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Newtown Wawa Developers Just Stood Up Supervisors at a Big Meeting. What Does This Mean for the Project?

Newtown Wawa Developers Just Stood Up Supervisors at a Big Meeting. What Does This Mean for the Project? | Newtown News of Interest | Scoop.it

 [Source: May 12, 2022, Bucks County Courier Times]

 

The controversy surrounding the Wawa proposed for the Newtown Bypass and Lower Silver Lake Road in Newtown Township deepened, as developer Provco Pincgood, LLC backed out of a presentation before the Board of Supervisors just minutes before the [May 11, 2022] meeting was to begin.

 

No reason was given. Was it a "poison pill" that that arose at the last minute? What's Next? Get the inside story.

 

Now, the project is in limbo and no one, including board chair Dennis Fisher and vice-chair John Mack, knows exactly what comes next , although Fisher said the public would be given due and timely notice of the next meeting in which the plan will be considered.

 

Mack said Wawa's apparent snubbing of the supervisors meeting is a stalling tactic the developer employed in nearby Northampton [read“Northampton Zoning Hearing Board Tables Holland Wawa Decision After Residents’ Attorney Says It Can Set a Precedent”; https://sco.lt/7cK1C4]. There, Provo Pinegood LLC has been involved in a years-long process to construct a 5,585-square-foot store with eight fueling stations on a 2.5-acre parcel at Holland, Rocksville and Buck Roads.

 

"It seems, according to people I have spoken with in Northampton, this is a typical maneuver, a strategic-type maneuver, that they have done before," Mack said. "For example, before coming before the (Northampton) supervisors where they were going to be met by protestors and residents, they canceled that meeting at the last minute.

 

"It's obvious to me that they are trying a couple of tactics," Mack added. "One is to postpone this until the summer months, maybe July, August, when there's less people and fewer residents to make public comment. The second thing is that the developer also has pending litigation against us, and maybe wants to use those" against the township in this matter.

 

Newtown resident Bradley Cooper said during public testimony that the developer's last-minute no-show is "telling, on how they are treating you as supervisors, how they are treating the community and how they are treating" the people who live in Newtown, adding that the developer is "basically dictating" how the supervisors run their meeting.

 

“They’re just playing games,” said Mr. Cooper. View the video of his comments.

 

johnmacknewtown's insight:

[Newtown Township, May 11, 2022] At 4:21 PM, Newtown Township Manager Micah Lewis informed supervisors that “Provco/Wawa will be removed from tonight's agenda at the request of the Applicant.” According to a letter received via email from John A. VanLuvanee, the attorney representing Provco Pinegood Newtown, LLC, who said that his client has “elected to grant the Township a 90-day extension of the time period within which the Board of Supervisors is required to take action on its pending preliminary/final land development plan application. The time for the Township to take action pursuant to the most recent extension that I granted expires on May 15, 2022."

 

"Accordingly, this extension is granted throught (sic) August 15, 2022.”

 

No reason was given. Was it a "poison pill" that that arose at the last minute? What's Next? Get the inside story.

 

Related Content:

 

  • “Wawa Files Brief Supporting Its Appeal of #NewtownPA ZHB Decision”; https://sco.lt/8IGAvg
  • “Northampton Zoning Hearing Board Tables Holland Wawa Decision After Residents’ Attorney Says It Can Set a Precedent”; https://sco.lt/7cK1C4
  • “Residents in Newtown, Northampton Resisting Planned Expansion of “Monster” Wawa”; https://sco.lt/5iJXNY
  • “Wawa Developer Criticized for Being Unprepared to Answer Newtown Planning Commission Questions”: https://bit.ly/3vzz00m
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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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