Boulevard Residents Continue Opposition

To Proposed Office Building

By Andrew Gorosko

Although the developer of a 35,000-square-foot office building envisioned for the vacant corner of Church Hill Road and The Boulevard has revised some aspects of its proposal, Boulevard residents who spoke at a May 14 public hearing continue in their opposition to the plan.

The Borough Zoning Commission concluded its public hearing on the controversial construction project on May 14, having conducted an initial hearing on April 10. The commission took no action. The panel has until mid-July to act on the application.

Church Hill Partners, LLC, proposes a two-story office building, in what would be the most intensive commercial development project in the borough since the mid-1990s redevelopment of Newtown Shopping Village on Queen Street. The office building would house professional offices, some of which would be medical offices.

Church Hill Partners is seeking approval for office building construction on the southwestern section of a 4.4-acre site at 37 Church Hill Road, including an adjacent 154-space parking lot. The site is in a P-1 Professional zone.

The developer is seeking a “site development plan approval,” as well as a “special exception” to the borough zoning regulations to construct the building and related facilities.

Prime concerns about the project raised by Boulevard residents May 14 were the same concerns that were raised at the April 10 session. Those objections focus on the additional traffic that would be generated by an office building in the heavily traveled area, the size of the office building, and the placement of the sole entry/exit driveway for the building on the residential Boulevard.

P&Z Letter

In a letter to the Borough Zoning Commission, the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) urged that the borough zoners reject the development proposal in its current form.

The P&Z listed increased traffic congestion in an already congested area as one reason for the borough zoners to turn down the project.

The development application lacks the detail that is required to accurately predict the effect that such a facility would have on local traffic flow, according to the P&Z. The presence of such a building “adds undesirable additional traffic congestion to an already congested village center,” according to the P&Z. Without knowing the number of offices that would be housed in the building, it is not possible to perform an accurate traffic study, according to the P&Z.

The P&Z adds that the relatively large size of the building is out of harmony with the 1993 Town Plan of Conservation and Development’s planning concepts for the Borough.

Because the Borough does not have a planning commission, the P&Z serves as the borough’s planning agency, making comments on development proposals in the Borough.

Attorney Paul Jaber, representing the applicant, told the Borough Zoning Commission that the developer expects the building would house about six tenants, but added that there are no tenancy commitments for the proposed structure.

Mr Jaber said the applicant has revised its plans for the building, based on comments that were made at the April 10 hearing.

The number of proposed parking spaces has been reduced from 161 to 154, he said.

Other changes include modifications concerning sidewalks, crosswalks, driveway widths, stormwater catch basins, and building entry doors.

Mr Jaber said the developer discussed with the state Department of Transportation (DOT) the prospect of providing a Church Hill Road driveway entrance for the office building, either along the property’s Church Hill Road frontage, or as a joint entryway with a gas station lying to the east on Church Hill Road.

 The DOT, however, did not endorse providing access to the property from the congested Church Hill Road, instead stating that a Boulevard entry/exit driveway would be more appropriate, Mr Jaber said.

Mark Davis, a traffic engineer representing the applicant, told commission members the DOT has verbally told him it would approve a traffic signal for the intersection of Church Hill Road and The Boulevard in connection with office building construction. The operation of such a traffic signal would be synchronized with an existing traffic signal at the intersection of Church Hill Road and Queen Street, he said. Also, installing a new signal may mean creating two travel lanes on eastbound Church Hill Road to the west of a traffic signal, he said. One lane would carry “left turn” traffic and the other lane would carry “straight ahead” traffic, he said.

Architect Paul Antinozzi, representing the applicant, said mechanical equipment atop the proposed building would be shielded to muffle noise generated by those devices.

Mr Jaber told commission members that the office building’s design meets the requirements of the borough zoning regulations and should be approved.

Borough Zoning Commission members have been formulating a set of Village District zoning regulations, which would apply to sections of the Borough with commercial and professional zoning designations. The proposed regulations would prohibit the construction of office buildings as large as the one proposed by Church Hill Partners. The commission is scheduled to consider and possibly act on those proposed zoning regulations on May 29.

Public Comment

Resident John Shirley of 17 The Boulevard expressed strong opposition to creating an entry/exit driveway for the office building on The Boulevard. That driveway would be located about 250 feet north of The Boulevard’s intersection with Church Hill Road. The presence of a such a driveway would adversely affect the character of the residential Boulevard, Mr Shirley said.

Mr Shirley pointed out that an office building at 11 Church Hill Road, which is situated at the intersection of Church Hill Road and Wendover Road, does not have a driveway on Wendover Road.

The proposed office building is too large for the area, Mr Shirley said, adding that a 154-space parking lot would be too big. The project “would significantly change the character of the area,” he said.

Jennifer Peterson of 25 The Boulevard voiced concerns about added traffic flow in the area, saying that more than 1,200 vehicle trips would be made daily to and from the facility. Many people live on The Boulevard, which already is a traffic-hazard area, she said. “It’s just going to change the nature of the street,” she said. Expressing worry about child safety, she said, “I so don’t want this to go through.”

Kathleen Moody of 6 The Boulevard, which is next door to the development site, said the presence of a new traffic signal at the intersection of Church Hill Road and The Boulevard would not improve matters in the area. It is unfair for the state DOT to require a driveway for a commercial property on a residential street, she said. Pedestrian safety in the area should be a prime concern, she said. “I could only imagine it [traffic] would get ten times worse, or more,” she said. “It sets an extremely bad precedent for the rest of Newtown,” she said.

Clarence Peterson of 25 The Boulevard said traffic on that street has increased significantly during the past several years. The proposed building does not fit in with its environs, he said.

Borough Zoning Commission Vice Chairman Brian Connolly told the developer that the proposal amounts to a “a pretty significant development.” Mr Connolly said that the commission is seeking to create a “village architectural feeling” for growth along Church Hill Road. He asked why such a large building should be constructed on the lot. “It’s a big box. That’s what it is,” he said.

Mr Antinozzi responded that design elements in the proposed structure such as a pitched roofline and pedimented areas would visually diminish the rectangularity of the structure.