June 17, 2024, Meet Mack Monday Zoom Meeting

The goal of Meet Mack Monday Zoom meetings is to inform residents of township issues that impact them and to get feedback and comments from residents about such issues. This helps me keep better informed of residents’ concerns when I vote on the issues at Board of Supervisors meetings. This meeting focused on Anti Chick-fil-A “on” the Bypass Petition Update, Wawa Coming Soon – Will It Sell Beer/Wine 24/7? LI/O-LI District Overlay Problems: High Density Housing, More Traffic Congestion, Pedestrian Crosswalk Improvements – Why the Delays? Corners at Newtown “Garage Core” Apartments: Should We Amend JMZO to Allow This New Use in the Town Center District?, Pollinator Garden” in Roberts Ridge Park, Indoor Pickleball Club Proposed for Vacant Bed, Bath, and Beyond Site

1. June 17, 2024

2. The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of John Mack and do not represent the opinions of any other person or entity.

3. Anti Chick-fil-A “on” the Bypass Petition Update Wawa Coming Soon – Will It Sell Beer/Wine 24/7? LI/O-LI District Overlay Problems: High Density Housing, More Traffic Congestion Pedestrian Crosswalk Improvements – Why the Delays? Corners at Newtown “Garage Core” Apartments: Should We Amend JMZO to Allow This New Use in the Town Center District? “Pollinator Garden” in Roberts Ridge Park Indoor Pickleball Club Proposed for Vacant Bed, Bath, and Beyond Site Privilege of the Floor – What’s on Your Mind? 17 June 2024 Meet Mack Monday Topics Your Host John Mack Newtown Supervisor

4. Anti Chick-fil-A Petition Donna Serdula Submits Petition Opposing Chick-fil-A Plan to the Board of Supervisors at 22 May 2024 Meeting 878 Signatures as of 14 June 2024 Application Timeline “Waived Indefinitely” What’s Happens Next?

5. Will Newtown Wawa Sell Beer? Work has begun at the #NewtownPA Bypass Wawa site Meanwhile, Wawa has secured a liquor license to sell beer at an “undisclosed” Bucks County store Meanwhile, Philadelphia just passed a late-nite 11pm to 6am curfew on some businesses in the city over concerns regarding nuisance and safety issues Newtown may need to do the same Heavy Equipment Seen at Site This could be Wawa in Newtown

6. LI/O-LI Overlay Problems New Uses Not Originally Considered: Mixed-Use Development, use J-1 Town Center Apartments, use B-20 Allows 20 housing units per acre These are uses “By Right,” meaning BOS has no authority to deny applications – only weigh in on how the use will be developed (e.g., where to locate trash receptacles, that sort of thing) Also, drive-thru eating places Increased housing density & traffic “This area is appropriately zoned to coexist with the residential communities that boarder it. Mixed use, multi-level buildings, high density apartments, drive thru restaurants, signs, or any other change would significantly disrupt this residential area and Newtown at large.” Decision to amend JMZO tabled until 10 July 2024 BOS Meeting

7. Pedestrian Crosswalk Timeline June 2023 : BOS Approves ARLE fund grant application in amount of $326,931 for overhead Rectangular Rapidly Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) October 2023 : RVE submits first plan to PennDOT December 2023 : PennDOT comments on plan February 2024 : ARLE Grant awarded June 2024 : RVE submits revised plan – pedestrian activated RRFBs – to PennDOT PennDOT says resubmission of the revised plan should not have taken 5 months after initial comments by PennDOT. Meanwhile, N Sycamore St/Silo Dr crosswalk RRFBs not yet installed “It is all of our sincerest hope that this [ Tara Blvd crosswalk] project can be considered and executed with the highest priority by RVE going forward and be completed by the end of 2024. It, apparently, has not been handled with the appropriate urgency it deserves by our contractor up to this point. We are approaching 2 years since Newtown Board Of Supervisors'(BOS) approval of the project.” Newtown-Yardley Rd/Tara Blvd Site

8. Corners at Newtown Place Parking Core Apartment Building Richboro Rd Centre Ave & Sycamore St Intersection Housing Density & Traffic Concerns Why amend JMZO to include a NEW B-11 use when an R-2 use (Medium Density Apartment) is already allowed? Traffic Impact Study (TIS) does NOT take into account the additional impact of the Borough’s future Steeple Chase Project

9. “Pollinator” (NOT Wildflower) Garden Estimated Costs Plants: $6,260 Labor: $2,600 Mulch: $580 Paid From Deferred Revenue Account Contentious debate among supervisors at June 12, 2024 BOS meeting Supervisor Calabro thought a local landscape architect should be given the job & that Ms. Snyder over-stepped her role Mack noted that many projects are awarded to outside vendors Approved by 3-2 Vote

10. Indoor Pickleball Club Located at vacant Bed, Bath, and Beyond site in the Newtown Shopping Center 11 indoor courts and pro shop Membership Required ($109-$130 per month) Hours of Operation: 6am to Midnight Parking will NOT be an issue according to developers Planning Commission Chair Peggy Driscoll confirmed that West Road is being widened to accommodate an extra lane to get around the Chick-fil-A line to access the shopping center, including the location of the proposed Pickleball Club

11. Thank You! Be sure to visit my website! www.johnmacknewtown.info

12. Privilege of the Floor