Falls Twp. Residents Raise Concerns Over Proposed Nuuly Development

A proposed nearly 1 million-square-foot facility for clothing rental service Nuuly has kicked off the first steps ahead of a land development submission.

The Falls Township Board of Supervisors voted on Monday evening to authorize required advertising for a zoning change for the land at 700 Penn Valley Road.

The land is owned by KPK Development and is a former sand quarry that consists of two parcels zoned for Farming and Mining and Heavy Industrial A. The applicant is seeking to consolidate the parcels into a Materials Processing and Manufacturing District to accommodate the project.

The request includes adjusting dimensional standards, including reducing the required 100-foot setback from Martin’s Creek to 50 feet and replacing the natural riparian buffer with concrete basins.

Authorizing the advertisement is a required procedural step to allow the Bucks County Planning Commission and the Falls Township Planning Commission to review the proposal, Township Solicitor Michael Clarke said.

“Their job is not to decide if it’s an appropriate use,” Supervisor Chairperson Jeff Dence said, adding the planning commission will determine if the request aligns with the township’s comprehensive plan and land development ordinances.

Dence added that supervisors have seen a sketch of the project but have not received formal construction plans. He added no official action will take place until township professionals and engineering firms complete their reviews.

Public meetings will be held where the plan is presented.

The project could move forward under its current zoning even if the supervisors deny the rezoning request, Clarke said.

“They can build this now,” Clarke explained, adding that first sketch plans present dimensional issues rather than land-use conflicts.

Nuuly, which is owned by Philadelphia’s Urban Outfitters, plans to construct a roughly 975,000-square-foot facility to house wet and dry cleaning operations, apparel storage, sorting, packing, and shipping, according to the Pennsylvania Office of Transformation and Opportunity.

The expansion is tied to a $150 million regional investment announced in June, which projects adding 600 jobs in Bucks County and 450 jobs at the company’s corporate headquarters at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

The company currently employs 1,300 people in Bucks County and operates a facility on Green Lane in Bristol Township.

At public comment, several residents raised concerns over the planned facility.

Resident Jennifer Metzger questioned whether local roads could handle increased traffic and expressed concern that the approval process was being rushed.

Dence countered that the process is not being rushed and is only just starting.

Addressing traffic concerns, Township Engineer Joseph Jones stated that PennDOT permitting would likely mandate roadway improvements.

“The project’s going to need PennDOT permits, and the PennDOT requirements are probably going to include widening,” Jones said. “It’s not going to be the Penn Valley Road that you’re used to.”

Township officials said they understand the operation plans to use smaller delivery vans rather than tractor-trailers to transport clothing for cleaning and repair.

Resident Wayne Bell warned of potential environmental risks and raised concerns over chemical plumes and endocrine-disrupting substances from dry cleaning operations.

Bell urged supervisors to redirect the facility to a brownfield site currently being developed for an Amazon Web Services Data Center

“There’s no reason to have a million square feet of facility of dry cleaning chemicals,” Bell said.

Resident Sarah Kirk questioned the benefits to the community and suggested alternative uses for the site.

“You can say no to rezoning it,” Kirk told the supervisors. “You guys have the ability.”

Dence responded that the development would generate jobs and local tax revenue, but Kirk and other attendees argued those goals could be met through projects carrying fewer environmental risks.

A man calling himself “Bucks County Spiderman” came up to speak, clad in the iconic costume.

“Bucks County Spiderman,” he identified himself to the supervisors.

“No, please state your real name,” the township’s solicitor quickly responded.

“Ben Reilly,” the Bristol Township man in costume said.

Reilly compared the project to the Amazon data center being constructed in the township, which he opposes. He added that officials in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, officials recently shot down a data center proposal.