19 March 2024 Planning Commission Meeting Summary
This is my personal summary of the 19 March 2024 Newtown Planning Commission Meeting. This is NOT a complete nor is it an official summary.
The Agenda included the following:
- Newtown Artesian Water Company, 251 Frost Lane
- Final Review of Comprehensive Plan Update
- Proposed Day Care Center & Medical Office on Durham Rd
Newtown Artesian Water Company
ZHB Appeal: NAWC, 251 Frost Lane,proposes an addition to the building with related driveway, parking and related improvements to permit removal of PFAS, including perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from the water system via filtration.
The building is specifically designed to have a rural look and requires a
zoning variance due to the increased height,
According to the application (here), “Since the contamination of wells in Bucks and Montgomery Counties due to the PFOA and PFAS contamination of the Willow Grove Naval Air Station, the Applicant's water system requires filtration in order to remove dangerous PFA5 contaminants. The proposed addition to the existing building will permit equipment to do just that.” See the plans…
Read “#NewtownPA Artesian Water Company Given Planning Commission Nod For New PFAS Filtration Building.”
Review of Comprehensive Plan Update
From this point forward, any changes that are proposed to be made to the Comprehensive Plan, except spelling, punctuation correction or similar minor change, will trigger the restart of the review process and may require additional public hearings.
View/Download the Comp Plan Update...
QUESTION: Who designed the cover? IMHO, it does not represent the Newtown Area that I know and I am particularly concerned about what looks like the ALL MALE Newtown fire (?) department.
Perhaps it would be better to display a resident/business-oriented image such as the image for Wrightstown, which shows residents/vendors at it farmers market. After all, the JMZO was designed do that Newtown Township would be the residential/business hub of the Jointure.
Also, I am also not sure how sun flowers fit in.
At the meeting I asked if the cover design could be changed without delaying the project. The answer was yes. The PC Chair said she would contact the Bucks County Planning Commission and inquire how they decided on images to be used for the cover.
Day Care Center & Medical Center
This is an application for Conditional Use Approval for a proposed C-10 Child Care Facility and D-2 Medical Office. The site is located at 413 Durham Road (SR 0413), immediately northwest of the Newtown Township municipal complex, and contains a 1,463 s.f. single-family detached dwelling with a detached garage that will both be razed. The proposed Child Care Facility will provide 10,000 s.f. of building area with a 5,000 s.f. outdoor play area, and the Medical Office will be 6,600 s.f. in a separate building. Both proposed buildings are noted to be one story. A total of 85 parking spaces, including four accessible spaces, are proposed. The site access will be by an unsignalized driveway to Route 413.
complies with the setback requirements.
The trail stops at the grassland plot adjacent to Municipal Drive so that it is not suitable for access to the Municipal Center. I suggested alternative path so that residents from Toll Bros development have option of using the trail to access the site – especially the day care building – thus reducing traffic concern.
Residents of Delancy Court present at the meeting mentioned safety issues for traffic entering and leaving 413 Durham Rd even with the proposed turning lanes. PennDOT in a 2008 traffic study suggested a traffic light up the road at North Dr. This was approved as part of the Toll Bros development plan.
Residents suggested a traffic light perhaps at Municipal Drive, Although PennDOT did not recommend that Municipal Drive be used to access 413 Durham Rd, perhaps it is a possible alternative that would address the traffic safety issues.
Connect With Us