Croydon School Plans Approved by Zoning Board

The Bristol Township Zoning Board approved variances for a new 1,300-student elementary school at the Mary Devine Elementary School site in Croydon.

District officials had taken a previous version of the plan before the zoners in July and were denied. They say the land development process will now move forward for the project, which is behind their original schedule.

The district came before the board asking for several variances for building height, buffer space, loading zones and impervious surface. The updated plan called for a reduction in impervious surface, which current stands about 12 percent more than the township usually allows. Project officials said one of the ways reduced impervious was by decreasing the width and length of several walkways at the school. The long bus drive that runs through the floodplain to River Road remains as does a grass baseball field in the plain. The floodplain takes up close to 10 acres of the 22-acre site,

The zoning board showed concern the first them, when they turned down the plans the first time, over the amount of impervious space that was over the allowed 40 percent. They also raised concerns about the amount of construction in the floodplain.

Zoning board Chairman Chuck Clayton voted against the Devine site in July, but said Monday night that he listened to the residents who spoke during public comment and decided to approve the school plans. He noted that the plans still have a number of hurtles to move through before any construction can begin. “I don’t want to stand in the way of progress,” he said.

District Superintendent Dr. Samuel Lee said the district is on its way to having a new elementary school in the Croydon area.

During his testimony to the zoners, Lee said the new schools were necessary. “It takes a significant amount of resources just to provide shelter to our students,” he said.

Croydon resident Bill Engel spoke during public comment and called Croydon “up and coming.” He said people will only move to the area if there is a school, especially a new one.

Residents Tony Bolger and John Riotto separately voiced concerns about the proposed River Road bus loop and the condition of the current roadway.

The atmosphere in the meeting changed briefly after Levittown resident Joe Turner said there were conflict of interests on the board. He stated that because some members were in a union they should not vote to approve the variances for the project, which would likely employ union trades people. He stated that some would benefit by approving the job.

The district’s goal from the beginning has been to build at the Mary Devine site so the lower section of Bristol Township has an elementary school. If the Devine site was not usable, Croydon would have been left without a school.

Township zoners denied plans to building a new school Lafayette Elementary School site on Fayette Drive in August. Those plans were presented after the zoning board initially denied the Mary Devine site.

Currently, new schools set for the sties of James Buchanan Elementary School on Haines Road and Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary School on Mill Creek Road in Levittown are moving through the land development process.

The new school is part of the district-wide facilities overhaul. The project would close nine elementary schools and have three 140,000-square-foot buildings constructed in the place of three buildings. Franklin D. Roosevelt Middle School would close, while Neil A. Armstrong Middle School and the former Benjamin Franklin School, currently home to the district administrative staff, would be renovated for middle school students. Harry S. Truman High School would not see any major work done. Clara Barton Elementary School would be re-purposed into the administration and maintenance building. Each elementary school is now project to cost more than $41 million.

Related:

• Take 2: Mary Devine Plans to Go Before Zoning Board Monday
• BTSD Gives Mary Devine Site Second Chance
• Lafayette Plans Shot Down by Zoners
• Lafayette School Plans To Go Before Zoners
• District Officials Present Lafayette Plan to Community
• Lafayette to Replace Devine as Site of New School
• 2 School Plans Approved, 1 Denied by Zoning Board
• Back to Drawing Board for Devine Site, Lafayette Still on Table