Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Here's your "five" for Wednesday.
It's Leap Day, Feb. 29, and it only comes once every four years. What are you doing to celebrate today? Rain and possibly sleet in the morning with a high near 43 today, according to the National Weather Service. Halfway through the week and the "other" category is ruling our Best of Banks poll. Have you cast your vote yet? In case you missed it: the group who proposed Addisville Commons has filed their appeal with the Bucks County court system. The Lady Hawks will take on Norristown tonight at 6 at Norristown High School. Go team!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
The fate of the Giant in Richboro is now in the hands of county officials.
Glenn Davis and the Dreher Group have acted on their promise to appeal with documents filed at the Bucks County courthouse in the beginning of February. Davis said he believes the township should not have denied their conditional use application for Addisville Commons. "Anyone who was present at our hearing should know that we are entitled to our use and that we were denied improperly," he said. Township Manager Bob Pellegrino said the township has spent roughly $80,000 fighting the case so far. The township's 63-page decision gives a timeline of events, beginning in December of 2010 and ending with the decision announced on Dec. 14, 2011. It also details the other parties who filed their opposition status, including Richboro Shop 'N Bag…
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
In the continuation of the conditional use application hearings, the Board voted 5-0 to deny the application for a Giant in Richboro.
As the supervisors each voted "no," the board room in the Administration Building that was overflowing with people erupted in applause and cheers to the Board's decision. After months of hearings, public comment and testimony by several parties, the Addisville Commons Conditional Use Application was shot down at the meeting Wednesday night. "I'm elated," said Shop 'N Bag owner Murray Battleman. "It's a proper decision ... and it's great." Battleman was one of seven parties who filed their own opposition to the Addisville Commons plan, the second one submitted, which would put a Giant food store and a few other small shops on seven acres of property in the heart of Richboro. The stores were to be built on the Davis Pontiac site, owned by …
Friday, November 4, 2011
Do you really know what Village Overlay District ordinances mean?
One of the major complaints lodged against building a Giant Food Store on the Davis Pontiac site is that the Addisville Commons plan as outlined before the Board simply does not fit into the Village Overlay District requirements. While some members of the township are engineers, zoning officers, contractors, etc., not everyone has the time to flip through a large ordinance file and pick apart the details. So Patch did it for you. The basic premise of the Village Overlay District, encompassing Ordinances No. 535 to 537, passed on Dec. 17, 2008, is that it is a separate set of rules and guidelines that fit like a layer over the existing zoning guidelines of the township. Two spots in the township have VODs: Richboro and a section of Holland…
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Few seats were empty at the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday night.
After almost 40 concerned citizens offered their points of view on the proposed GIANT supermarket in Richboro, public comment officially ended at the Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday night. Richboro Middle School's auditorium was practically full of families, residents and locals who brought signs and their voices – and they made use of both. The overwhelming answer from those who decided to speak was a resounding "no," with many asking the supervisors to decline the applicant's request to put a GIANT in the abandoned Davis Pontiac lot. The process has been ongoing since the board first saw the Addisville Commons proposal in 2010. "I would ask you to do something for the residents of the township, instead of to them," said Rick …
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The procedural steps are over and the Board of Supervisors is ready to hear public comment.
It’s official. The public comment portion of the hearing on the proposed Addisville Commons is now set to begin. Testimony from witnesses and attorneys involved in the hearing, which have been ongoing since February, came to an end Tuesday night just before 10:30 p.m. at the Northampton Township Administration Building. With that, Board of Supervisors Chairman George Komelasky announced the hearing will resume on Oct. 11, beginning at 7 p.m. at Richboro Middle School. While certain parameters will be drafted by the township solicitor, residents will be able to voice their opinions beginning that night. “We will have public comment as long as the public is there to speak,” Komelasky said. That night was the first available at the school, …
Friday, September 16, 2011
The Board of Supervisors met Wednesday night to continue discussion.
Wednesday evening’s meeting was thought to have been the final Addisville Commons hearing before the Northampton Township Supervisors. In fact, Board of Supervisors Chairman George Komelasky announced at the outset that the Board thought this hearing might last only about an hour and then public comment could begin once again. However, after nearly three and a half hours of testimony, cross-examination and clarifications, Komelasky announced the hearing will be continued at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 27, at the Administration Building. The expectation is that after this next continuation, public comment meetings will occur. Thomas Smith, Esq., special independent counsel for the Township, began questioning Joseph DeSantis, President of …
Friday, August 19, 2011
Addisville Commons hearings continued Thursday night.
Last night’s hearing regarding the Addisville Commons/Davis Pontiac site application before the Northampton Township Supervisors was testy from the moment it began at 7 p.m. until it ended just after 10 p.m. About 40 people gathered in the Administration Building as attorneys both sides continued their discussion and proceedings. At the outset of this meeting, Mark Kaplan, who represents the applicant, the Dreher group, questioned why the township has its own legal counsel who weighs in on matters, asking questions of the expert witnesses. Kaplan insisted that having an attorney represent the township in a hearing raises serious due process questions. Attorney Thomas Smith firmly said he represents the township and township staff and …
Friday, August 5, 2011
The Board of Supervisors held another meeting to continue discussion on the proposed Giant at the Davis Pontiac site in Richboro.
Procedural activitues continued Thursday evening as the Board of Supervisors listed to testimony from Urban Land Planner James Constatine regarding the Davis Pontiac site in Richboro. About 60 residents attended the meeting, which was held in the Administration Building and also televised. Constantine responded to questions from Dreher Group attorney Marc Kaplan and cross-examination from township attorney, Tom Smith, and John Ryan, attorney for a group of citizens concerned about responsible development who oppose the plan. Using many enlarged photos of the current appearance of the Davis site, Constantine showed artist concepts to illustrate how attractive the proposed façade of Addisville Commons would be along the Second Street Pike, …
Thursday, July 14, 2011
The Board of Supervisors met last night to continue discussion on the Davis Pontiac site.
While it is moving along meeting by meeting, the process for the Board of Supervisors to decide whether or not to approve the Addisville Commons development continued slowly last night. The Board of Supervisors met at Richboro Middle School at 7 to continue the decision-making process about the Dreher Group's application to put a new development in the old Davis Pontiac site. The auditorium was half full of local residents who, despite previous meetings' performance, kept relatively quiet throughout the evening. Attorney John Ryan began with questioning of the sixth applicant, Bridget Scipione. Last meeting she was accepted as an additional party fighting against the development plan under Ryan, along with Murray Battleman, owner of Shop N…
Stevi
11:11 am on Wednesday, February 29, 2012
I hope they lose again. I greatly dislike Giant and I will not shop there. If neither of the 2 grocers in town have what I need I gladly drive 9 miles to shop at Wegmans and avoid the TWELVE Giants within 5 miles of my house (or the 17 within 10 miles [note: that does NOT include the Genuardi's locations that will be converted shortly])! Glenn Davis and the Dreher Group need to understand that it… more ›