Preliminary Land Development Approved for Mary Devine Site, Final Approval Stalled

The Bristol Township Council approved preliminary land development for a new school at the Mary Devine Elementary School site in Croydon.

The board approved the preliminary land development plans with a 6-1 vote. Council Vice President Troy Brennan and members Craig Bowen, Joseph Glasson, Cynthia Murphy, John Monahan and President Bob Lewis voted to approve the plans. Amber Longhitano, who has been an outspoken opponent of the new schools, voted against approval.

The vote came after rigid questioning on the project from some council members.

The issue of permits was much discussed during the meeting.

Council members said the school district still needed permits for sewer construction. Representatives for the district confirmed that is a fact and added they expected to get those permits because the new 1,300-student school is “critical infrastructure.”

The school district was told they would need sewer permits from the Department of Environmental Protection before final land development would be approved by the board.

Bristol Township, along with other towns, are under a sewer moratorium. The moratorium limited new construction and is in effect due to sewer facilities that can not handle the flow from Bucks County municipalities to Philadelphia.

Discussion about increased traffic on River Road and streets around the school was also brought up. Croydon resident Cathy Newman was among several at the meeting who raised concerns about additional buses and traffic that will come along with three schools being folded into one.

Flooding in the area around the school also filled portions of the meeting. Project officials have said a long drive runs through the floodplain to River Road, but the rest of the 8-acre site remains free of impervious surface.

Superintendent Dr. Sam Lee said the project will take 16 months from the time all permits are obtained. Lee made the comment after questions and concerns were raised by the public and some council members. Lee previously said the school could be open by September 2016, if the district’s timetable works out.

Longhitano called out the district team on submitting the Devine site plans just seven days before the council meeting. The township now requires 30 days so a professional can review submitted plans, she said at the council meeting.

Residents and even some council members said they don’t trust the district on the project.

Brennan told Ken Bissinger – a principal at Renew Design Group, who is working on the schools project – the district wasn’t truthful about whether they had permits and even said they “bamboozled” the public. Brennan was referencing statements made by district officials at recent school board meetings.

The issue of waiving hundreds of thousands in township fees was brought up by Lewis.

The council passed a motion to cover 30 percent of “certain” permits fees for the three school projects. Some requirements for the fee waiver offered by the council: the school district would have to air three upcoming board meetings on television and some reduce deed restrictions on a Coates Avenue property. Lewis said the township would offer the district use of their meeting room.

The building permit fees for the schools are hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“The Board of School Directors will be meeting Wednesday evening to discuss this,” Bristol Township School Board President Angela Nober said of the offer.

Lewis said he hopes the township can work with the school district going forward.

The new school in Croydon is part of district-wide facilities overhaul that would close nine elementary schools and have the three 1,300-students buildings constructed in their place. 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.