Middletown Planners Deny Townhomes, But Developer Plans To Come Before Supervisors

A plan for 111 townhomes in Middletown was shot down by the Planning Commission, but it will still come before the Board of Supervisors next week.

After a motion by Planning Commission Chair Richard Nutall Wednesday evening, the advisory body voted 6-0 to deny Lennar Corporation’s proposal for an 111-unit townhome complex at a 15.86-acre former orchard along Woodbourne Road across from Pickering Bend and between the I-295 ramps, the railroad line, and the Cornerstone office complex.

In making the motion to deny the plans, Nutall said he had lingering questions about traffic and wondered aloud about hardship waivers requested by the developer.

Attorney Allen Toadvine, who was representing the developer, told LevittownNow.com the plans will move forward for approval before the Board of Supervisors at their meeting next Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Due to the fact the Planning Commission is an advisory body and the proposal has passed the zoning stage, the developer is free to bring their plans to the Supervisors no matter the decision of the planners.

The proposal for the complex calls for constructing 111 townhome units across 18 buildings on the property that is currently wooded. There would be more than 500 mainly off-street parking spots and one entrance along Woodbourne Road with left turn lanes added for those entering the development and Pickering Bend. The developer has also proposed adding sidewalks along that portion of Woodbourne Road, including one that would connect to the Woodbourne Train Station.

A 2019 traffic impact study from McMahon Associates stated that about 50 new trips would be created during weekday morning peak rush hour and 59 for weekday afternoon peak. The plan projects that about 10 percent of the commuters will use public transportation.

There were several residents who told planners about concerns over traffic on already-congested Woodbourne Road and how a plan for 600 apartments at the Oxford Valley Mall could make things worse.

“I’m a taxpaying citizen and I can’t drive out my street,” said one woman who lives off Woodbourne Road and has a 20-minute commute to her job at Maple Point Middle School, which is roughly a 2-mile drive away.

“You’re driving us out of the community,” she added.

Lisa Bowman, who owns a home with two rental units in front of the orchard property, raised numerous concerns, including ones about how the development would impact that property’s value. She added that her and her husband are attempting to sell the property.

Her realtor, Gwen Roedel, told the planners that finding a buyer for the home and property has been hard due to the proposed development around it. 

Bowman also claimed that her family is considering filing a legal claim based upon adverse possession of property doctrine. The argument centers on the idea that if the residents of her property have been using surrounding land for years and meet several conditions, they claim it as their own.

Allen Toadvine, the attorney for the developer, said the courts would have to hash it out, but he is confident the developer owns all the land they need and claim to have in the plans.

Last year, the planners received a letter signed by Neshaminy School Board leaders and Superintendent Joseph Jones that pointed to worry the new townhomes could add more children to the district than a neighborhood of single-family dwellings.

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