Site plan proposing a total of 60 “workforce housing” units to be built on Pennbrook Parkway, at bottom, as presented to Upper Gwynedd commissioners on April 10 2023.
Next steps include conditional use, land development applications
Nearly a year since one of the most controversial votes in recent memory, Upper Gwynedd has seen little outward sign of the controversial project that prompted the vote.
The so-called Pennbrook project to build a low-income housing complex on Pennbrook Parkway caused a stir among a group of residents a year ago, but since then, the developer has not submitted the paperwork to move the project forward, township staff reported this week.
“There has been no application submitted yet. If and when a conditional use application is submitted, it will be advertised, the property will be posted, and neighbors will be notified,” said solicitor Lauren Gallagher at Monday’s township meeting.
The update was prompted by a question from Carl Smith, one of the residents who had led the opposition to the zoning change. He asked if the project had advanced.
Residents stand in the lobby of Upper Gwynedd’s Parkside Place administration building, next to a glass window bearing a notice of the August 22, 2023 zoning hearing for a proposed project on Pennbrook Parkway.In August 2023, township commissioners approved a zoning text and map change meant to expand Upper Gwynedd’s transit overlay district into a roughly six-acre parcel of light industrial land on Pennbrook Parkway, where New Jersey-based developer The Walters Group had proposed a complex of 60 apartment units.
Walters representatives’ first public presentation of the plans showed 60 units on roughly six acres in three-story buildings with some dedicated to what the developer termed “workforce housing,” meant for residents who meet certain low-income qualifications.
In the months between that presentation and the 2023 vote, residents questioned the need for, and motivation behind the project, while the developer, county officials, and a councilman from nearby Lansdale argued that the project would help address housing needs in the county.
Parked trailers and “No trespassing” signs can be seen on a property on Pennbrook Parkway in Upper Gwynedd which could be the site of new development and a change in the township’s zoning map.The project was mentioned by county officials as a recipient of a MontcoForward low-interest loan in March, but no updates had been given or plans presented at the township level.
“Last year, this board approved a zoning change at 1500 Pennbrook Parkway, that cleared the way for the Walters Group to do a density housing development,” Smith said Monday.
“A group of us filed a legal challenge, asserting that this zoning was spot zoning, and therefore illegal. To my understanding, the next step is that there will be a conditional use hearing. My question is, when will that hearing take place? And how will the residents be notified?” he said.
Gallagher said the township has still not received an application from the developer.
Advocates backing a zoning change for a proposed development on Pennbrook Parkway pose for photos after Upper Gwynedd’s commissioners approved the zoning change request on Tuesday, Aug. 22 2023. At center holding poster is Kim Krauter, Pennsylvania director of development for The Walters Group“If the applicant determines to proceed, the next step would be to submit a conditional use application and land development application. What order they decide to proceed in, is up to the applicant,” she said.
Township Manager Sandra Brookley Zadell said both applications would require public hearings.
“Probably one public hearing for the conditional use (approval), but if they submit the land development (application), it will go before the planning commission, so it may be more than one public meeting” including discussions and feedback from the public before any approvals, the manager said.
Planning and zoning officer Van Rieker gave updates on several pending requests slated to come before the township’s zoning hearing board and planning commission in July, none related to the Pennbrook project.
Upper Gwynedd’s commissioners next meet at 7 p.m. on Aug. 12 at the township administration building, 1 Parkside Place. For more information visit www.UpperGwynedd.org.
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