New Trailer Parks Would Need More Acreage Under Proposed Ordinance

The fate of the proposed trailer park in Newtown Township is unknown but officials want to eliminate the threat of a similar proposal in the future.

The Newtown Township Planning Commission on Tuesday will discuss an ordinance that would change the required acreage for a mobile home park from 15 to 25 acres.

However, if such an ordinance were to pass, it wouldn’t have an impact on the current proposal for a trailer park at the Newtown Swim Club. “Any changes to the zoning don't affect submitted plans,” township Board of Supervisors Chairman Mike Gallagher told Patch.

The motivation behind the proposed ordinance “is to not have to face the threat of a mobile home park again,” Gallagher said.

County Builders has submitted an application for a 56-pad trailer park on the Newtown Swim Club site.  Newtown Swim Club owner David Platt is working with the builder to create a residential development on the 16-acre property on Newtown-Yardley Road once it closes after this summer.

Any parcel in the township’s R2 district is zoned for a mobile home park, Gallagher noted, adding “most of that is already developed.”

Tuesday's meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at the township Administration Building.

A conditional use application for Smoothie King is also on the agenda.

Click here to view the full agenda.

Editor's Note: The headline of an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated new trailer parks would be smaller.