More Than 150 Turn Out to Oppose Trailer Park

Residents packed a meeting of the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors Wednesday to express their opposition to a proposal for a trailer park at the Newtown Swim Club site.

The plans for a 56-pad trailer park were not on the meeting agenda, however numerous residents used the first public comment session as an opportunity to express their distain for the proposal.

In response to the residents' concerns, the board voted 4-1 to direct Township Solicitor Jeffrey Garton to approach County Builders and request it resubmit plans for a townhome community on that site.

Swim Club owner David Platt is working with County Builders to create a residential development on the 16-acre property on Newtown-Yardley Road once the club closes after this summer.

The application for a mobile home park was submitted in December after the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors voted to send its solicitor to the Zoning Hearing Board to defend the township's zoning regulations with regards to County Builders' 52-townhome proposal.

The townhome proposal required a variance because it exceeded the housing density permitted in that zoning district.

Board member Rob Ciervo was the lone vote against approaching the builder. Ciervo called the applicant's tactics "childish behavior" and said County Builders is trying to bully its way into getting the variance it wants.

"I think this is exactly where this builder wanted to be. He wanted to be in a room with a lot of angry people who would all the sudden support his (townhome) plan," Ciervo said.

Check back to Patch for full coverage of Wednesday's meeting.