New Daycare, Preschool Projects Moving Forward In Newtown Township

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — The preschool and daycare business is booming in Newtown Township.

At its March meeting, the township's planning commission reviewed a zoning board application for the expansion of an existing preschool in the Newtown Business Commons. They also considered a conditional use application for the construction of a new 10,000-square-foot daycare center on Durham Road.

Discovery Preschool on Blacksmith Road will be seeking zoning relief from the township in April that will allow it to expand its operations into the building’s 2800-square-foot basement, the addition of an elevator, and expansion of its outdoor play area. It will be asking for zoning relief for parking and the expansion of an outdoor play area into a side yard setback.

Land development attorney Ed Murphy called the parking request “inconsequential” given that only the employees working at the school would be using the parking lot. The school is asking for a variance for 71 spaces where 81 are required. "Other than the employees there is no parking. There are 71 spaces and the school has 31 employees," said Murphy.

With the expansion, the center will be adding between 30 and 40 new children to its facility bringing its total to 170. It will also be hiring about 10 to 15 new employees.

“We have a pretty big wait list,” said owner-operator Amanda Sinkler. “We’re trying to make it work for parents who want to go back to work,” she said.

In a separate application, the planners reviewed details of a conditional use application from County Builders to construct a 10,000-square-foot daycare center and a 6,600-square-foot medical/general office on a slightly less than five-acre parcel just north of the township building on Durham Road.

The two free-standing buildings, which are by right uses in the professional services zoning district, would sit 100 feet off the road with parking located behind the buildings.

The proposed daycare center would house 120 children and 20 employees. It would also include a 5,000-square-foot outdoor play area adjacent to the building.

Representatives from County Builders told the planners that they have two potential daycare operators interested in the building.

During public comment, a resident from Delancey Court, located across Route 413 from the site of the proposed daycare center, voiced opposition to the project, preferring instead to see residential housing at the site.

"In the 10 years that I've lived here, I've seen a marked increase in traffic. This, to me, will only increase that traffic," he said.

Planning Commission chair Peggy Driscoll responded, "The traffic increases will be in the morning and in the afternoon for the daycare and they don't have a tenant yet for the medical offices. It's a permitted use there," she noted.

The plan next goes to the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors for consideration at its April 10th meeting.