Proposed Norristown Road shopping site draws traffic and design questions from Warminster supervisors and neighbors

Developers presented an informal, non‑action briefing on Jan. 22 for a proposed 24.7‑acre subdivision along Norristown Road that would create four lots and retain roughly 14.88 acres of deed‑restricted open space. Amy Ferrell of Kaplan Stewart said the plan would transfer a 0.67‑acre cemetery parcel back to Christ Home and reserve the bulk of environmentally sensitive woodlands and riparian buffers as protected land. "That land will be transferred back to Christ Home to own, operate and maintain that cemetery going forward," Ferrell said during the presentation.

The largest proposed lot (Parcel A) would host a grocery anchor; two smaller parcels (Parcels C and D) were shown as hatched future development areas for which no tenants are yet confirmed. Ferrell told the board the developer has an NPDES permit for phase one work and that the grocery's corporate team has allocated financing targeting a 2027 occupancy. She said the design sets out access, stormwater, landscaping and the internal circulation now so later buyers would face fewer site‑level changes.

Traffic and access dominated the public Q&A. Matt Hammond, the project's traffic engineer, said the team treated the site as a master plan and included a hypothetical bank and daycare in the traffic analysis so roadway improvements could be sized up front. He said multiple submissions to PennDOT are underway and that recent review letters contained mostly minor comments. "We did the analysis. We looked at the morning peak hour, the school rush, the PM peak and Saturday midday," Hammond said, describing the study periods used to size improvements.

Residents and board members pushed back about a full‑access driveway on Norristown Road that could allow left turns. One resident warned that left‑turning vehicles could back traffic onto adjacent approaches during peaks: "As soon as the cars stop to make the left into that driveway, it's going to back traffic up on Norristown Road," the resident said. The traffic engineer said the study did not meet warrants for a dedicated left‑turn lane at the driveway and argued that signal modernization, timing changes and the proposed circulation would reduce queuing. Project staff agreed to continue work on design mitigations and said they would return with refinements if operations proved problematic once improvements are constructed.

Civil engineering questions included existing grades, proposed cuts and fills, and retaining walls; Lindsay Brilinger (civil engineer) said the design avoids disturbance inside the deed‑restricted wetland buffer and that retaining walls of varying heights are proposed to meet ADA and drainage requirements. The team also requested limited waivers on buffer placement and lighting; planners said tree counts met ordinance requirements in several areas and the team agreed to add a note to the plan to adjust light shields if neighbors complain.

The developer said parcels are likely to be conveyed to future users subject to cross‑access and maintenance easements and that internal circulation will be required. They also said loading geometry restricts tractor‑trailer deliveries in the signalized driveway and that the grocery would limit deliveries to a single‑unit box truck at one access point.

No formal action was taken; staff asked developers to incorporate feedback and to wait for township HOP comments before resubmitting to PennDOT. The board suggested the developer and township continue coordination on driveway access, pedestrian improvements, and conditions the board may attach as part of any future land‑development approval. The board did not vote on development approvals during the meeting.