John Mack - Newtown Supervisor
Newtown Township, Upper Makefield, and Wrightstown to Consider Deleting Planned Residential Development from the Newtown Area JMZO

Newtown Township, Upper Makefield, and Wrightstown to Consider Deleting Planned Residential Development from the Newtown Area JMZO

Newtown Township, Wrightstown, and Upper Makefield, will hold public hearings on September 12, 17, and 18, 2018, respectively, to consider an ordinance (here) to amend the Newtown Area Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance (JMZO) by deleting Planned Residential Development (PRD) as a permitted use. After the hearings, the Supervisors of each township will consider the enactment of the ordinance.

UPDATE: At the September 12, 2018, Newtown Board of Supervisors meeting, Solicitor David Sander introduced JMZO 2017-04, which is an ordinance amending the Newtown Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance to deleted Planned Residential Development (PRD). The Board passed the ordinance by a 5-0 vote. See video below.

According to the PA Municipalities Planning Code (MPC), PRDs are designed to encourage innovation and variety in development, provide better opportunities for housing, recreation, and open space, and better relate development design to the particular site.

According to a November 2, 2017, email from the Bucks County Plannning Commission to the Newtown, Upper Makefield, Wrightstown Joint Zoning Council (JZC), which oversees the JMZO:

The JZC believes that Use B-15 Planned Residential Development is redundant because Use B-14 Performance Subdivision permits a mixed residential development with the same range of dwelling unit types at compatible densities. Additionally, a Performance Subdivision proposal goes through the standard Preliminary Plan process instead of the PRD Tentative Plan procedure that is proscribed in the MPC.

The PRD Tentative Plan procedure involves these steps:

  1. Landowner or agent shall file application, upon payment of a reasonable fee, containing detailed information …
  2. Within 60 days of filing, the governing body, or planning agency if so designated, shall hold a public hearing pursuant to public notice and may continue the hearing or refer the plan to the planning agency for a period no longer than 60 days after first hearing
  3. Within sooner of 60 days after conclusion of public hearing or 180 days after filing, the governing body, or planning agency if so designated, shall in writing approve, approve with conditions, or deny PRD plan and provide findings of fact; failure to act timely results in deemed approval
  4. Final approval of a PRD plan: If final plan complies with tentative approval, no public hearing shall be required and approval shall be granted

Newtown Township currently has 21 PRDs that are already approved. Currently, the Township is in the midst of the third Arcadia Green Tentative PRD application in 3 years (read “Developer Presents Third Plan for Arcadia Green Development in Newtown Township”) and has convened two public hearing meetings before the Board of Supervisors (BOS) regarding that application. The hearing has been continued to Thursday, September 13, 2018 at 5:30 PM.

The first two Arcadia PRD applications were denied by the BOS.

As reported in the August 12, 2018, edition of the Bucks County Courier Times (here), Arcadia attorney John VanLuvanee said “Arcadia is prepared to appeal a third denial of the project to county court, as it has with the previous two plans, in cases that both are still pending.”

In an August 1, 2018, letter to Vicki Kushto, counsel to the JZC, Newtown Solicitor Dave Sander indicated that Newtown Township “strongly supports this ordinance [to eliminate PRD] and would like to see it expedited toward enactment.” This was the consensus of the BOS expressed at the June 18, 2018, Work Session.

Posted on 27 Aug 2018, 12:50 - Category: Development