Arcadia Land Co. named township supervisors in two court cases Thursday afternoon, questioning the board’s decision to deny an 85-home development and the fees officials charged the company while reviewing its application.
The Philadelphia-based Arcadia Land Co. filed two court cases against Newtown Township last week, not long after supervisors rejected its proposed Arcadia Green community development.
Both court cases concern the developer’s Arcadia Green project to build 59 townhouses and 26 village houses on 27.56 acres near the intersection of Buck Road and Newtown Bypass.
Arcadia attorney John VanLuvanee wrote that supervisors “abused their discretion” in denying the application based on factors in Garton’s report, which cite testimony by Arcadia officials in arguing that the project is not in the public interest and could create unsafe traffic conditions. These factors, the developer alleges, are “not supported by substantial evidence in the record.”
The Arcadia proposal “does not create a unique or a new housing option in Newtown Township,” wrote Garton, continuing, “The Board of Supervisors further concludes that the amenities proposed to be provided as part of the project serve, almost exclusively, the Applicants, both the Church and the residents of the new housing development.”
Supervisors also found that Arcadia Green homeowners would only be able to access the community through a service road intersecting Buck Road, precluding access to emergency service vehicles if it were blocked, wrote Garton.
Arcadia proposed creating the other [access] point by tearing down a Newtown Crossing home it owns on High Street and building a one-way egress road out of the new development and into Newtown Crossing. That would require adverse changes to Newtown Crossing’s development plans, wrote Garton, who added that about 80 percent of the new traffic would travel through the existing development, per testimony from Arcadia’s engineer.
For more background, read: “Newtown Crossing vs Arcadia: Truth to Power!”; https://preview.mailerlite.com/x3l3q6 ;
Your new post is loading...
