022:
- $ 550,000 Lower Dolington Trail
- $ 215,000 (3) Police Vehicles
- $ 188,524 6-Wheel Dump Truck
Remaining Balance: $1,096,318
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John Mack's Insights:
How will the remaining balance be spent? At the June 8 BOS meeting, supervisors requested that the Township Manager come back at the next meeting with a revised list for consideration.
For more details see:
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Wawa has been wrangling with Newtown Township to build a superstore (combination gas station and convenience store) on the Newtown Bypass for over 5 years.
Just when it seemed that the finish line was in sight, Provco Pinegood Newtown, LLC (representing Wawa), bowed out of the race – for now (read "Newtown Wawa Developers Just Stood Up Supervisors at a Big Meeting").
To better understand how we got to this point and what may be the next step in this drawn out process, I created my "Wawa Versus Newtown Township Timeline"
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HIGHLIGHTS
May 10, 2017: Two Newtown supervisors propose to lease land in Silver Lake Park on Newtown Bypass to Wawa believing that the property can be used "without setting zoning precedents." Not only is that not true, but the land was sold to Newtown by Bucks County with the restriction that it can never be developed.
May 14, 2018: Wawa presents a "sketch plan" for a combination gas station/convenience store on Newtown Bypass and Lower Silverlake Road.
October 16, 2019: Provco Pineville Acquisitions, LLC (owner of property where Wawa want to build) filed with the Court of Common Pleas a challenge to Validity of the JMZO because the township did not have a permitted use for a combination gas station and convenience store.
September 23, 2020: The Newtown Board of Supervisors (BOS) approved by a 3-2 vote (Davis and Mack voted “No”) the E-30 so-called “curative amendment”
September 20, 2021: Wawa's Request for Zoning Variances Denied
April 29, 2022: Provco Pineville Acquisitions, LLC, files with the Court of Common Pleas an appeal from the Decision of the Newtown Township Zoning Hearing Board.
Access the complete timeline...
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On Monday, June 20, at 6 p.m., there will be a Northampton Township Zoning Hearing Board Meeting (ZHB) at the Township Building at 55 Township Road in Richboro, to consider the zoning of the Wright Property in Holland where the future Wawa is to be built.
50-60 Holland residents against this project attended this Potluck Protest to speak out against the proposal.
“Our lawyer presented a solid case backed up by evidence, and Wawa presented their case as well,” said organizer Brett Duffey in an email following the meeting. “Basically, the latter's entire argument was that since hardware aisles in supermarkets are incidental, so are the gas pumps at a Super Wawa. It was totally ridiculous. Provco/Wawa also brought in an expert zoning guy who basically said the convenience store, gas station, and all other services Wawa provides are one primary use under the umbrella of a convenience store.”
“Even if [the Zoning Hearing Board] rubber-stamps it through,” said Duffey, “it still has to be reviewed by the judge who originally sent the case down to the zoning board, so hopefully she will throw away their decision if it's as ridiculous as Provco/Wawa's arguments.”
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bit.ly/2022BOSchronicle
Includes BOS meeting summaries, voting record for the year, a glossary of terms, an index, and links to documents and data - all in ONE document.
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While on routine patrol at approximately 10:45 pm on June 4, an officer observed a tire tread in the middle of the roadway in the northbound lane of Durham Road in the area of Five Points. The officer removed the tire tread to prevent a road hazard and further observed scrape marks continuing up the highway.
During this time, Bucks County Dispatch received the report of a speeding, reckless driver in the area of Durham Road and Pine Lane. Dispatch relayed that the vehicle was traveling with no front tire, had no lights on, and was creating a public safety issue amidst traffic.
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John Mack's Insights:
Could it be possible that the tire was damaged hitting one of those potholes on Durham road that a resident recently complained about at the 8 June 2022 BOS meeting?
NOTE: Durham Rd is a STATE road maintained by PennDOT, NOT Newtown Township. To report any problem with state roads, please visit the PennDOT Customer Care Center.
"I'm sure you have noticed the bad and unsafe condition of Durham Rd from the Village to Stoopville Rd," said the resident in an email to me prior to the meeting. "The enormous amount of pot holes and actual crumbling of the pavement is in the worst condition ever...At this unsafe point, we have to at least fix the pot holes and crumbling pavements before we have serious accidents. I know of two people who have had tire blowouts on Durham road."
These potholes are not only unsafe for drivers who hit them, but for other drivers when they may lead to incidents like the one in this report.
UPDATE (6/16/22): Newtown Twp PW Director, Joe Schiavoni, informed me that "PennDOT was actually filling potholes yesterday along Durham Rd corridor, so while the road still needs to be repaved in my opinion the potholes have been filled."
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[Image: proposed plan to add a dedicated right turn lane]
Relief is on the way for customers of the Newtown Shopping Center tired of traffic backups around the Chick-Fil-A restaurant. The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors on May 25 voted 5 to 0 to approve a settlement agreement with Newtown Bucks Associates LLP for improvements to the traffic circulation pattern around the fast food restaurant.
The plan includes a dedicated right turn lane into the eatery from West Road, which is designed to prevent traffic backups at the entrance to the restaurant and to allow through traffic headed west to Staples and Bed, Bath and Beyond to continue unimpeded.
Read my 25 May 2022 BOS Meeting Notes for more details.
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After two years of operation, interrupted by a lengthy closure during the pandemic, Solstice Restaurant has closed its doors in the Village at Newtown Shopping Center.
In a message posted on its Facebook page, the owners wrote, "If you have followed along in our journey, you know that we celebrate the season as much as we celebrate its change. Today, with a heavy heart, we're stepping into that change as we share the news of our closing."
Mary Wlodarczyk Sanginiti had this advice for the restaurant owners: "Open in a location outside of that shopping center. The traffic and parking are horrendous. We avoid all the restaurants there."
Solstice is the second restaurant to close this year at the Village. Earlier this year Friends Bar and Grill/Dolce Carini closed after its lease expired.
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