NEWTOWN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
LUNCHEON MEETING AT GOODNOE FARM DAIRY BAR
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2002
APPROVAL OF THE FEBRUARY MINUTES: Ms. Frederick moved to approve the minutes of February 7, 2002 as presented. Ms. Buras seconded; the motion carried.
Council members in attendance: Belinda Buras, Dick Weaver, Lisa Kruse, Hal
Roberts, Tom Harwood, Doug Terry, Miguel Sison, Jim Worthington, Marge
Fredericks.
Others present: Virginia
Bowe, Linda Mitchell, Dave Marcolla, Judy Setar, Don Harris, Evan Lambrose,
Mike Aguaro, David S. Wilde, John Pangiochi.
CALL TO ORDER – Chairman Weaver called the
meeting to order. As there were many
first-time attendees, introductions were made.
CODES DEPARTMENT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT REPORT
Mr. Harwood distributed and
reviewed the report for January 2002.
He noted that there was a lot of activity in January.
APPROVAL OF THE
DECEMBER MINUTES: Mr. Terry moved
to approve the minutes of the January meeting with the following change: in Ms. Mitchell’s presentation, the fourth
item in the list of highlights should read (changes in bold): “The Newtown Athletic Club has donated over $2M
in products and services to charities…”. Ms. Buras seconded; the motion carried.
LOWER BUCKS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Ms. Kruse distributed a flyer, which noted the following upcoming events:
The registration coupon on the flyer can be faxed to make advanced reservations for these programs.
JOINT DOWNTOWN NEWTOWN CORPORATION
Ms. Kruse reported that a
reorganization meeting was held in January, and officers were elected. She said that the Organization Committee is
working on a calendar site, website address www.newtowncalendar.com, which
hopes to be a comprehensive list of events taking place in Newtown. The site is being developed now. The website will also include information
about fundraising, the Chancellor Street Renovation Project, and the Main
Street Manager. The committee is
looking at advertising opportunities on the website; anyone interested should
contact Lisa Kruse.
SYCAMORE STREET
Mr. Harwood said that there have been some complaints
concerning the unsightliness of the Acme site.
He said that equipment should be moved soon, and the township will
address the unkempt state of the site.
Mr. Terry reported that there has
been a preliminary meeting of the committee, but that the full committee has
not yet met. He asked if anyone else
was interested in participating on the committee; Evan Lambrose said he would
like to join. The next meeting is
scheduled for Thursday, February 14, 2002.
It will be a lunch meeting; the location will be announced.
NEW BUSINESS
Mr. Terry said he had attended a
Board of Supervisors Work Session where the mission statement was
discussed. He distributed handouts that
included the mission statement from the BDC brochure and a statement from the
Board of Supervisors. Mr. Terry
suggested the addition of the phrase “and by evaluating the manner in which
government impacts the business community” before the last sentence. Mr. Weaver said he would take this
suggestion back to the supervisors.
LI, OLI, OR DISTRICTS
Mr. Terry said he had recently
discovered an ordinance had been passed to take medical out of the Industrial
Park/LI District, and asked about the reason for this. Mr. Weaver said the theory was that doctor
offices would increase traffic. Mr.
Terry asked how the present board felt about this, and if the ordinance could
be changed.
Mr. Harwood explained that the OLI
District runs along Newtown-Yardley Road, between Penns Trail and almost to the
borough line. Some conditional uses are
allowed. He said that location is an
advantage in the Industrial Park, since it is near the Bypass. He said he thought that the reason for
excluding medical use was that it would put stress on the parking situation,
necessitating granting of relief.
Mr. Weaver said he had noticed that
there were many open areas in the LI District to be developed, and suggested
that the township needed to kick off some sort of campaign to encourage
development. Mr. Worthington asked why
so many areas/buildings are vacant. Mr.
Roberts said that prices are high, and that it is difficult to convert
manufacturing buildings, that are empty in the LI, to offices. Mr. Terry noted that many of the vacant
buildings are very large, and that smaller buildings are being sought for
office space. Mr. Weaver asked if some
building could be divided into smaller sections.
Mr. Harwood said that some
businesses have expanded their impervious surface to the maximum 60%. Mr. Worthington wondered if business owners
in the LI were aware that 60% impervious surface was now allowed, and if the
promotion of that fact would help development.
Mr. Harris asked who in the
township should be encouraging business development. Ms. Kruse said that the Joint Downtown Newtown Corporation is
beginning to consider business development, and is inventorying Newtown to see
what is available. Mr. Terry suggested
that the BDC should be part of this effort.
Mr. Harris suggested a nicer hotel with convention facilities, perhaps
on the Stockburger tract, would be beneficial to Newtown. Mr. Harwood said he would have to check to
see if there is any available parcel large enough for such development. Mr. Terry said that he was told that five years
ago there were not enough people here to make such a project feasible. Mr. Harris wondered if that situation has
changed, especially with the large amount of development in Lower
Makefield. Mr. Lambrose suggested that
a “longer stay” hotel might help those relocating to this area.
Mr. Wilde asked why businesses were
leaving Newtown. Mr. Worthington said
that he has some lots in the Industrial Park and is waiting to see how some
issues play out in the township, such as the YMCA, before developing these
parcels. Mr. Terry noted that 15 years
ago Law Admissions purchased their land, were once looking to move out, and now
residents want to block development.
Mr. Worthington said that good publicity about the business community
could help, and suggested that the community could find ways to promote
business in the area. Mr. Terry said
that the township is presently wrestling with the issue of Toll Brothers
developing residential in the OR, and that many people are upset about such
development in the OR. He said that
Toll Brothers did not want to develop an industrial project in the OR, and said
that many parcels in the OR are large, off the Bypass but not visible from the
street. Mr. Lambrose said that
residential in the middle of industrial is problematic and asked why the OR has
not been promoted.
Some wondered what the township
could do to encourage industrial over residential development in the OR; Mr. Weaver said that the township could only
enforce the code fully. He said that
the Board of Supervisors is looking into how to keep the OR industrial. Mr. Worthington asked if there were numbers
illustrating the tax revenue difference between the proposed residential
development and possible industrial development in the OR.
NEXT MEETING
The next luncheon meeting is
scheduled for March 7, 2002 at the Goodnoe Farm Dairy Bar at 12:00 PM.
ADJOURNMENT: On a motion by
Mr. Worthington and second by Mr. Roberts, the meeting adjourned at 1:05
pm.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
Leslie P. Dunleavy, Recording Secretary