A decision on six new houses in Lower Makefield was pushed back at the Wednesday board of supervisors meeting.
Citing concerns with possible stormwater management implications related to a dam and two ponds on the site at Newtown-Yardley and Creamery roads and Buck Creek Drive, the supervisors voted unanimously to table a vote on final major subdivision approval for the project to no later than Sept. 30, with a decision likely coming at the Sept. 20 meeting.
John VanLuvanee, the local attorney representing the applicant, agreed to the extension of time to vote on the project though he expressed great frustration at what happened Wednesday, saying the subdivision had already received preliminary approval and had been under review by various agencies for a year and a half.
The Wednesday meeting was the first time the dam had been brought up as an issue and the applicant has complied with all stormwater management requirements, VanLuvanee said. Board members and township Solicitor David Truelove responded that Wednesday was the first they had become aware of a dam at the site.
"I don't see the basis for denying this," VanLuvanee protested. "This feels like an ambush. The dam is under the jurisdiction of the DEP (Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection) and whatever the DEP has asked my client to do, he has done."
With the recent flooding that caused severe damage to the Maplevale and Meadow Drive neighborhoods in Lower Makefield and led to seven deaths in neighboring Upper Makefield, the Lower Makefield supervisors said they needed to make sure everything possible was being done on every project to properly control water runoff.
Board members told VanLuvanee they need to see whatever documentation he and his client can produce in regard to DEP inspections of the dam and other information.
"The dam is a huge concern because we don't have any information around it," Supervisor Daniel Grenier said.
The project involves demolishing two existing houses and putting up two new dwellings in their place, constructing four other new houses and preserving an old stone farmhouse, township Community Development Director Jim Majewski said.
In other news from Wednesday’s meeting, Lower Makefield Manager David Kratzer announced that a zoning hearing board meeting on a proposed 150-foot-high cell phone tower at the Beth El Synagogue on Stony Hill Road has been pushed back until a meeting in early October.
The supervisors also approved a change in the township zoning ordinance related to open space requirements. It will require all new residential developments of 10 acres or more to set aside at least 25% of the total land area and designate it as open space. Board members also voted to authorize soliciting bids on the township's fall 2023 tree planting program.
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