To the Editor:

One advantage of posting letters to the editor online before the newsprint publication is that it gives an opportunity for others to comment on the same topic, taking the earlier letter into account.

I strongly compliment Kevin Byrne on the excellent letter dated January 28 on the topic of development of the Inn at Newtown property on Main Street [“Be Fair, And Nothing More”]. I hope all Borough residents, and all town residents for that matter, will take that letter to heart.

Anyone paying attention to the now withdrawn application for a 40-unit apartment complex for the Inn at Newtown property on Main Street, just downhill of the library, would recognize it for what it is, i.e., a stalking horse for a second development proposal to come, either a conventional multifamily apartment complex or an application for a multifamily project using the affordable housing law.

What is most troubling to me is the apparent assumption by many townspeople that the Borough Zoning Commission owes some special consideration to the owner of the Inn property. It does not. It owes its allegiance to upholding the zoning laws in effect in the Borough.

Years and years ago, the Borough consciously decided to allow commercial development in the Queen Street/Church Hill Road area rather than Main Street. It needs to continue that longstanding precedent and not adopt regulations that open up Main Street to unwanted development just because of the underlying threat of an affordable housing project. That should be dealt with on its own merits if it is ever presented.

Sincerely,

Robert H. Hall

5 Nettleton Avenue, Newtown January 29, 2020