Doylestown Planners To Review Affordable Housing Ordinance Change

DOYLESTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — A proposal to add an affordable housing use to the township’s light industrial zone is headed back to the planning commission for a second review.

At its last meeting, the board of supervisors tabled action on the change, referring the proposal back to the planners after several supervisors and neighboring Doylestown Borough raised concern with the proposed change.

Arcadia Development and Pennrose Bricks and Mortar are asking the township to consider the change, which would allow them to develop 280 North Broad Street with an affordable age restricted 60 unit residential building that would be marketed to veterans.

The proposal is the latest by Arcadia to develop the property, said attorney Kelly McGowan. Original plans put forward three years ago by the developer called for 220 luxury apartment units at the site, which sits on the border between the township and the borough.

"We ended up going through three different proposals over the past three years in response to continued reactions to residential development proposals from the township like 'it's too dense,' 'there's too much impact,' and 'it's not satisfying community needs.' We already have enough luxury housing."

Through a series of meetings with the township McGowan said their attention turned toward developing the township portion of the site with affordable, residential housing marketed toward seniors in a market where the medium price for a home is around $730,000.

"What this proposed ordinance does is it provides a use in the LI zoning district, which is in an incredibly suitable, walkable location to amenities that will specifically serve a senior population," said McGowan. "The walk score for this property is an 82 out of 100. Within that area we have the senior center, we have retail. We have amenities that are all within walking distance. There's no impact on the underlying LI zoning district. This isn't anything other than an optional use to add to what is currently provided for your limited industrial district."

After listening to the plans, Supervisor Ryan Manion voiced support for the change and its particular focus on veterans housing.

“This is an important step that we would be taking as a township dating back to the township's comprehensive plan and an aging community," she said. "We sit up here and talk about supporting our veterans. What I love about this from a planning perspective is that we’ve seen this in Bensalem. It’s been successful there.”

Supervisor Jennifer Herring said while she is "incredibly sensitive to the fact that we need workforce housing and affordable senior housing and that this type of project is desperately needed in the township,” she raised concern about changing the township ordinance for the LI district as a whole.

“We have other LI districts in the township and to change the ordinance to allow this type of development would allow for this type of building in other LI zones," she said. "I don’t know if that would be appropriate in all of them. Doing a blanket change in the zoning ordinance might be a little much.”

Herring joined supervisors Dan Wood and Nancy Santacecilia in tabling action and directing the planning commission to “take a deeper dive into it” at its December 18 meeting.

“I also value our relationship with Doylestown Borough and we need to make sure we have their input as well," said Herring, noting that the traffic generated by the new development would be accessing the site using borough streets. "We need to have at least some discussion with them as well.”

McGowan responded, “There's a reason why it’s so difficult to do these affordable housing projects ... They are never in the right place. That’s what we keep hearing," she said. "We are presenting a highly suitable location for this type of density, for this type of use. We believe this is an important project for Doylestown Township," she said.

Herring agreed there's a need for affordable housing in the township. "I agree that the project is something that we're looking for. We are definitely supportive of our veterans. I just want to give the planning commission a little more time to iron out all the details."

Board chair Barbara Lyons said those details appear to be de minimis and items that can be ironed out. "I don't think this affects our decision to add this use to this district," she said.

"I understand there are land development issues. I understand our neighbors in Doylestown Borough have concerns, but all of those concerns will go through the land development process," said Lyons. "If we are committed to affordable housing and this is a likely area to have that happen, then I think that's what we should be doing. The grand scheme is we all want to have it, but where? This is a great place to have it."

Several representatives from Doylestown Borough were in attendance at the meeting, including manager John Davis and attorney Andrew Griffin who supported the motion to table.

Griffin asked the township to give the borough, along with its staff and experts, "the opportunity to look into whether this is the most feasible location for this type of development, not just the specific LI district but also this site. It's not as simple as minor adjustments," he said. "There are a lot of issues with the ordinance. It's not just changing the LI district uses, it's substantively changing the dimensional standards of the LI district."

"We struggle like you do with the issue of affordable housing, with senior housing and the veterans component is an important one here that adds even more to it," said Davis. "In the past we've always been able to work through issues with a mutually beneficial process to allow both communities and their residents to participate in a meaningful way. What we're asking tonight is to apply that same process to this development because it has so many implications.

"We have a lot of serious specific concerns about this," said Davis. "We have met many times on a staff level with the applicant and we've expressed our concerns and we've been unable to overcome those concerns ... Because the applicant has chosen to move forward on a township-only basis, we have not had the opportunity to participate in a meaningful way."

After the meeting, Jason Duckworth of Arcadia said affluent areas of Bucks County, like Doylestown, have simply not provided the zoning for affordable housing.

"The township should be commended for considering zoning for a senior affordable housing use, especially in a location as amenitized and walkable as the LI District in the Broad Street corridor," he said.

"In the last 30 years, Doylestown Borough has approved more than 450 luxury market-rate homes in this area including the 233 luxury apartments at 333 North Broad Street, located directly across the street from our site," Duckworth continued. "We believe this same area can also accommodate 60 low-income senior households who cannot afford luxury prices."