Newtown Planning Commission To Discuss Business Commons Zoning

NEWTOWN, PA — The Newtown Township Planning Commission will hold a meeting tomorrow, Oct. 5, at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be in-person at the Newtown Township Public Meeting Room.

The meeting will continue the review for the development of an Overlay Zone for the Newtown Business Commons. The zones are listed as LI (Light Industrial) and O-LI (Office-Light Industrial).

According to Newtown Supervisor John Mack's website, "Overlay Zoning is a regulatory tool that creates a special zoning district, placed over an existing base zone(s), which identifies special provisions in addition to those in the underlying base zone."

Supervisor Kyle Davis voiced opposition to the proposed development at a Board of Supervisors meeting on Sept 22., saying he thinks the zones can be amended rather than creating Overlay Zones. Tuesday's meeting will continue reviews and discussions related to the issue.

The Planning Commission holds these meetings twice a month to organize the schedules of all other commissions, boards, and councils the Township oversees. The Board of Supervisors does not participate in these meetings; the Planning Commission advises them after the meetings, and the Board makes decisions based off of this advising, according to Mack.

The meeting will also go over reports from various subcommittees and liaisons, including plans for the Board of Supervisors, the Newtown Area Regional Planning Commission, and the Joint Zoning Council.

Plans and reports from the Parks and Recreations Board, the Historic Architectural Review Board, the Environmental Advisory Council, and the Economic Development Committee will also be discussed in the meeting.

Plan expirations will be discussed so Commission members can make plans for new and further plans for the Township.

Further information and meeting schedules can be found at the Newtown Township website.