The debate on a proposed affordable housing development on Pennbrook Parkway is nearing its final stages, with a public hearing set to occur next month.
According to an article by Dan Sokil at The Reporter, there have been discussions since March 2022 regarding a proposed project on Pennbrook Parkway, where New Jersey-based developer The Walter Group proposed a 60-unit affordable workplace housing development.
Residents have since voiced their ongoing support or opposition, including Lansdale Councilman BJ Breish and Manna on Main Street Director of Development and Strategic Direction Sheldon Good, who both spoke last month in support of affordable housing in Upper Gwynedd and Lansdale Borough.
The Upper Gwynedd Board of Commissioners is slated to have a public hearing next month, following a vote by the township’s planning commission last week to recommend the project for board approval.
During a heated public comment period Tuesday night, some residents detailed their continued disapproval of the project, as well as their disappointment in the board. Opposing of the project said the proposed development would solve issues not in the township but in Norristown, Pottstown and Philadelphia.
“None of you were elected to solve the problems of other communities, who, perhaps through decades of their own misguided decisions and lack of vision, have created inhospitable conditions and poor quality of life in their own communities,” one resident said. “These conditions include the proliferation of dangerous neighborhoods, blight, negative economic conditions, including poverty, homelessness, poorly performing schools, and ultimately, forbiddable high taxes.”
Upper Gwynedd resident Carolyn Powers said there is “no statistical evidence” of an affordable housing crisis or homeless problem within the township, adding her claim was substantiated by the township's own lack of evidence.
“When asked for a right to know request, filed by Upper Gwynedd residents, that the township produce records that showed that low and moderate census tracts exist in the township, the answer received from the township was that there was none,” Powers said.
She added that realtors have said there is not an “abnormally high supply of available housing, homes and or apartments,” an indication that living in the township is not “abnormally unaffordable as compared to other communities in our region.”
Linda Camburn, who is also a township resident, said the township does not need to be “promoted by political agendas to sustain itself.”
“I'm just so incredibly dismayed because I feel like you have all let us down,” Camburn said. “Had I known something like this would happen, I would not have voted for the people that I voted for.”
“This is my backyard, obviously,” she added. “I don't deserve this, especially my neighbors, many of whom are new young families in this neighborhood.”
Glenn Hatfield, who has lived in the township for 58 years, said the project is a much bigger plan than the roughly six acres of property that was proposed to be used.
“The decisions we're reaching now on the zoning change, obviously, will have far-reaching impact on the community,” Hatfield said. “We don't know what's next or who's next at that site.”
The next step in the process will be a public hearing in August. A date and time for the hearing has not been set at this time.
See also:
Letter: Support Affordable Housing in Upper Gwynedd
Discussion Continues on 60-Unit Proposed Workplace House Development In Upper Gwynedd
Upper Gwynedd Hears Plans for Proposed 60-Unit ‘Workforce Housing’ Development on Pennbrook Parkway
Upper Gwynedd Pursuing $1.15 Million Grant to Help Acquire Martin Tract
Preliminary Plan Submitted to Tear Down Sumney-Forge Shopping Center, Build ‘Super Wawa’
