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Date Set for Another Hearing on Wegmans in Lower Makefield. Will the 2nd Time Be the Charm?

Date Set for Another Hearing on Wegmans in Lower Makefield. Will the 2nd Time Be the Charm? | Newtown News of Interest | Scoop.it

Lower Makefield residents will get their chance to voice their support or displeasure for a proposed development that includes a Wegmans grocery store.

 

A hearing to amend a zoning ordinance to establish a “mixed-used overlay district” around a 36-acre property near Shady Brook Farm will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at Pennwood Middle School, 1523 Makefield Road, township officials announced Friday.

 

On Aug. 12, the planning commission voted to continue the last hearing after hundreds of residents packed the township building with many opposed to the proposal by Shady Brook Investors LP and ELU DeLuca Yardley LLC. The plan they have dubbed Prickett Run at Edgewood calls for stores, apartments and amenities along with the Wegmans.

 

On the day of the hearing, several attendees received a flier in the mail from an unidentified sender warning that “Lower Makefield is for sale” since the proposed ordinance would “change our zoning for big box retail, apartments, warehouse, stores ... whatever.” [Read “Lower Makefield Residents Jam Hearing to Protest Proposed Ordinance Amendment to Allow Wegmans & Apartments on Stony Hill Road Near Shady Brook Farms”; http://sco.lt/7p3iBE]

 

During the meeting, several residents said that they are worried that the development would bring even more traffic to the heavily traveled road near the Newtown Bypass. Many said that the township doesn’t have room for more development.

 

Developers want to amend the current ordinance* to bring the 100,000-square-foot supermarket, 55,000 square feet of retail space and 200 apartments less than than a half mile from Route 332 at the corner of Stony Hill and Township Line roads. Along with the supermarket and retail space, Prickett Run would include a “community gathering area” featuring a clubhouse, courtyard, splash fountain and amphitheater, said Vince DeLuca, of DeLuca Homes.

johnmacknewtown's insight:

* This should be of interest to residents of Newtown Township for several reasons, one of which is that the developer is seeking an ordinance amendment to allow this use in zone that currently does not allow it. Similarly, Newtown Township is grappling with a developer who requested that Newtown amend its OR (Office/Research) zoning ordinance to allow a Wawa combination gas station and convenience store to be built on the Bypass. It’s unclear where that is headed. (read “The Newtown Township Planning Commission Stymies Path Forward for Wawa - For Now” and “What's Next for Ordinance Amendment to Allow Wawa on Newtown Bypass?... It's Complicated!”]

 

On a lighter note, What’s wrong with the site rendering displayed at the top of this scoop?

 

The 3 pigeons seen in the lower left are not found here. In 2017, there were 288 rock pigeons, the species of pigeon that's most commonly found in cities, reported to have been seen in Philadelphia. Personally, I have NEVER seen a pigeon in Bucks County and especially not in Lower Makefield or the entire Newtown Township area. And I know what a rock pigeon looks like – I come from NYC!

 

Obviously, this rendering was made by someone who lives in NYC. If it were made by someone local, those birds would have been Geese. And we all know what Geese leave behind!

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Newtown News of Interest
These Scoops are excerpts from articles published in local newspapers and other sources that may be of interest to Newtown area residents. Please click on the "From" link to access the full original article. Any opinions and "insights" appended to these article summaries are solely those of John Mack and do not represent the opinions of any other person or entity.
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