[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":44,"_46":47,"_48":49,"_50":51,"_52":53,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6610122,"mediaKeyId","2904638-d31f6fa3d005534cd8a41e3622fbc349","parentId",2904638,"title","Votes at a glance: Middletown Board approves consent agenda, contracts for drainage, road materials and playground","audioSeconds",0,"startMs",6925000,"endMs","viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2904638-d31f6fa3d005534cd8a41e3622fbc349&start=6925&end=6925","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2904638-d31f6fa3d005534cd8a41e3622fbc349/thumbnail_6925000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6610122/Pennsylvania/Votes-at-a-glance-Middletown-Board-approves-consent-agenda-contracts-for-drainage-road-materials-and-playground","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6610122-8fc97ceeb16f1c9e9dcc2f5d30062c08/orig.mp4?Expires=1771055012&Signature=VDfO8bRXd9qytAFzx4wS4lTLfRz6ZupBBIiAXIaTYQno5ncq2nWla60-4jkmiNslCvLbdfi5dlfBr~GVtO0wfgeXn-MiNICA24x6mJzscmYFvM64hPffIGJ1HEaqSaQ5hAiNFfXr2QsI2qPKEY8-Cfaa92~gwwshaWOjkxVNilpNGHo8le0CmlGnyCViLImS6EW27EQ9j0weCLVCLhq8HCBBBlvAPysXJlCKUFqggndYE-hX1vFl3At8TAuOQr8n0iS6QRiHldnJRCCAJIiUm~34T7E8zDSj8ujNQSd90oqkLBPLuEzkujNUzLSaxht95QPahxA8XBsuqL257BqvGA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Middletown","date","2025-04-07T00:00:00Z","article","At its April 28 meeting the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors approved several routine but consequential items by unanimous or near-unanimous votes. Highlights included payment of the bills list, grant application authorization, settlement of a tax assessment stipulation, infrastructure contracts and a minor subdivision.

Consent agenda and resolutions
- The board approved the consent agenda, including payment of the April 12 bills list in the amount of $1,249,799.24; approval of the March public meeting minutes; authorization to apply for a Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) PA Small Water and Sewer Grant (Resolution No. 205-09R); and approval of a stipulation of settlement in a tax-assessment appeal for parcel 22-057-043 (McStone CO Kravco Inc.). The motion passed 5-0.

Contracts and procurement
- North Flowers Mill Road drainage project: The board awarded the base bid and Alternate No. 1 to James D. Morrissey, Inc. for $114,807 to address flooding and icing near the township building and at a right-turn lane by the Shops at Flowers Mill. The low bid was accepted; the board voted 5-0 to award the contract. Township staff said the project will be funded from budgeted highway-aid resources.

- Consortium road materials supplies contract: The board awarded the 2025–26 road-materials contract to Eureka Stone Quarry (appearing in paperwork also under the Marcy/Eureka vendor name) for an amount not to exceed $65,000; vote 5-0.

- Lions Park playground purchase and installation: The board approved a purchase and installation contract with Martorano Recreation Company in the amount of $119,999.53 for a new playground at Lions Park. The device selection includes accessible features; grant funds will cover the labor portion of the installation. The motion passed 5-0.

Subdivision
- Minor subdivision at 580 Middletown Boulevard (SLD 205-2): The board granted minor subdivision plan approval with standard conditions that the applicant comply with the subdivision and zoning ordinances and address remaining review comments; the board approved the motion (voice vote recorded as \"carries\").

Votes and outcomes are recorded in the township minutes. Several items had limited public comment; the board’s approvals were presented as consistent with staff recommendations and available budget allocations.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Middletown - Board of Supervisors - Apr 07, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The board approved the consent agenda and a slate of procurement and subdivision items, including the North Flowers Mill drainage contract, a road-materials supply contract, a Lions Park playground purchase, and a minor subdivision for 580 Middletown Boulevard.","taxTitle","Middletown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania","taxId",78862,"location","Pennsylvania","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_46":81,"_48":82,"_50":83,"_52":84,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":85,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":86,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6610127,"Board approves Pereira Properties land development for Big Oak Road site with conditions on trees, sidewalks and frontage work",1263,1093000,2356000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2904638-d31f6fa3d005534cd8a41e3622fbc349&start=1093&end=2356","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2904638-d31f6fa3d005534cd8a41e3622fbc349/thumbnail_1093000.jpg","/articles/6610127/Pennsylvania/Board-approves-Pereira-Properties-land-development-for-Big-Oak-Road-site-with-conditions-on-trees-sidewalks-and-frontage-work","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6610127-228ae858113782e9e96223a5acab7ed5/orig.mp4?Expires=1771055012&Signature=lQYVti9cDi4ozLjpNG07hR0Um4Vq0SpVKNHW9ErhtsodXZarMb7V1OtJqwzlRQwx~LS2mlHkwUBfbbknK6U46Lo0h3CrD7pqXi088r6YJoClcv-zB8fC4ASc8LmToovQipD026vHq3U6bw7PLxJT1a4RB3lwdvrLu5ZzNhSt9WFw3SDAkKm9AlHxaEojRwbmy9QSx2Qs2tX~8AaGTebpolpH8YYzMBoEpheeFkOaLyLj~SY59tMqs2bL8iTStRTQaDsLePSqCXjcSyXEh6sNmemxKFNPYJCFDkuzkOToBRoMExI7W0-M~mxPgf0z2PaILwvCrXUchpsjSewvh0TDJw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Middletown Township Board of Supervisors unanimously approved preliminary and final land-development plan SLD 24-2 for Pereira Properties, allowing construction of a contracting office with accessory warehouse, outside storage and parking at 2351 Big Oak Road.

Attorney and project representatives described the plan as a near–mirror of the existing Pereira facility on the opposite side of Big Oak Road. Counsel said Pereira intends to retain the current facility and operate both sites. The application had previously received a favorable planning-commission recommendation and zoning hearing-board relief for tree-replacement requirements.

Key conditions recorded in the motion require the applicant to: comply with the township subdivision and zoning ordinances except where relief was granted; address any remaining review comments; accept a partial waiver from a curbing/cartway widening requirement in exchange for a financial contribution toward frontage improvements as estimated by township engineers; pay a fee in lieu if sidewalks cannot be installed along the frontage; coordinate with the township engineer to determine how many replacement trees can be accommodated on-site; place wetlands and associated woodlands in a conservation easement to preserve them; and provide off-site replacement trees or pay a fee in lieu as laid out in the zoning hearing-board decision dated June 14, 2023.

During public comment, members of the township’s Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) warned the board the number of trees removed would require replanting of many hundreds of trees under the ordinance’s \"100 replacement trees per acre\" rule. Lauren Leroux, EAC chair, cited an initial calculation of about 411 required replacements before the zoning variance, and urged supervisors to withhold approval until the township confirmed where off-site trees would be planted. Pereira’s project engineer and counsel responded that: the zoning hearing board had granted relief limiting on-site replacement to a number that can be reasonably accommodated; Pereira would plant as many trees on site as physically possible and, where the site could not accommodate required replacements, coordinate with township staff on off-site planting locations or pay a fee in lieu determined by the township.

Township engineering testimony and applicant statements said the plan avoids wetlands disturbance and that wetlands and adjacent woodlands would be preserved in a conservation easement. The applicant also described a stormwater management design with an infiltration basin and an existing MPDES permit from Pennsylvania DEP (PADP) to control rate, volume and quality of runoff; township engineering staff said the proposed system represented an improvement over the existing, unmanaged site. Pereira’s representatives said the development would consolidate more intensive operations closer to the railroad tracks and move office facing toward residents, with operating hours remaining consistent with current hours (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.). The applicant said truck traffic would not use Woodburn Road and would seek highway access toward the nearby state routes.

The supervisors voted to grant preliminary and final approval with the stated conditions; the motion carried 5-0.

Votes and immediate next steps: the board made approval conditional on addressing outstanding review comments and completing required plan modifications. Township staff will work with Pereira to finalize the cost estimates for sidewalk installation and frontage improvements, determine the number of replacement trees that can be accommodated on-site, and record a conservation easement over wetlands and woodlands shown on the plan.

Public concerns to monitor: EAC members and residents pressed for clarity on the number and placement of replacement trees and on long-term flood and stormwater implications; township staff and the applicant said the stormwater system will reduce runoff relative to current conditions and that wetlands will not be disturbed.","Middletown supervisors granted preliminary and final land development approval for Pereira Properties’ proposed contracting office and warehouse at 2351 Big Oak Road, SLD 24-2, subject to conditions including tree replacement, conservation easement for wetlands, stormwater controls and fees/financial contribution for frontage improvements.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_46":93,"_48":94,"_50":95,"_52":96,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":97,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":98,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6610132,"Middletown approves Wood Services overlay to guide campus growth, with supervisors split",5730,2540000,8270000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2904638-d31f6fa3d005534cd8a41e3622fbc349&start=2540&end=8270","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2904638-d31f6fa3d005534cd8a41e3622fbc349/thumbnail_2540000.jpg","/articles/6610132/Pennsylvania/Middletown-approves-Wood-Services-overlay-to-guide-campus-growth-with-supervisors-split","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6610132-b6ed3da26f6f7e257dd9d7382bd01615/orig.mp4?Expires=1771055012&Signature=QcrR612Di-JaSLSandgZgw9wqv23Iu7yMu38PGaTsb8sdGldPcJtgM-UjJbe~zemKnBNveSvZ1U8gGwyApx2n7gk4KGgsBXBb~jJJntC-yrQc726bHN-MdIeJ0aT12li95PP4HLR29057kYNSy4arNqxob4SXQjGg~BdMgu~q1liRC6XdvJ1s0R9WW-0C1NUQVZlAIFYGWGriyOk1rTxC8o7OPmgEj4cvWgotfNy9QxYf0KUtSxuzvT7rMedmNYCKEF5Ao4eRAwblW7b8dE7elJIzVdnEXLmPTDUJi6yTZXODqmIJCb7-JITXMF78yWan15dRIKTZKxdZVEwuNtrlg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Middletown Township Board of Supervisors approved on a 4-1 vote an overlay zoning ordinance that creates a Community Development Transitional (CDT) district covering portions of the Woods Services campus in Langhorne.

The ordinance lets Woods seek conditional-use approval for a restricted set of institutional, medical and mission-related uses already present on the campus and permits one apartment building aimed at affordable/attainable housing. Dawn Diamond, chief executive officer of Woods Services, told the supervisors the ordinance \"is very important to us\" and that the revised proposal removes more than 100 acres and most nonresidential uses from an earlier version.

Supporters said the overlay formalizes existing campus activities and replaces repeated zoning-board petitions with a conditional-use and land-development review process before the township. Michael McGinnis, counsel for Woods, said the campus is currently zoned R-1 and that \"anything that Woods does requires zoning relief in the township,\" making the overlay a way to align zoning with long-standing campus operations.

Opponents and residents urged caution, saying the overlay could be used to add more residential units or to change the campus over time. Fran Grama, a nearby resident who spoke at the planning commission and at the meeting, said the planning commission had recommended against the ordinance and described Woods' past actions as raising trust issues. Eric Bruno, another resident, told supervisors: \"I don't trust them,\" and urged a narrow, tightly restricted ordinance if supervisors chose to approve it.

Woods and its planning team described several guardrails written into the ordinance. Uses not directly tied to Woods’ mission were removed from the current draft. Most future projects will be reviewed as conditional uses, giving the supervisors and township staff the opportunity to impose conditions on individual land-development applications. Woods also proposed limiting the apartment program to a single building; the first phase was described in testimony as 42 units, with 20% of phase 1 units earmarked for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities under the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) funding rules.

Separately during discussion, Woods requested two technical revisions that supervisors accepted as part of the motion: change the standard language from \"best efforts\" to \"reasonable efforts\" in one section, clarify a 50% limit for professional office uses as a square-footage percentage, and reduce a proposed maximum impervious-surface cap from 75% to 60% for the district. Woods counsel and the township’s engineering witness said the overlay requires that natural-resource, stormwater and other environmental calculations be applied across the overall tract as projects come forward rather than assumed on a parcel-by-parcel basis.

After public comment and deliberation, a supervisor moved to adopt the petition to enact the CDT overlay with the revisions proposed by Woods' counsel; another supervisor seconded the motion. The ordinance passed 4-1.

What was decided: supervisors adopted the CDT overlay ordinance with the revisions discussed at the meeting. Future development proposals on the campus will proceed through the township’s planning and conditional-use review process rather than via the zoning hearing board process that Woods has used historically.

What remains: the ordinance sets standards and caps but relies on case-by-case conditional-use review for individual projects; residents and some commissioners said they want stronger, more prescriptive minimums for open-space and resource protection in future applications.

Community reaction: supporters told supervisors the overlay stabilizes Woods' ability to modernize services and provide attainable housing. Several neighborhood speakers and members of the Environmental Advisory Council urged caution and asked for stronger guarantees that wooded, wetland and open-space parcels would remain protected.

The board’s vote was recorded as \"carries 4-1.\"","The Middletown Township Board of Supervisors approved a Community Development Transitional (CDT) overlay for the Woods Services campus, 4-1, allowing conditional future development (including one apartment building) under strict review and with several requested revisions.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Votes at a glance: Middletown Board approves consent agenda, contracts for drainage, road materials and playground

Board approves Pereira Properties land development for Big Oak Road site with conditions on trees, sidewalks and frontage work

Middletown approves Wood Services overlay to guide campus growth, with supervisors split