What can be done?

So row home people...I'm sorry I mean townhouse/condo people are against mobile home people...interesting...oh wait that's because the townhouse people basically bent over when they bought a Toll house (which makes crappy quality homes) at insane prices. 3 home designs with their base prices at $682,995, $771,995, $1,178,000 plus probably association fees and rules on what color you can paint things or style mailbox....all just to be attached to somebody else who would could burn your house down any day. I guess when you over pay for a attached home instead of just buying a nicer house with land and privacy you can be picky who your neighbors are in the next neighborhood over.

Ahhhh....things must be getting better in Newtown! A sure sign of healing is the return of douche-baggery! Fight to keep out the riff-raff, Newtown!

I happen to like the idea. We need more affordable housing options! There's a mobile home park (?village?) in Doylestown and isn't there an over 55 mobile home park on 413 - across from the Buckingham Valley fish store? Mobile homes are just mobile homes. It is silly to pile on assumptions as to what kind of people live there. All kinds of people live in all kinds of homes.

This town needs diversity! Go mobile homes!

Just because its newtown?! Come on people!!!! Get a grip they are going to be beautiful manufactured homes. Not EVERYONE CAN BUY A MANSION N DRIVE A BMW. im so glad i moved out of newtown. Its beautiful but its the people that bring it down with being soo stuck up, stop being so materialistic!!!

Newtown...spelled N I M B Y.

Had to laugh out loud at billyhirsh's statement above, "This town needs more diversity..." Remember the brouhaha that commenced when Giant was going to take over the Genuardi's site? Folks were getting all up in arms demanding "supermarket diversity" because God knows we don't have enough places to shop for groceries in the area. That seems to be the *only* kind of diversity that is acceptable to some residents! Do we really need more overpriced row homes (call them whatever you want) or McMansions in this area? Some real housing diversity would be a refreshing change. Before decrying the addition of a "trailer park," why not make an effort to understand the plan before making assumptions based on outdated perceptions?

Oh dear! I thought Newtown truuuly was "a nice place to live, shop and worship" so says the entrance signs. I guess, that is, unless your from the "wrong side-of-the-tracks." What snobbery. Shouldn't everyone from everywhere, from every income level be welcome to live, shop, and worship?

I am fairly confident in saying that any opposition to this project is not about people or stereotyping but about protecting assets & investments and ensuring that wherever there is new build, whether that be at the Swim Club site, the old Acme site, or otherwise, is built in a way that helps Newtown grow as a community. All communities evolve. I think the people who are bonding together with similar opinions to share their voice to the Boad of Supervisors is a good thing. It shows that there is interest in wanting to be a part of the evolution and creating opportunity. It is not snobbery at all in my opinion

Allowing the townhouses in lieu of the modular homes should not even be debated. it's a "no brainer". The Platts only submitted the modular home plan when the supervisors decided to protest the logical townhouse plan. The Platts are not practicing" douch-baggery". They are fine citizens who have dedicated their adult lives to providing summer recreation to the area and have hired and trained the area youth in their first jobs. Their personal situation has changed dramatically. Try putting yourselves in their place with large mortgages on the property, and a life changing health issue to deal with. The entire section of Newtown Yardley Road is townhouses and office buildings. Is a small variance that has no negative traffic implications really a problem? And, if it is, then they have the right under the existing zoning to build the modular home park. Hopefully, logic will prevail over lack of logic. We would encourage all Newtown Township residents with any logic to turn out at the next meeting to share their views. Tom and Ann Yaegel

The Platts should have paid for fireworks like Worthington did at the NAC then they could get whatever plans they wanted passed by the BOS. You want to play in Newtown township you got to pay!!!

Next will be Waffle House then a Winn Dixie and Circle-k. What will Thurston and Lovie do...

Looking forward to more check cashing locations, pawn shops, and juke joints. Lots of empty storefronts in town lately.

Yes. And we will fill those empty stores with good planning.

I say it is a bluff! This is just sour grapes and his attempt to scare Newtown Township board into ok'ing his over sized townhouse plans. He can not make the profits on Mobile home park that he can make on townhouses, it is bluster!

To "K"... Pinch yourself and wake up to the real world! You're in a dream if you really think Newtown works that way. Or, any place for that matter.

We need diversity! The pink flamingo lawn ornament, propane tanks, year-round christmas lights. and the '73 F150 (on cinder blocks) will add great cultural details to the community!

Stating the facts - you are a snob. Glad we live in Jamison and not Newtown. There is a Mobile home park in Doylestown and there are no pink flamingos or F150's up on cinder blocks. There is also a mobile home park in Buckingham. I suggest you get down off your high horse.

If in fact that was Jim Worthington who commented above, it is important to note that he just called the residents of Newtown hypocrites. The very same residents who have made him rich all of these years. Somehow I doubt that he would actually be that stupid. But, you never know...

JWorthington, no one is opposed to the building of town homes on a road with other town homes. In fact it is welcomed by a large percentage of the local neighborhoods. As far as NIMBY is concerned, when people have invested their savings in homes and love the character of the town they want to be in that is where the emotional argument arises. I know not everyone can afford an expensive house and my family grew up in several which would make a slum lord blush. I am for affordable housing for hard working people whom are trying to get a start in life. Certain communities should set aside town homes or condos which would allow someone to get in at a lower level. However placing 50-60 trailers in an area where people are welcomed to town will crush the values of the very investments people have made over the last 30 years of their life. I say let the builder have his town homes case closed.

Track the owners on parcel (#29010053). Hmmm, "Newtown Racquet"

Thank God I live in Wrightstown!!!

The real question will be whether this will be an ownership or a rental community. I'm not sure the zoning code distinguishes between the two. The most productive use of the parcel, given current zoning, might well be rental with the potential for section 8 subsidies under the HUD regulations. There are very stringent regulations and laws in place to protect mobile home residents, whether rented or owned. I just hope that we don't go the route of another age restricted community. I suspect the opponents would prefer the over-55 crowd since there would be minimal threat of what they might characterize as the threat that teens could present to them. A lot of this is really going to be interesting to watch as opponents use carefully veiled terms to avoid the appearance of blatant racism.

I'd be worried about the tornadoes those places attract, and what that will do to surrounding properties. Everyone knows trailer parks attract tornadoes!

Every community should permit some moderate income housing so young families can get a start in a great town with great schools, and build their lives there. It is in our self-interest to plan that way. Whether this is the best location for modular housing on wheels (modern "trailer parks" are not the same as in the past. See Buckingham's park on Rt. 413) is a reasonable debate. However, the zoning allows for it, and the overall zoning plan was the subject of long review. The fact that other developments have come along since the zoning was put in place may suggest a need to change the zoning going forward, but cannot be changed to stop this plan.
If the developer really wants to do this, despite the questionable financials, he can.
Looking at that area of the township, it is not totally out of character. Look at TD Bank, Newtown Rentals, Joey G's, and the office buildings across the road. They are all commercial. A modern modular neighborhood there is not without some logic. Existing owners are naturally uncomfortable with this. Still, the zoning has been this way for a long time, and anyone buying in the area could have known this was a possibility, especially in light of the Brandywine controversy of 7 years ago.
Let's all take a breath, and look at the actual plans. They are not likely to be as unpleasant as our fears.
The developer seems willing to cut off his nose to spite his face. It is doubtful he believes Newtown will allow this to happen.

I just spoke with Jim Worthington and the user by the name of JWorthington is NOT him

In the sake of transparency, I'd like everyone to know the user JWorthington has been deleted and his comments removed because he/she violated our terms of use (http://newtown-pa.patch.com/terms), which state it is not permissible to create user names pretending to be someone you're not.

For those of you who live outside of newtown & have made comments like "thank god I don't live in Newtown" ... The feeling is mutual. Mind your own business. Quite frankly, unless you are contributing to property taxes in Newtown, no one cares what you think anyway! You are not relevant.

Urbanfan.... Go back to Jamison and shut the hell up. If you had the facts, which you clearly don't, you would no that platts plans are nothing like the homes in Buckingham. You are comparing apples to oranges, however, that's what I would expect from a low information commentor like yourself.

well I did some research and the account was not created by someone with the last name Worthington.

Well let's put it in these terms. Fact: "Newtown Racquet" bought (in the 1980's) & owned the dilapidated house in front of Newtown Swim Club until 2007 . (Where the vulture was perched atop the other day.) Fact: In the 1980's, the Platt family sought a land development to expand, thus allowing for the expansion of the recreational use. Fact: They sought to enlarge the swimming facility and add an executive 9-hole golf course with driving range. Fact: PennDOT required an improved entrance to [then] Rt.332. Fact: The improvements would have preserved OPEN space. Fact: NAC (AKA/Newtown Racquet) opens its new field house expansion Jan '13 with the Water Park, bar & cafe to follow this summer. Fact: Now, the Twp. risks high density housing; be it trailers or rowhomes. Hmmm, it seams the vulture comes back to roost. Connect the dots; you'll see the big picture.

Kara - thank you for clearing up the identity regarding the comment made by "JWorthington". It is frustrating and unfair when an identity can be misrepresented in this way and we know that Patch is very responsible about managing comments that are unfair, inappropriate or just plain misrepresentation. The overall subject of this article is bound to elicit a wide variety of opinions and the reading public is entitled to all of them. Unfortunately some comments go beyond stating opinions and venture into name calling and mean spirited statements of things that may have no basis in truth at all and are unrelated to the topic.

Linda Mitchell - Dir of Marketing and PR NAC

The user was deleted because he or she was pretending to be someone that he's not. Simple as that. And there is no NAC sponsorship of Patch. I handled the situation as I would for any person or business.

How does being rude, disrepectful and irrelevant contribute to this discussion?

I have had enough of these malicious, conniving comments. To JohnMcCriminalthe3rd: Stop it. Is this your legacy? To speak about your family this way? All families have issues but airing the dirty laundry out in public is usually not the best way to work through your problems. Give it a rest and move on. To JohnnyMcDouchebag: , you're the same person as JohnMcCriminal. What's up with that? Dude, get a therapist or better yet, your Daddy. I'm interested in learning the opinions of people who live in my community about this issue. I am not at all interested in your doublespeak about your family issues. It's creepy. Stop it.

The Platt's should have had Jim Worthington apply for the variance. It would have been a done deal.

Everyone should watch the supervisors meeting where the plans were discussed Nov. 28. See link below starting at 32:35 minutes.
http://newtownpa.swagit.com/play/12052012-678

Well this took a turn.......

let it happen. and bring them in.... my family and i moved out of newtown because of the fact that it is too stuck up. maybe if there was a different change of scenery people would start to value what they have instead of spending every last dollar on bmws and handing it off to their kids so that they can buy drugs.. nc 65 % of newtowns childrens are now drug addicts, so i think bring in the trailer park so people will consider their own lives more instead of getting into everyone else's buisness i know half of this made no sence but just need to vent about how everyone in that area are the most rude people ever.

good day