A highly contested proposal for a 150,000-square-foot warehouse in Buckingham is expected to go before the township supervisors Wednesday.
Preliminary land development plans, submitted by developer J.G. Petrucci Company, of Asbury, New Jersey, outline the redevelopment of the DiGirolamo Tract for a warehouse with 30 truck bays, two parking areas, an access drive for trucks at Stony Lane and another driveway for employees off Progress Meadow Drive.
Having cleared the township planning commission in May — by a 5-1 vote recommending the proposal with an extensive set of conditions — the land development plan will appear for the first time in front of the supervisors at the July 24 meeting.
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Buckingham warehouse plan widely criticized by residents
Raising concerns over traffic, safety, and environmental issues, the proposal has been met with fierce criticism from neighboring residents who banded together to form a group called, “Stop the Warehouse,” which currently has more than 1,600 members in its private Facebook group.
“Our group is grass roots and entirely made up of our neighbors. There are no special interests in our group other than keeping Buckingham safe,” said group organizer Mike Bateman.
“Our sole goal with the supervisors at this meeting is showing them very clearly that the proposed project was submitted under an incorrect zoning designation and that the actual use of this building does not meet Buckingham’s own zoning ordinances. By allowing something as egregious as this project to skirt zoning regulations but holding us neighbors accountable for something as small as a misplaced fence or adding a deck is antithetical. We must hold large developers to the same strict standards that they hold individual homeowners to and no one should get special treatment.”
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Greg Rogerson with J.G. Petrucci, said in May his team intends to comply with zoning requirements and address concerns throughout the process.
“A number of the issues they brought up will be addressed by the board of supervisors and others will be addressed by outside agencies — including the Department of Environmental Protection and the Bucks County Conservation District — and we will comply with whatever requirements are presented by the municipality and all outside agencies having jurisdiction over this project.”
How to attend the Buckingham board of supervisors meeting
The board of supervisors are scheduled to review the warehouse plan at its next meeting, which is scheduled to take place at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24 at the Buckingham Township at 4613 Hughesian Drive.
But getting into the meeting itself could be an issue for some.
As criticism of the proposed warehouse continues to gain momentum, meeting attendance has quickly grown to the point that, in May, people were turned away at the door as the room hit maximum capacity.
With chairs, the occupancy limit is 257 people, according to the township.
Anticipating a large turnout, Stop the Warehouse organizers are setting up a number of accommodations, including refreshments, overflow parking at Brown Bros. auction house, shuttle service and broadcasting a livestream of the meeting on the front lawn of the township building.
Additionally, township supervisors recently announced plans to stream the meeting via Zoom. Log-in instructions will be posted on the township website closer to the meeting date, and a recording will be available online the day after the meeting.
In a response to an email from this news organization asking if those watching through Zoom will be provided a chance to participate during the public comment period, a township official said people wanting to speak at the meeting should attend in person.
State officials ask Buckingham supervisors to deny warehouse plan
In June, state Senator Steve Santarsiero and state Rep. Tim Brennan, whose districts each include Buckingham, sent a letter expressing their concerns about the proposal.
The letter urges the supervisors to deny the application,citing “health, safety, property values, and overall quality of life.”
“The proposed plans discuss traffic of up to 90 trucks per day traveling along Stony Lane, Landisville Road, and Old Easton Road. These roads are woefully inadequate to accommodate this level of traffic both in terms of volume of traffic and vehicle size. The negative impact on the residents in the vicinity will be significant, including noise pollution, air pollution, stormwater management issues, and risk to drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists that use the roads on a daily basis,” the letter reads.
The letter then goes on to reiterate concerns expressed by residents that the application is inconsistent with the uses permitted in the proposed location.
“The plans describe a truck terminal rather than a warehouse, and according to the zoning a truck terminal must be located within an industrial park, more than 1000 feet from any existing well, and access must be from an arterial highway. The property on Stony Lane meets none of these requirements.”
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Reporter Michele Haddon covers local news, small business, food and drink, economic revitalization, art and culture for The Intelligencer and Bucks County Courier Times at PhillyBurbs.com. Please considering supporting local journalism with a subscription.
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