Candidates sound off as board defers adoption for now
The next version of Towamencin’s comprehensive plan is still months from being final, but residents have plenty to say.
Area residents continued to share thoughts on that plan and several ongoing developments last week, as town officials gave an update on when they’ll see specifics.
“It will not be at a (regular) meeting; it will be a special meeting. It’s going to be a big, long agenda, but it will be announced just as every other meeting is announced,” said Supervisors’ Chairwoman Joyce Snyder.
“It’s going to be after the new year, I can almost guarantee that,” she said.
In summer 2023 the township supervisors authorized an update to the township’s comp plan, amid years of debate on selling the municipal sewer system, and board talks on various ongoing topics including plans for parks upgrades, sidewalk and trail connections, and development of several high-profile parcels including the Freddy Hill Farms site on Sumneytown Pike near Troxel Road, a former bird farm near Old Forty Foot Road, and several owned by developer PSDC on Forty Foot Road near Sumneytown Pike and Allentown Road.
Over the past two years, an outside consultant has held public meetings, shared surveys, and sought feedback on an updated plan, reporting in August on those results so far.
During the Oct. 8 meeting, Snyder kicked off the debate by announcing that several items originally listed on the board’s agenda would be tabled until future meetings, including a motion recommending adoption of the new comp plan.
“I did promise that we would have an additional meeting, and we will do that when we are able to schedule it,” she said.
Two other agenda items, both related to plans by developer PSDC to build several hundred apartment units in their “Main Street” development near Sumneytown Pike and Forty Foot Road, were also deferred from Oct. 8 to 22 due to legal advertisements running in The Intelligencer instead of The Reporter, township solicitor Bob Iannozzi said.
“Upon further reflection, it was brought to our attention that it’s not as prominent as The Reporter, so out of an abundance of caution, we are going to rerun that advertisement and we are going to repost the property,” Iannozzi said.
Resident Joe Silverman said he’s read The Reporter for the roughly 50 years he’s lived in Towamencin, for both news coverage and legal notices, and thanked the board for delaying any actions.
“It should be in the local paper. That’s the only way I would hear about it,” he said.
‘Please listen to the community’
While the plan itself was not discussed or voted ahead, several residents shared public comments with feedback on the plan itself, and/or the PSDC projects currently seeking approvals. Lynn Fox shared several specific points in PSDC’s proposed ordinance update that she asked be addressed, including a provision that the developer could seek further development “under changing market conditions.”
“This is the most disturbing section, because it gives PSDC the ability to come back later and ask for more units, and argue that the township already approved the framework. It is vague and open-ended, and sets a precedent that future boards will struggle to challenge,” Fox said.
Maureen Parry asked the board not to change any zoning for PSDC for the proposed ‘Main Street’ project, saying the rural nature and open spaces up for discussion now were major reasons she and her husband moved to Towamencin decades ago.
“If we allow an overabundance of apartments on that site, or elsewhere in the community, we will lose the reasons we chose Towamencin to live in, in the first place. Please listen to the community, and do not push this rezoning ahead,” she said.
Peter Van Thuyne asked that the comp plan approval be deferred until the feedback from residents is incorporated, while Ezra Schwartz said the PSDC ordinance is “a setup for long-term density, increasing taxes, and irreversible damage to the township’s charter,” before questioning if any tax and/or utility rate increase would be needed to cover infrastructure repairs to handle the added residents.
“Let me be clear: if you vote yes tonight, you will own every tax hike, every traffic jam, every overcrowded classroom. This will be your legacy, and it will follow you into the next election. Mark my word: you will not be elected again,” Schwartz said.
Candi Roberts asked who would be able to afford the new houses and apartments proposed by the developer, with prices in the high fix figures and up: “It’s a hustle that benefits developers, and dumps the costs on the rest of us.” Gus Fox listed possible consequences from approving the PSDC proposal: “We’ll deal with traffic, the overcrowded schools, the rising taxes, the loss of open space, the stress on our infrastructure, and the erosion of everything that’s made this township worth living in. And for what? Units over $600,000. That’s not affordable,” Fox said.
Rob Sukaly told the board, “We cannot handle all of the added traffic to the area,” and Mike and Mary Jayes said the proposed high-density developments and ordinance “are in complete opposition to what was previously referred to as our attempt to create our own little Skippack” in the township’s village overlay district there.
“The fight, years ago, was making sure the inappropriate building height variance for the (Courtyard Marriott) hotel wasn’t applied all across what was supposed to be a quaint, village atmosphere. Now, this administration has allowed the proposed development to move forward, looking less like a village and more like a business park,” the Jayes said.
Freddy Hill and flooding
Casey Hannings, a Kriebel Road resident who has started an online petition and Instagram account urging the board to ‘Save Freddy Hill’ from proposed development, said he’d recently rescued a hawk that had been hit by a car near that site, and heard from a nearby business owner that hawks are hit more often while scavenging near cars, before telling the board he has posted several photos of wildlife including birds and foxes he has recently seen there.
“You can see the eyes of these animals: these are the creatures that you will be forcing out, if nothing is done to protect as much of that space as possible,” he said.
Ellen Minnicks asked how residents would know when the comp plan is up for final approval, and Snyder said township staff would publicize it heavily before any special meetings or final vote. Ashley Campisi said she lives on Kriebel near the Freddy Hill site, and often sees developers walking through her property, with no notice beforehand, and storms that send runoff onto her land.
“All this water will come down the hill, onto Kriebel Road, and into the storm drain on my property. That poor little stream, I mean raging river, will come through my property and destroy everything in its path. We already lost a little child, five years ago, who would have been in my daughter’s class,” due to flooding after heavy rains in 2020, she said.
“We need to stop being so selfish about money, and go back to what our founding fathers cared about: our country, and our people.”
Justin Bridge said he’s a professional geologist who has studied underground terrain across the state, and saw conflicts between sections of the latest comp plan that note flooding concerns in the area, against others that encourage more development.
“This plan is not comprehensive, this plan is incomplete, and should not even be considered for a vote,” he said.
Pat McNally asked if the zoning change was necessary: “They could build what they have now, which seems to be plenty. To go to cluster buildings? I think we should go slower,” he said.
And Victoria McNally said she often reflects while sitting in traffic on where those on the roads are headed.
“All we are anymore is a pass-through. And you want to dump more homes in here? The one prosperous business we had, Freddy Hill, is gone. It united the township. And it’s gone,” she said.
Candidates sound off
Both Republican candidates running for seats on the board of supervisors also made comments on both the plan and the proposed project, sharing feedback they said they’ve heard while campaigning.
“Over the past several weeks, I’ve personally spoken with hundreds of residents, whether they be Democrat, Republican, or Independents alike. It’s been well over a thousand people I’ve communicated with, over the past few weeks,” said candidate Christina Eppolito.
“Not one person has told me that they support the zoning change in that community. Not for Freddy Hill, not for the bird farm, and not for the PSDC property,” she said. “What I hear consistently from people are concerns about traffic, overcrowded schools, and safety. People here do not want these changes.”
Fellow Republican candidate Angela Illingworth added that delaying any votes would allow the current board, and the two new supervisors who will be elected in November and seated in January more time to absorb input.
“Towamencin is at a turning point. High-density development may offer short-term gains, but it also brings long-term consequences: increased traffic, pressure on our schools, strain on our emergency services, a loss of open space,” she said.
“Please don’t vote yes (to approve the plans) — let’s give Towamencin the time it deserves. Let’s protect what we’ve built together,” she said.
And resident Sue Rieck asked for candidates Vanessa Gaynor and Courtney Morgan, the two Democrats running for those seats, to make their positions on the new plan and proposed developments clear: “I think we have every right to hear from them.”
Gaynor and Morgan did not comment during the Oct. 8 meeting, but both have addressed the ongoing debates about development and planning in the township in The Reporter’s candidate question-and-answer, and on their social media pages and campaign website, gaynorandmorgan.com.
Towamencin’s supervisors next meet at 7 p.m. on Oct. 22 at the township administration building, 1090 Troxel Road. For more information, visit www.Towamencin.org.
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