Residents Not Pleased After Middletown Supervisors Approve Plans For Business

A heating and air conditioning business plans to move from Bensalem to Middletown.

ECI Comfort received approval Monday evening to subdivide the property at 1115 West Gillam Avenue, which borders Old Lincoln Highway in the Langhorne section of the township, and land development for the property.

The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to support the plan. Supervisors George Leonhauser and Tom Tosti voted against the proposal.

Residents who were opposed to the plan opposed converting the vacant Artcraft Machine and Tool Corporation facility to the heating and air conditioning business. They raised concerns about an industrial use in their neighborhood and traffic in the area.

The lot presently features two residences and a 10,000-square-foot building. ECI Comfort won approval to subdivide the property.

Attorney Tim Duffy, who represented ECI Comfort, said six full-time employees will work regularly out of the facility. The company’s other employees take their vans home and are dispatched via computer from their residences. The installation and service crews, however, will stop by the facility time to time to restock their vehicles. Most equipment needed for jobs is shipped directly to the work site.

“They designed this business model to most effectively use the time of their employees,” Duffy said.

The 10,000-square-foot building will feature office space, storage space, and a 400-square-foot area used for training of company employees. Duffy said the facility will not be a training school and only feature company staff.

One of the homes on the property would be occupied by one of the family-operated business’ founders, a native of Middletown’s Levittown section, Duffy said.

Duffy said the majority of deliveries, which will come once or twice a week, would be box trucks.

Ron Musser, who operates the business, accepted a condition that would not allow for tractor-trailers to deliver to the business.

ECI Comfort plans to have 18 parking spaces and agreed to remove five parking spots on West Gilliam Avenue.

Nearby residents mounted opposition to the plan by collecting signatures against the business using the property. Many residents in the area received a yellow sheet with information on the project.

Resident John Toth called the plan a “square peg in a round hole” and suggested residences would be more ideal.

Trish Murray, who works at Neshaminy High School and lives near the property, called traffic in the area “insane.” She asked the Supervisors consider the impact.

“I appreciate the fact a business wants to move in there, but this is not the right type of business. This is too huge,” Murray said. 

When asked by Supervisors, township Solicitor James Esposito said that it would likely be a costly and uphill battle to fight the plan.

Leonhauser raised concerns about traffic in the area.

Vice Chairperson Mike Ksiazek said he understands the concerns but he did not see a legal reason to deny the plan.

Supervisor Amy Strouse said she appreciated the concern from the residents, but there didn’t seem to be a legal reason to deny the plans, which would likely lead to a court battle the township would lose.

“This isn’t right,” one resident yelled from the audience.