Officials Shed More Light On Proposed Nondisclosure Agreement Between Township & Developer

The entrance to the Keystone Trade Center in Falls Township in May 2021. Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com

Falls Township officials and the developer of the massive Keystone Trade Center have shed more light on a proposed nondisclosure agreement that piqued interest this week.

The agenda for the Monday Falls Township Board of Supervisors meeting featured consideration of a nondisclosure agreement between the municipality and NorthPoint Development, of Kansas City. The item led to an article being published by the Bucks County Courier Times.

A review of the agenda by LevittownNow.com hours before the meeting showed the nondisclosure agreement had been removed.

The article and removal of the agenda item drew questions from residents and reporters.

Township officials and NorthPoint Development have confirmed to this news organization that the nondisclosure agreement, commonly called an NDA, was not for the entire project at the former 1,800-acre U.S. Steel site.

Attorney Mike Meginniss, who is working for the developer, explained that the nondisclosure agreement being proposed was related to a potential tenant for the logistics facility and warehouse project. The possible tenant had concerns related to “proprietary information.” The attorney did not state who the potential tenant was.

“The tenant is still reviewing the draft NDA,” Meginniss said. “It may be reviewed/revisited at a future meeting if the tenant elects to move forward with the site.”

Michael Clarke, the Falls Township solicitor, issued the following statement: “Northpoint approached the Township about an NDA intended to protect proprietary information of a prospective tenant that may be disclosed to the township during the plan review phase of a future project. All parties are aware of and agree that the Township is subject to the Right to Know Law and have no intention of evading production of anything that is a public document. The agreement simply gives Northpoint or its prospective tenant the opportunity to determine if any requested information is, in fact, proprietary or otherwise not a public record and requires Northpoint to bear the costs of any litigation associated with such position.”

Clarke said the item was pulled from the agenda this week because the prospective tenant for NorthPoint Development’s site had not completed reviewing the nondisclosure agreement.

The land development process in Pennsylvania is open to Right to Know requests and public review, including at public meetings.

In the Bucks County Courier Times article, Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association staff attorney Melissa Melewsky raised concerns over a nondisclosure agreement between a private company and a government.

In private business, nondisclosure agreements are not uncommon, but they are not common in local government. Locally, Amazon has been known to use them as they explored development in Lower Bucks County.

NorthPoint Development, which acquired the U.S. Steel property at the end of 2020 for $160 million, has big plans for the site. The developer is working to transform the area into a major hub for e-commerce and logistics, potentially creating 5,000 to 10,000 jobs and adding up to 15 million square feet of new warehouse space, with a total projected investment of $1.5 billion.

As part of the development’s incentive package, the Bucks County Commissioners, Falls Township, and the Pennsbury School District agreed in 2020 to designate the site as a Keystone Opportunity Investment Zone from January 2021 through December 2035. The designation provides significant tax breaks to foster development.

Previous reporting on the project: