Summary of July 22, 2020, Newtown Board of Supervisors Meeting: E-30 Ordinance, ESI Interim Report, Economic Development Committee, More...

The following is a brief summary of the July 22, 2020, Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS Definition) Zoom meeting based upon the official minutes of that meeting, which you can find here. You also can view the video archive here.

Reports of Committees, Boards and Commissions

Planning Commission (PC): Comprehensive Plan: Mr. Fidler said EAC member Mark Stout presented the recommendations for the Comprehensive Plan which included ten items along with supporting details. The items align with the exiting plan from 2009 with changes and updates to reflect the present and future. The ten items reviewed were climate emergency, smart growth, native plants, water sheds and stormwater, trees, plastics, renewable energy, open space, bike/pedestrian transportation and electric vehicles. In response to Mr. Mack’s questions on the EAC recommendations, Mr. Fidler said he would like the Jointure and BCPC to have sufficient time to digest the very thorough recommendations.

Curative Amendment: Mr. Mack stated he attended the PC meeting and there was a discussion on the curative amendment [to allow a combination gas station/convenience store - e.g., Wawa - in the OR district of Newtown and elsewhere in the Jointure] and the impact of it on the Provco case. He asked Mr. Schenkman if he was able to clarify the difference of opinions with Mr. Sander. Mr. Schenkman replied he has some further research to do and will reach out to Mr. Sander tomorrow. Mr. Mack asked if the draft has been received yet and Mr. Sander replied that the current draft has been received from Mary Eberle. He added that the draft was not sent to Provco due to the request of the BOS not to engage with Provco. Mr. Calabro’s opinion is for the BOS to review and discuss at the next meeting and all supervisors agreed with him. Mr. Sander asked Mr. Lewis to forward Mary Eberle’s current draft to the BOS for their review prior to the next meeting. [Download the draft document here.]

Board Member Reports

ESI Zoom Meeting: Mr. Fisher reported there was a public meeting with Econsult Solutions on the Five-Year Plan attended by 25 people. He said the presentation included an updated interim report where the projected fund balance was much better than projected in June. Mr. Fisher said the finance committee suggested a BOS or Finance Committee member attends the Econsult project review meeting to make sure they are on track. Mr. Mack suggested this be done at a work session where all BOS will be present.

[Read "Newtown Supervisors Review Interim 5-Year Financial Plan".]

Economic Development Committee (EDC): Mr. Oxley reported the EDC is on track and working on ways to stimulate Township business in the short and long term. He said Margie McKevitt, the COO of Bucks County, attended the last meeting and shared ideas and information on what loans and grants the county has to offer small businesses. He said the plan is to continue to have guest speakers to share thoughts on how to encourage businesses to come to Newtown Township; the intent is to publish this information on the Township website

Mr. Oxley raised for discussion an incident of unprofessionalism that occurred during an EDC meeting. Mr. Calabro said the last EDC meeting was very good and included spirited discussion among members; he then addressed the previous meeting where an unfortunate mishap occurred involving a member neglecting to turn off his microphone while tending to non-EDC related business. Mr. Calabro believes it was unintentional, but nonetheless unprofessional.

Mr. Mack said he wants to discuss it now and said it was an unfortunate mistake where the member [Eric Scott Gold] thought his microphone was turned off. Mr. Mack proceeded to say these things happen because people running the Zoom meetings are not proficient enough to run the meetings. Mr. Mack said there is no reason why he [Eric Scott Gold] should not be on this committee.

Mr. Calabro polled the remainder of the supervisors to see if there was a need to discuss further in executive session and the consensus was an executive session was not necessary and Mr. Scott Gold will remain on the EDC. Mr. Fisher suggested relinquishing the leadership role of co-chair.

Reports of Officials

Manager's Report: Toll Brothers Conditional Use Application Mr. Calabro addressed the plan expirations noting Toll Brothers has been holding off for a long time; with Covid19 projections continuing, he said the BOS might need to address the Toll Brothers conditional use via Zoom. Mr. Sander reviewed the details of the Toll Brothers conditional use and reminded the BOS the hearing was already held and closed, therefore the only item remaining is the Board’s decision. A discussion ensued on Toll’s options and how to include affected residents if decision made via Zoom.

Comments submitted by a resident after the meeting:

"I am of the view that the Board is not ready to render its decision on this matter.  I ask that the Board consider additional working sessions before its August 26th meeting.

"During the July 22nd meeting, there were a number of questions asked about the “by right” plan.  Neither the members nor counsel knew of how many homes could be built by Toll Brothers by right. Answers given were 160, 140, 65, 20 – 25 more, even more than that, and a “God yeah” additional amount of homes.  There was also a comment that the lot size in the conditional use variance already complied with the ordinance. In contrast, I had previously read in the Newtown Patch that the number was 61 but in the comments submitted by Mr. Kaiser for the April 22nd Zoom meeting, Mr. Kaiser said that it was one house for every three acres (which would be no more than 50 houses for a 152-acre tract).

"By not knowing this number, I am concerned that the Board is so wary of a “by right” plan that it may not have fully weighed the pros and cons of this alternative. The Board expressed its reservations about losing its say over the process, but I did not hear inquiry of what offsetting rights the Township would have instead. Rather, I sensed that Board members were hesitant to ask follow up questions after hearing it was obviously so undesirable.  I believe you should have a private working session where members are presented with a comprehensive analysis of the parameters, both good and bad, of the “by right” alternative."

Commonwealth Drive Repairs: In response to Mr. Mack’s questions on the management report, Mr. Lewis said the mowing of established meadows is at Silver Lake Park and the basin on the municipal building property. As for the MS4, he said it was approved but will not move forward until funding is established next year. Re Commonwealth Drive: Mr. Lewis said the milling head work will be done when work force permits.

Votes on Motions

The following are my personal notes that I used to prepare for this meeting. I may not have asked all the questions in the notes at the meeting. You can also download the PDF version here.

Posted on 28 Aug 2020, 01:54 - Category: Board of Supervisors Minutes