Public Hearing Set On Lower Makefield Wegmans Plan

LOWER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA — Residents of Lower Makefield will get a chance to speak out on plans for a development on Stony Hill Road that would include a Wegmans grocery store.

A virtual public hearing has been set for 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 31 by township supervisors. The hearing was announced after supervisors met for more than six hours Tuesday, hearing from developers and opponents of the 32-acre, mixed-use development planned across from Shady Brook Farm.

Residents will be able to call in and comment during the meeting or submit a public comment in writing beforehand. For details on how to participate, as well as how to watch the hearing on cable TV, Facebook, YouTube and the township's website, click here.

Developers say Prickett Preserve at Edgewood would be a "live, work, play" community across from the farm, which is a popular destination for visitors.

Wegmans would be an anchor tenant, with additional plans for more retail space and upscale apartments. Plans would preserve an on-site historic house and barn that dates back to the 1700s. The plans include six additional retail buildings and nine residential buildings and a clubhouse.

Supervisors must first approve a general overlay plan. Then, a detailed development plan also would have to be approved.

Opponents of the plan worry it would dramatically increase traffic in an already crowded area, tax the township's utilities and harm Shady Brook Farm.

"On Aug. 31, we are all going to get on the phone again and wait on hold," read a post late Tuesday from the Citizens Aligned For Lower Makefield group on Facebook. "Asking our elected representatives on the board to not do this to us and to our community is the only thing we can do."