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Residential Explosion in ABINGTON
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THROUGHOUT THE TOWNSHIP (see Circles on
THIS map )
THEY PLAN TO REMOVE YOUR RIGHTS
AND GIFT THEM TO DEVELOPER, CORPORATE, COMMERCIAL AND MULTI-FAMILY INTERESTS
Can
you tell if your house is inside one of the BLUE circles on the map above
If IT IS, WHETHER DOTTED OR SOLID, the "vision" for your street is denser development
Most people can't find their home, but we can't get them to
overlay this map on one where
YOU can
So, We tried to point out the major areas (see YELLOW map below with arrows numbered )
They FINALLY put it on a zoning map - but I can't find the "interactive "
version - so it's only a tiny bit better than the original map
MOST ALL the various SHADES OF RED ( our commercial areas)
are in solid BLUE circles - WHERE multiple story residential
buildings
would now be allowed
(WITH more commercial, TOO) right on THEIR parking lots
(SO: THE HUNTINGDON VALLEY SHOPPING CENTER,
THE FOXCROFT SHOPPING CENTER AND the entire WILLOW GROVE BUSINESS DISTRICT which
includes THE mall and all the other commercial there
)
THE r2-r4 hOUSING AROUND THEM, IF IN the solid blue CIRCLE,
too, WILL allow
DENSER,
multi-family units, like triplexes,
duplexes, twins or possibly townhouses. NO MORE JUST SINGLE FAMILY IF YOU
ARE solid ( or Dotted) Blue CIRCLED.
Residential R-2 TO R4 IN dotted blue line circles are not just
denser housing but more intense uses, thAt could include commercial uses, too.
The dotted circles may increase in number as tHey also add them around bus
stations. aND CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN WHY R1 PROPERTIES GET SPECIAL TREATMENT?
thIS IS BEING DONE WITHOUT ANY DISCUSSIONS ABOUT Traffic, crime, overburdened services
like library & parks, CROWDED CLASSROOMS WITH
Students THAT COST $21K each, parking GARAGES, STORMWATER SLOW RELEASE TO
ALREADY OVERBURDENED STREAMS, AND SO MUCH MORE ...
MISSING PERSON REPORT :
NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW THE NAME OF THE PERSON WHO DECIDED SO MUCH DENSITY WAS A GOOD IDEA
Ok - I think I do.....
Almost no one works with the
Township map every day like I do - so few can even find themselves on this map
- and the Twonship refuses to put it on an interactive
map . Hopefully these numbers will help you find the circle you may be in
where is your house on the map above ?
1) Willow Grove Mall & BUSINESS DISTRICT AREA
2)
WILLOW GROVE TRAIN AREA 3) CRESTMONT TRAIN AREA
4) tARGET -LONDON TOWN
CENTER AREA 5) Approx FROM TARGET TO CHOP AREA 6A)
RYDAL TRAIN AREA 6b) BETHAYRES TRAIN AREA 7) bAEDERWOOD
SHOPPING CENTER 8) NOBLE TRAIN 9) HUNTINGDON VALLEY
SHOPPING CENTER 10) McKinley area 11) Foxcroft, fox pavillion -York Rd & Township Line
12) Jenkintown -Wyncote Train 13) Mt. Carmel & easton
Glenside 14) glenside train 15) glenside Commercial
district around N.Hills station 16) North Hills station
17) commercial area near ardsley station 18) ardsley station 19) no
number -just above #18 ( sorry) Glenside weldon school &
keswick 20) Roslyn Train 21) area around roslyn train
22) Roslyn Woodland to Hamilton 23) Willow Grove from Hamilton to
the mall 24) between crestmont station and the mall
R= 1/4 mi (GREY
CIRCLES shown are 1/2 mi - so 1/2 the size of these
) will allow multi-unit residential(R2, r3 & R4):
out of the blue they removed r1 one day. ask them why. THE vISION is
to have denser multi-unit Residential: Duplexes, Triplexes, TWINS & more
i/4 mi around the commercial centers....removing single family home zones in the
process.
______________________________________________
T= 1/2 Mi DOTTED BLUE CIRCLES : Transit Oriented districts - THE VISION IS
FOR VERY DENSE DEVELOPMENT INCLUDING both RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL &
BUILDings ON THE PARKING LOTS of shopping centers ....
BUS STATION circles MAY ALSO BE ADDED.
_______________________________________________
TRANSITIONS ZONES ARE INTENDED, too, but WE DON'T KNOW WHERE YET ....That's
where if residential is next to Commercial - they'll turn the residential into
light commercial claiming the two incompatible uses need a buffer. Quite
absurd - the residences one more row back will now be affected
all of the areas named are approximate - and i did them
only because the township refuses to
put this on an interactive map like a gis map so you
can find your property and see if it is in one of the circles and
understand what they are doing. despite all the tools, equipment and
manpower we give them, most of which they are using to help developers.
this entire comprehensive plan is aimed at passing measures that help developers
remove your rights to protest and for you , not developers in cahoots with
all too willing commissioners determine how your township is developed. It is
being facilitated & accomplished by COMMISSIONER
THOMPSON AND YOUR OWN COMMISSIONER simultaneously removing the tools you need to understand
what is being proposed. tools you paid for them to have, to work in your
interest.
put your address in the search box on THIS GIS zoning Map - then go
back to the land use map to try and guess IF it is in A circle ....
because you are not worth the money it would take to provide you with a proper
map - despite the 40% tax hike over just a couple years
https://abingtonpa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/interactivelegend/index.html?appid=599f14516a1d40cbaa809e0d678a9a63
or ask your Commissioners - one and all, to place the circles on that GIS map
!!!!
Find emails here for Commissioners and manager
https://abingtoncitizens.com/TwpGovt/Commissioners.htm
to leave comments on the plan for the committee, they have
provideD an email at
vision2035@abingtonpa.gov
I can't imagine how anyone could leave a
cogent comment when they have not been provided a single
summary of the kinds of things you see on this page . can you imagine not
knowing this and commenting
Background
The current Manager, Richard Manfredi, and the current Board of
Commissioners, led by Tom Hecker, Board President and Matt Vahey, Board VP
are leading the charge to transform Abington Township in ways that
they KNOW the people that they serve are not in agreement with. The Comprehensive Plan Team began in early 2020
and has been busy as a beaver creating draft chapters of
a "vision"
that they want to speed through to a finish. Future
zoning for decades will be based on this - and it's clear they
have developers who'd like to get
underway soon. On April 19, 2022 they zoomed ahead to the
"Implementation" Chapter while still withholding
controversial chapters - such as infrastructure ( chaper 8 ) and
Future Land Use - the most controversial Chapter 13. There
is no sign of Chapter 12- or 14 either. Slipshod, haphazard
work designed to speed it to a finish rather than to carefully
craft something so impactful.
They KNOW 90 % of Abington is clueless about what they are doing -
and they also know 90% do not want this density. The
rate at which the density could increase could be phenominal
- and it is not clear that they could control the rate of
development once they begin. They are doing it
in a dozen most un-transparent and
(we think) very irresponsible ways. Many of our single family
neighborhoods will become multi-family without the knowledge or
permission of those who live there. These folks likely asked what the zoning was when they bought
their homes and that was likely a factor in many of their
purchases. They are not likely to be very happy when they
see commercial uses
or triplexes begin to be added to their block ( or next door).
It is irresponsible also because they are creating
this "vision" where they will have very
little ability to determine how many units will be built, or over
what period of time that will happen, and they have not shown a
single, solitary financial analysis or loss/ benefit impact
report. In fact, many of us think there is very little benefit
and a great deal of downside risk financially, before you even
account for quality of life issues. Take just
the number of students at an approximate cost of $21K
per student. PREIT recently tried to use $13K as their number -
and the Economic Development Committee, (with the school Business
Director on it) , didn't loudly protest and withhold their votes
because the information was incorrect. There were a dozen
problems with the report - but they approved it anyway ( with a " so
whatcha gonna do about it?" attitude ) They suggested only 14 students would come from
the 365 units
...... and there were other absurdities that a 5th grader would have known were
not right.
And of course, perhaps more important than even finances might be an
assessment of the quality of life issues that these drastic changes will
promulgate.
HOW IS IT BEING DONE - the "vision"
Make
no mistake, the Comprehensive Plan is just the "vision".
Phase 1. They are
not REZONING in this stage ...... but it
will be used as the foundation for approvals of text and map
amendments in the next stage where the rezoning WILL occur. So, in essence, now is your only time to protest
and get the "vision" for your Township correct - so the later
zoning requests will be based on a correct vision.
When the applicants come to rezone , they'll be told "
You want a triplex there ? Yes, that's just what our expert
Comprehensive Plan Team said was best and the public was involved
in approving that Plan! Hurray! Your triplex is
approved. You meet our vision. All in favor: AYE ".
People are asking their Commissioners "Is it true
that you are re-zoning us ?" And because this is just the vision
phase right now, the Commissioners are telling them it's not true-
they are being lied to. Every project will have to come before the
Board just like it always did. And, of course it
is technically true that they will come before the Board and
the Planning CXommission , etc - but the question is whether
they will come with the backing of the Comprehensive
Plan vision.
The Comprehensive Plan could pass as soon as late summer or
fall of 2022 - but they are trying to wrap up the language in it
by April 2022. After that it will take an act of
Conngress to change things . And remember even though
there are 58K or 59K of us - it only takes 8 Commissioners to
approve a text amendment . You'll have to have some pretty incredible reasons to
get a project that is in our "vision" turned down.
RIGHT NOW is when your voice is supposed to be
included. They will say it was a public process - we had
fully public and transparent meetings . But did they? When no one
knew? Literally, nearly no residents have been in attendance
because such a tiny fraction of our residents understand what is
being done.
WHY HAVEN'T WE HEARD OF THIS ? Can't they afford to notify us
?
So many, many who are affected
who would want to have input but are missing from this process
missing because
they weren't told this was happening. They are supposed to
have input at each meeting - but even the speaking
opportunities have been turned upside down - and the very few that
do know about it aren't able to speak at a meeting until the very end, when they
are done deciding everything. Our questions they are rarely answered.
They refuse to put it on a GIS map,
or on the TV, or to put proper details in their newsletters, or do
a direct mailing, or hold an informational meeting with OPEN
comments where ANSWERS are provided, or post a page where we
can question or comment and see each other's comments.
In addition, they just took in an extra $20M in Covid
funds ( American Rescue Plan Act or ARPA funds ) and despite that,
raised your RE taxes what was just recalculated from 22% to be
27% (about $3-4 Million on top of the $19 million - after they knew
about it.). Just two years earlier we had what we thought was an
insane 10% increase. The highest ever in my 45 years here --No one
could have imagined what was to come. But despite that , say they
can't afford to mail this info to all 23, 000 homes - They just
took in $23 million and can't afford 20-40 cents for your
benefit.
We bought them all that new staff and all those fancy tools....
They are using them in ways we don't approve .......for the
benefit of developers actually.. yet they can't afford to spend a
stamp in a way we would approve before MORE meetings are missed
. Ward 6 Commissioner Michael Thompson, heading this outrage
is the one who said it is cost
prohibitive. He could put up a dialogue page but
won't. He could overlay it on a proper map
but he won't...... Why there are no open mic meetings? Why is no
proper detailed announcement and the Land Use map on our TV
scrolling - why aren't the Comp Plan meetings being filmed and
aired? It belongs on the TV . Why don't the Comr
newletters have the real details? Why can't we send in
questions and have the answers posted? Comr Thompson
said at the Comp Plan Meeting 2-15-22 that essentially you don't warrant a bulk mail stamp .
He can't spend $.25 to $.40 on you. What
so you think about that? Comr Thompson or his firm have
personally profited from work they just seem to keep getting in
the Township since he became Commissioner - some paid directly from your taxes
ie : for work on the Township building.... and he has 10's
of millions of dollars at his disposal to operate in the interests
of your health, safety and welfare.
LET'S SPEAK UP ABOUT THIS ... OOPS... Where
could we do that? our speaking rights are being removed- we
literally are being given 3 minutes of open comment per month
and there are 23 pages of rules to understand it all !
Manager Manfredi, with the love, affection
and the undying support of the Board, has changed your speaking
rights 4 ( yes FOUR) times in the slightly more than 4 years he has been
here -- removing more of them each time. He and the
Commissioners simultaneously began raising
our Real Estate tax millage dramatically ( between 30 and 40 % increase
levied in just a couple of years ) just as the "overdevelopment plan" was
beginning to take shape - just they began wiorking with PREIT
behind hte scenes to co-write the first
big TOD project at the Willow Grove Mall
....
I am concerned about the continued
role of our former Board VP Steve Kline in any
leadership position in Abington. I am concerned about his
involvement in the many zoning matters that will come forward
after the Comprehensive Plan is released. We learned, as many
of you already know, from
several sources, including most recently from direct testimony at
the February 8, 2022 Whistleblower Lawsuit Arbitration
hearing, that Mr Kline could have been charged due to his
involvement at the Colonade. It was left to our former Manager's
discretion who could have chosen that option. He chose,
instead that, Kline and Solicitor Michael Clarke were to step down and leave
their positions . But they just did not
go..... . Does THAT sound like someone you would elevate to
a Zoning Hearing Board position - or keep on as Solicitor? I think we all should be
concerned at who made that decision. Comr Jessica Carswell says
she was appointed by Comr John Spiegelman to head a Committee to
do it - but the Committee did not operate transparently. Even some
Commissioners said they did not know of their meetings. And, only
one final candidate, Steve Kline, was presented to the
Board, although other qualified candidates had applied and were
interviewed and should have been able to be nominated at an open
meeting. Was crucial information
withheld from the whole Board in order to present one
candidate only or was it done this way so the public could
not see who voted for Kline over other qualified candidates ?
Kline has continued operating as Chair of the Montco
Planning Commission, even after the County Board learned of
the circumstances of his past doings from documents provided
to them...... He was not removed. Montco documentation in
late 2021 - shows Steve Kline continuing this push for Transit
Oriented dense development -- acknowledging that his earlier
eandeavors in those areas didn't work out so well and
acknowledging they are collecting data on it still. Kline began many years ago
promising that HIS control of the development of the Fairway
Transit District would avoid lawsuits and things would be developed more in our
interests. We didn't all agree with that. Many of us
wanted the Township to fight the lawsuit agaist the developer. And now we
see that just
the opposite result of what Kline promised was achieved . We didn't avoid lawsuits at all. There
were myriad lawsuits. And the development is as dense as can
be .In one case there are 246 units where 8 should have been - or
fewer because of the steep slope. We just gave the farm away first... and
then had the lawsuits, anyway.
Even though Kline
himself acknowleded that did not go as planned -- we continue
the TOD practice under virtually the same promise - that WE are
controlling the developpment. And now we "envision" them in
our Comprehensive Plan around every train station but one. I, personally,
found Kline's recent
Jan 2022 appointment to the Zoning Hearing Board to be a
very concerning condition, while at the same time -- and right in
time for all of this new anticipated zoning, Manager Manfredi
appointed a person nearly new to the Township just there a few
years - and with
ZERO zoning & code experience --- to be (are you ready for this ) the
DIRECTOR of nearly all Zoning & Land
Development matters. A crucial time to have no experience in all
htat she is DIRECTOR
of : code
enforcement, building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical,
accessibility, energy codes, permits, the property maintenance
code, and the zoning ordinance. Every one of those things
has pages and pages of complicated and crucially important
laws, codes and regulations that MUST be followed for the
SAFETY of our residents and that require YEARS of experience to
master. So I believe it is unlikely there will be any oversight over third
parties or others who will have to be hired to do the actual
work - or over anyone with a reputation for bullying that has
far more knowledge than the "bullee". I am deeply concerned about this string
of events including that Code, a voluminous and extremely important Department is
now a
"subdivision" of Community Development - wheras just
a couple of years ago, we were told it was important to
group it with Engineering and Public Works ....... until -
oops - one firm's racketeering charges got in the way. We
have a manager who changes things up every time the wind blows and
provides not stability for Abington Township employees, residents
or others .
The removal of speaking rights, the lack of transparency, the
appointments of those unsuited or not qualified..... all paint a picture of an Abington
that seems to me very much out of control, with no sound principles at play at
all. It seems we have become a playground for developers and others who
care very little about what the needs, interests or concerns of the residents
are.
Please agree to lift your voice and take an active role.
Please join
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NEWSLOOP
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call & write your
Commissioner after you read this - tell me if they
say something different and I will show you the source
Some of what is below is repetitious - apologies .
Editing time is short.
________________________________
AFTER
YOU READ THIS, PLEASE
ALERT OTHER RESIDENTS TO THESE CONCERNS
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AFTER YOU
READ THIS, PLEASE CIRCULATe this page TO
ALERT OTHER RESIDENTS TO THESE CONCERNS
The two major prongs to thE development right now.
PRONG ONE
TEXT AND MAP AMENDMENT
CHALLENGES to OUR BRAND NEW ZONING
The entire Township was
just rezoned in 2017. The prior rezoning had been in1996 - It was well
thought out and held for 21 years. All that time people basically had their
zoning largely protected and could feel confident about where they bought their
homes. They didn't have to go to meeting after meeting to defend
their rights. Reasonable updates to zoning are important to stay current with the
times and new trends or needs. But right after this recent brand new
zoning, passed 4-27-17 under the leadership of, you guessed it, Steve Kline, the
developers began right away to both use it and challenge it... (which they would really only do
if they had some sense they could succeed, as it is an expensive proposition. )
Even developers who had a great deal of input in creating the Zoning document
challenged it. You might remember the YMCA zoning that got changed by a Michael
Markman/ BET proposal, made just months after the zoning was passed
.
So, with that precedent already set - it was clear that our zoning code was up
for revamping on a whim.
In November of 2020 residents near the mall
got a notice that the Mall owner PREIT ( Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment
Trust) wanted to build a 365 unit apartment on the Business District
parking lot owned by Bloomingdale's. (By the way - that was the
ONLY notice many of them got ... they were NOT
notified of the next 10 meetings and many had - or still may have - no idea they
even happened....)
Problem was, it was WAY more than ONE building
they were really asking for. The whole presentation was basically a farce. They
wanted to create a TOD ( a " Transit Oriented District ".... where
federal or state incentives might apply) on properties within 2500 linear ft of
either the Crestmont or Willow Grove train. It would enabled MULTIPLE buildings
on that business district and even talked about a "master Plan to
coordinate all the building that would occur - but for over a year PREIT kept
insisting htey were only asking for one building ( while they enabled may
more) Over the course of 11 meetings, the
residents were quite frankly, just deceived ...accomplished by removing
their voices, not answering their questions, withholding documents, and not having their elected
representatives act on their behalves. It has been a year - long disgrace
that every member of the Board participated in (exception : Lori Henry who
joined in 2024) The answer to the most important question ..."how
many units could be built if the ordinance passed " has never been
answered to the time of this writing - late Jan 2022. Over a full year's time,
they simply kept pretending they were
only asking for ONE building, when that was utterly false. The Commissioners
allowed this deceit - and some promulagated some that were even worse
themselves. Planning Commission irregularities and illegal processes and
other problems seem to be someting they will ignore. We are expecting it to
appear again at hte brand new Comprehensive Plan Consistency Committee
(perhaps May 4th 2022 but they have given themselves the right to have a
Special Meeting at any time they darn well feel like it. Now there's a sense
of security for residents.
At the top of this section is the building they hoped would take your focus away from their real
intent.
The
Developer is Bel Canto who would buy the parking lot and Bloomies would
use the money to "spruce up" and modernize , and this would supposedly
"save the mall" they would apparently like you to believe, per implications
of their nearly irrelevant "history of shopping" presentation that we were
endlessly shown...
and of special note is a list of all the
problems and questions that have never been answered :
https://abingtoncitizens.com/aaISSUES/Development-Zoning-CodeEnf/WillowGroveMall/00AA-QuestionsForTheDeveloper.htm
You can find all the details on the Mall debacle
here:
https://abingtoncitizens.com/aaISSUES/Development-Zoning-CodeEnf/WillowGroveMall/00AA-WGMall-365Apts-main.htm
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Prong
TWO - TOWNSHIP WIDE RE-ZONING USING THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
-----
EVEN WORSE THAN THE TEXT AND MAP CHALLENGES
In essence
they seem to be trying to approve every text and map ammendment they can
possibly anticipate by incorporating it into their "vision" in the
Comprehensive Plan . Major
zoning changes are being laid out Township-wide in a dozen different ways.
Again, between the speaking rights they have removed, the refusal to answer
questions and by moving at breakneck speed, they hope to pass the Comprehensive
Plan somewhere around March or April. ( In December they did not publish the
meeting documents within 24 hours of the Dec 21, 2021 meeting - so it is
possible that may set it back a month or so...or they may figure out how to make
up for lost time.....because they want to pass this as soon as they are able,
before too many residents understand what they are doing .)
The last rezoning took 8
years. They now have it on speed-dial, even though we are only just now beginning to see the results of the
LAST increase in density from 2017.
The Oct 19,
2021
Comprehensive Plan "Future Land Use Map" shows most of their plan - and then
there are a few more:
1) They will put Mixed Residential Overlay zoning
(duplexes, triplexes , possibly Townhouses or Stacked Townhouses and the
like) 1/2 mile out around a shopping or commercial centers
on properties that are currently zoned "Single Family Home" throughout
the Township, wherever the gray circles are on the map below. No analysis as to how many plots are affected, what the
possible impact could be on schools, traffic, facilities like parks, librairies,
or quality of life......
2) They will put TOD ( Transit Oriented District ) designations
1/2 mile around every train station except Meadowbrook (see the
dotted blue lined circles), allowing greater density and both mixed commercial
and residenttial. No analysis as to how many plots are affected, what the
possible impact could be on schools, traffic , facilities like parks, librairies,
or quality of life......
3) They will possibly add bus stations - instead
of just trains - to the TOD districts. Bus stations ( stops ) are
so "moveable" that one could literally pop up anywhere - I have been
unable to verify if they mean a bus stop -" or if it would have to be a "transit
center " like Fernrock........ that just was brought up at the 1-18-22
Comprehensive Plan Meeting. There will be a bus station at Susquehanna and York
- so everyone in 1/2 mile should .... oh well, there's a commercial center
about to be built there to. We really do need them to put their intentions
on a GIS map.
4) They will allow "infill development"
which is taking a fully developed parcel, for instance the Willow Grove Business
District , or the Huntingdon Valley Shopping Center ... and deciding that MORE
building - both residential and Commercial - can occur on it . By not
specifying where or exactly how much, they have created a developer's bonanza.
We could be challenged every where at the same time. Residents are already
fatigued after 8 years of trying to protect their Zoning from Steve Kline's
committee, from the challenges that came immediately after it and from
constantly needing a grass roots movement to tell Commissioners to stop doing
the opposite of what they are asking. Also, building every inch of the
parking space up will leave you likely needing a garage for the spots you
build on - even if the new building had a garage inside it (as the mall
building did)
5) They will re-introduce the despised "Transition Zones" -
like the Highland Ave Zone behind Abington Hospital. They are contending that an intense Commercial Use like the
Hospital doesn't match up with the residential use becaue of the intensity of
the noise & activity - so they will make the residential use a light
commercial use to "gradually transition" to the residential neighborhood. Of course, that is
absurd to the n'th degree when you consider that they are 1) just moving
Commercial farther back into the neighborhood, and 2) they are actually PUTTING
residential right next to commercial in the TOD's purposely and in the infill
anticipated on the
shopping centers like the PREIT proposal. Instead, what this will
accomplish for them is another place there corporate ownership can remove a
single family zone (ie Highland Ave across from the Hospital) where they would no longer
have to have the doctor live there to be a doctors office. The Dr;s office would
be a light commercial use. Of course, that
changes the nature of the buildings behind that first row ----- one street further back is now next to commercial.
6) They may negate the protections of Spot Zoning .
In the concept of Spot Zoning a property owner may not have his own
property zoned differently that the ones around it to only benefit himself
. Once the Comprehensive Plan creates the "vision" that
residential is allowed on, for instance, the Willow Grove Park Mall Business
District, or in the Huntingdon Valley Shopping Center etc - Spot Zoning
protections are more likely to fall with the slightest legal challenge - because they
will say this is the "vision of the Commissioners " - and there may even be
caselaw that then allows that. This is something we are still researching -
you can help.
If the new Comprehensive Plan passes, the ENTIRE Business District might be able to do what PREIT tried to do -
without having to be
2500 ft from a train --- despite the intense resistance from residents on that
project.
7) They will "adjust" our code to account for caselaw. They
have given us no idea what things are included in that list. To be sure one
of the things they will adjust for is removing our requirement for
non-combustible construction in hi-rises. Rather than adjust to that.
I believe
we should be challenging it the next time someone wants to construct less safely
in Abington, and throwing that caselaw out the window for better caselaw.
When only the builders & developers with bottom line interests appear
in a court suit - and residents are not even notified - it is no wonder that bad
caselaw is created. Bad caselaw should be over-turned. So where is the
list of caselaw you'll be accommodating?
THIS "YELLOW MAP" - The FUTURE LAND USE MAP ABOVE WITH ALL THE ARROWS - TELLS THE STORY OF THE IRRESPONSIBLE CHANGES TO OUR ZONING
25 Different sections of the township will carry the "vision" for
denser development . But they don't know how much, or how fast, or what the
impact will be on our traffic, schools, services, wallets...etc
No analysis is being done. They can't let one property owner zone densely and
then prohibit the next from doin the same thing.
And if we were concerned about our
schools because of what PREIT
is/was doing at the mall ......just imagine what will happen when
the number of units inside the circles double and triples /
No analysis
has been done as to how many plots are affected, what the
possible impact could be on schools, traffic, facilities like parks, librairies
or quality of life...... So.....Buckle-up --- here are some
statistics showing what you can expect if you turn our neighborhoods into
corporate controlled rental units - rather than single family homes which are owned by
the person who lives there. The below
chart is found here:
https://www.nahbclassic.org/generic.aspx?genericContentID=255505&fromGSA=1
How
will the Zoning Code get changed?
I was mistaken previously and thought they were setting up the Comprehensive
Plan Consistency Committee to be the place where zoning vision would be made to
match the zoning. But they do plan to use that Committee to be the
place where they tell the developers "Yesiree - your plan matches our vision.
We're recommending you right along hte approval process. On October 14th, 2021 at the Committee of the
Whole meeting, Manager Manfredi gave a presentation found here
https://abingtonpa.viebit.com/player.php?hash=21O1F8wW3HVC
But on Feb 10, 2022 , Commissioner Hecker said
that text amendments would come to the Comprehensive Plan Consistency Committee
- and then go to the Board to get advertised. That isn't right either - because
they need to go to Planning first before htey are advertised for a hearing . Oh
my. You never saw so much confusion . After Planning they SHOULD come back to
the Committee - because often changes are made in Planning and the public should
have the right to view what the final product now looks like. But I doubt
they are going to that . So after a giant "go round" it's still as clear
as mud as nearly everything has been with this Manager.
Draft chapters of the Comprehensive Plan are available for public viewing here- https://www.abingtonpa.gov/government/board-of-commissioners/board-of-commissioners-intiatives/vision-2035-abington-s-comprehensive-plan-update
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Please add your voice by calling & writing your
Commissioner
Please also include Ward 6 Comr Mike Thompson and
Michael Narcowicz, the Comprehensive Plan Team
Use these emails
mnarcowi@montcopa.org ;
mthompson@abingtonpa.gov ;
And you can send questions or comments to the
--Please ask your Comr to
put the Future Land Use circles on a GIS map so you can find
your house
-- Please ask your Comr to do direct mailing to every home (
$,20 to $.40 ) of the Future Land Use Map
-- Please add your voice by calling your
Commissioner after you understand the details
-- Please
share back to us what they told you
- ( often it fringes on the truth, but misses the mark)
-- Please take a lawn sign to alert your neighbors
-- Please write
letters to the editor, etc
-- Please share
this page with as many as you can
-- Please have
them put a page up with the definition of TOD & Mixed
Residential overlay
-- Please ask them for a question answer page that we can
see now
-- Please ask
your Commissioner to hold open mic zoom info sessions on this - multiple ones
-- Please sign
up for the
THE
NEWSLOOP so you get updates
Here is a site where you can begin to appreciate the
over-development already underway -
even before this Comprehensive Plan is
instituted . Scroll below the map on this development page to see individual
projects like St Basil's or 770 Jenkintown Rd. This amount of
overdevelopment will affect our home values, our quality of life and everything
about the "suburban place" we now call home.
it will change our township forever!
https://abingtoncitizens.com/aaISSUES/Development-Zoning-CodeEnf/00AA-Development/00AA-Development-main.htm
OR OUR WEBSITE
www.abingtoncitizens.com
Please join
THE
NEWSLOOP
so you to stay updated on this so you to stay updated on this