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, as seen in June 2022. Photo by Dan Sokil | The Reporter.
Plans still being refined in talks with staff, says manager
The next steps for a controversial project on Pennbrook Parkway in Upper Gwynedd are coming into focus.
Township officials gave an update in early March on what could happen next with a “workforce housing” project that’s drawn plenty of feedback since it was first proposed.
“They require conditional use (approval), and the map amendment, and land development. Those are the three steps left for the board — those are the three decision items,” said Township Manager Sandra Brookley Zadell.
In August 2023, township commissioners approved a zoning text and map change expanding 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 in April 2023 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.
A text amendment to Upper Gwynedd’s zoning map shows the prior transit-oriented development zone shaded in grey, east of Church Road and north of Wissahickon Avenue, and a proposed “TOD-2” expansion approved in 2023 of that overlay lined in red and blue off of Pennbrook Parkway. (Credit: Upper Gwynedd Township).In the months between that presentation and the vote before an overflow crowd that August to approve the needed zoning change, 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.
Talks on the project quieted down in 2024: county officials named that project as a recipient of a Montco Forward low-interest loan in March, and an update from staff in July said that no formal application had yet been submitted.
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 GroupIn November township staff said the township planning commission would be next to see the latest plans, while a resident vowed to challenge the board’s 2023 approval of the zoning change, and in December township staff said the applicant was still working on revised plans.
During the township’s March 3 meeting, Zadell gave an update in response to a question from resident Carl Smith, saying the next steps could come soon for all three of the approvals needed.
“Our plan is to have those all on the same hearing night, instead of having a drawn-out, six-meeting situation,” Zadell said.
“It would be: when they come before the board the next time, all of those items would be considered at once,” she said.
Smith then asked for a timeline of when those talks could happen, and the manager said specifics hadn’t been finalized.
“We’re still working through the plans. Staff decide if the plans are ready to come to the board, and there’s a few issues that we’re still making sure staff are comfortable with, before pushing the plan forward to the board,” she said.
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. (Screenshot of meeting video)Smith then asked how that meeting would be publicized, and the manager said all steps required for any normal conditional use project would apply, including a public notice 30 days beforehand, and township solicitor Lauren Gallagher added that the property would be posted with notices too.
“You’ll see on our agenda, an ‘authorization to advertise,’ a month before the consideration,” Zadell said.
In his monthly report to the board, township planning and zoning officer David Conroy added that the Pennbrook project would likely be before the board “in the coming months.”
“We’re still working through some sewer and landscaping issues as of right now,” he said.
Upper Gwynedd’s commissioners next meet at 7 p.m. on April 7 and 14 at the township administration building, 1 Parkside Place. For more information visit www.UpperGwynedd.org.
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