Borough Zoners Slate Hearing On Office Building Proposal

By Andrew Gorosko

The Borough Zoning Commission has scheduled a public hearing on a controversial proposal to construct a 35,000-square-foot office building in the Borough, on the vacant corner of Church Hill Road and The Boulevard.

The public hearing is slated for 7 pm Thursday, April 10, at the Newtown Middle School auditorium, 11 Queen Street.

At the session, the commission will consider two requests from the developer –– a “site development plan approval,” as well as a “special exception” to the borough zoning regulations to construct the building.

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 proposed office building would house professional offices, some of which would be medical offices.

Church Hill Partners is seeking approval for construction of the building on the southwestern corner of a 4.4-acre site at 37 Church Hill Road, plus an adjacent 161-space parking lot. The site, which is in a P-1 Professional zone, is across Church Hill Road from Starbucks Coffee.

The proposal has drawn the concern of Boulevard area residents, who have said they do not want the presence of an office building to worsen traffic conditions at the congested and hazardous intersection of Church Hill Road and The Boulevard. The proposed office building’s driveway for both entry and exit at the site would be on The Boulevard.

After reviewing the proposal in March, the Police Commission, acting as the local traffic authority, recommended that a traffic signal be installed at the intersection of Church Hill Road and The Boulevard, if an office building is constructed there.

In March, Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members raised concerns about the office building proposal.

In a letter to the borough zoners, P&Z Chairman William Mr O’Neil has written that the proposed building “seemed very large for the general area. A smaller building would be more in keeping with the general commercial character of the area.”

 The P&Z chairman added that the P&Z would like to have the architectural design of the proposed building be consistent with “village district” zoning regulations, which the borough zoners are formulating for that area.

“The applicant should identify the intended tenants and estimate the level of public, commercial [and] employee traffic that these likely tenants will generate, to determine whether the proposed parking will be adequate, and to determine the additional traffic load on the area,” Mr O’Neil added.

The P&Z chairman also expressed concerns about traffic safety, in light of additional motorists who would be turning left from The Boulevard onto Church Hill Road, where there are restricted motorist sight lines.

Mr O’Neil pointed out there is the potential for significant commercial growth along Church Hill Road and Queen Street.

Church Hill Partners’ office building proposal is a revised version of its similar informal proposal for the site, which borough officials reviewed last fall. That earlier version called for a 39,260-square-foot building, plus 30 more parking spaces than the current proposal.