NEWTOWN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
LUNCHEON MEETING AT GOODNOE FARM DAIRY BAR
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2004
Approval of Minutes: Mr. Terry moved to accept the minutes of Thursday, February 5, 2004. Mr. Worthington seconded and the motion passed 10-0.
Present: Chairman Richard Weaver, Tom Harwood, Hal Roberts,
Jim Worthington, Dan McCloskey, Marge Frederick, Steve Schreiber, Mark Byelich,
Allen and Jane Kleibert, Sue and Bob Allen, Denise Walsh, Shannon Wilson, Sue
Britsch, Miguel Sison, Clare Shaw, Paul Salvatore.
Call to Order: Chairman Weaver called the meeting to order
at 12:05 PM.
Public Comment – None
Codes Department Business Development Report
Mr. Harwood distributed and reviewed the report for
January 2004.
Approval of the Minutes
Mr. Byelich moved to approve the minutes of the
January 15, 2004 meeting as presented.
Mr. Roberts seconded; the motion carried unanimously.
Lower Bucks Chamber of Commerce
Ms.
Frederick noted that the Chamber’s upcoming Business Card Exchange and Annual
Expo is scheduled for March 24, 2004, 3:00 - 7:00 pm, to be held at King’s
Caterers; anyone interested in exhibiting should contact the Chamber. Information is available on the website: www.lbccc.org.
Joint Downtown Newtown Corporation
Ms. Dunleavy reported that they are still awaiting
the Main Street grant application approval.
Mr. Salvatore announced that the JDNC would host a meeting for local
retailers, professionals and business owners at the
Temperance House on March 2, 2004, with light refreshments
at 6:30 and a speaker from 7:00-8:00 pm.
The speaker will be the West Chester Main Street Project Manager.
Newtown Business and Professional Association
No report.
Economic Development Commission
Mr. Weaver reported that the Commission’s recommendations
have been drafted in an ordinance and sent to the Planning Commission and Joint
Planning Commission. He said that this
evening he would find out how fast the adoption of the ordinance will proceed,
and said that the Planning Commission was OK with the use by right section of
the drafted ordinance.
Mr. Weaver said he has been asked by the new owners
of the Zaner property, at 15 Terry Drive, to hold an event there for anyone
interested in development in the Business Commons; this should provide an opportunity
to show how buildings in the Commons could be rehabilitated, upgraded and
converted from manufacturing to other uses.
He said he has seen the architect’s rendering and that the result should
be a marquis building. Mr. Weaver said
that they are waiting to set the date for the meeting, either at the end of
February or beginning of March. The
meeting will be probably be scheduled from 5:00-7:00 pm, and the speaker will
probably be Mark Schweiker, former PA governor and CEO & President of the
Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Weaver said that he and Bob Pellegrino have been
visiting other townships to look at municipal buildings and industrial
parks/business commons; he said that the Newtown Business Commons are very
attractive compared to many others. He
said that the township is receiving calls from interested persons.
Mr. McCloskey asked how the Planning Commission felt
about the Economic Development Commission’s recommendations. Mr. Weaver said that they were considering
one last item, zoning changes related to uses and uses by right. He said hadn’t heard any opposition to the
recommendations, and had heard a few suggested changes, such as a 50/50 split
between varied parking space sizes. Mr.
Byelich said a PC member told him that they had approved the drafted ordinance
8-1 at their meeting on Tuesday. Mr.
Harwood clarified that the PC was not in total agreement, but was in favor
overall of the proposed changes. He
said they addressed conditional uses, and support the continuation of the
conditional use process as it exists.
Mr. Worthington noted that it would be nice to announce the adoption of
the Economic Development Commission’s recommendations at the meeting being
planned. Mr. Weaver reminded the
Council that the Jointure is OK with the proposed changes, since Newtown is the
only municipality with a business commons.
Mr. Worthington asked about the adoption process for
the proposed ordinance; Mr. Weaver said that they are awaiting a response from
the Joint Planning Commission before it is sent to the Jointure. If the Jointure approves, as expected, there
should be no delay; Mr. Weaver said he hoped the ordinance is adopted by the
end of the month. Ms. Allen said she
had been frustrated by the delay. Ms.
Kleibert said that they hoped things were resolved soon, as they are waiting to
move into the Business Commons and need to take care of many issues, such as
printing of stationery and business cards and inclusion in the new phone book;
Mr. Weaver said was confident the situation would be resolved very soon. Mr. Worthington said there are almost 30
businesses in the same situation, and noted that the Economic Development
Commission, under Mr. Weaver’s leadership, has tried to facilitate the
process. Mr. McCloskey said that
Newtown’s reputation has been that the township is difficult to move into, but
felt that this impression was slowly being turned around.
Community Map
Mr. Worthington said that Ms. Mitchell has laid out the map
and is in the process of defining pricing and other details. He said she should be able to report the
map’s status at the next meeting.
Mr. Gorski introduced himself as an engineer and builder,
saying that his company practices “constructioneering” in Southeast PA. He said he reviewed information about the
Business Commons and the township that he had received from Ms. Dunleavy, and
felt that that the township was headed in the right direction. Mr. Gorski noted that there are significant
vacancy rates throughout the state. He
said that the Newtown Business Commons was well situated, the buildings are in
good condition, and that the area would support office use. He said it was unusual to see so much
masonry in a business park, making it very attractive. He said that there are lots of industrial
building available, but not much demand now for industrial use, and that other
uses being considered were athletic organizations and specialty schools. He said that efficiency of use was an issue
for the use of the buildings; usage in some buildings is low by today’s
standards. Mr. Gorski said that truck
accessibility was also a big factor, especially since today’s trucks are
larger.
Mr.
Gorski noted that developers are building a lot of parking now as buildings
move from industrial to office use. He
noted that other municipalities have impervious surface allowances greater than
60%, and suggested that the study of overall watershed conditions may result in
new ways to allow greater impervious surface.
He said that new water management methods are being used, such as porous
paving, underground storm water management, and the use of water as a landscape
feature such as a pond. He suggested
that conducting a comprehensive water study of the entire watershed area,
including everything upstream, could help evaluate the situation. Mr. Harwood noted that new water management
standards would be adopted soon. Mr.
Worthington suggested that a study of watershed/storm water management be done
to determine the maximum amount of impervious surface that could be supported
in the Business Commons; Mr. Harwood said that each project gets individual
assessment as part of the land development process.
Mr.
Worthington raised the issue of traffic impact. Mr. Gorski said that office use generates more traffic during
peak hours, but doesn’t impact traffic greatly overall. He said that medical use generates a more
consistent traffic flow, complimenting and balancing out traffic in the Business
Commons. Ms. Kleibert said that the
position of the Business Park near the Bypass shouldn’t impact traffic in the
borough. Mr. Gorski said that access to
the Business Commons is good. He said
that increasing impervious surface could help motivate development. He said that Perkioman Township had reviewed
the conditional use process to facilitate developers, and specified as high as
80% - 85% impervious surface allowances in developed areas.
Mr.
Harwood noted that the land development time line was about 3 months; Mr.
Gorski said that was reasonable. Mr.
Schreiber suggested that the public needed to be educated, so that projects
that township officials approve are not delayed. Mr. Harwood noted that commercial development near residents
usually takes longer and has more opposition.
Mr. Worthington said he thought that the public wasn’t aware of the
resources generated from development, such as park & recreation fees,
traffic impact fees, and school taxes; he suggested speaking with the school
district for support. Mr. Byelich
reminded Council members that the development process is much better than it
had been, and said that more representation was needed from the business
community.
New Business
None.
Old Business
None.
Next Meeting
The
next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 4, 2004.
Adjournment
Without objection, the meeting was adjourned at 1:30
pm.
Respectfully submitted
______________________________
Leslie P. Dunleavy, Recording Secretary