Residents fighting the warehouse project expressed skepticism over the latest proposal for the property.
BUCKINGHAM TOWNSHIP, PA — A new development proposal under review by Buckingham Township would drop plans for a 120,000 square foot warehouse off of Cold Spring Creamery Road and replace it with a new plan for a 40-home development.
According to information released by the township, J.G. Petrucci is proposing a new plan that would develop the site with 40 homes instead of a warehouse while preserving 26 acres bordering Cold Spring Creamery Road.
“This would eliminate the estimated 90 to 150 truck trips per day on our local roads. The supervisors view this as a positive step," the board said in a statement posted on its website.
"No Buckingham Warehouse," a grassroots group of residents who have been fighting the warehouse plan in court, greeted the announcement from the supervisors with skepticism.
“Since the summer of 2023, the supervisors have demonstrated time and again that they’re not acting in good faith throughout this process,” the leaders of the group said in a statement released to the press. “The public release of confidential negotiations from an active legal proceeding is clearly a tactic to influence the upcoming supervisor election. They continue to deflect from the fact that the current supervisors appeared eager to greenlight the project, despite the inappropriate zoning and outcry from residents.”
No Buckingham Warehouse said until the developer withdraws its current appeal from the courts, "the only active proposed plan for the DiGirolamo tract is a 150,000 square foot truck terminal. As of today, the group said the developer has not provided any proposal or draft plans to any of the plaintiffs’ party or legal representation.
“The announcement by the Board of Supervisors that they are ‘reviewing a plan’ means that they are once again proceeding without collaboration with the community or residents,” said the group.
The supervisors voted in July 2024 to deny a proposed warehouse project submitted by J.G. Petrucci for land zoned industrial along Creamery Road. At that meeting, the supervisors determined that the warehouse use as presented posed concerns for safety, traffic, and quality of life and denied the plan. The denial of the developer’s plan was then appealed to court by both the developer and residents from the Cold Spring area. The court joined the appeals into one lawsuit.
At an August 7 conference with the judge, the township said all parties requested time to see whether a settlement could be reached, and the parties have been exploring options.
"The township supervisors remain committed to working towards a resolution that would ensure that the property is developed in keeping with the surrounding community and with the priorities of our residents in mind," said the township in its statement.
While the concept is still in the early stages, the supervisors said they will continue to engage residents in the process and “remain dedicated to ensuring any plan aligns with community needs, protects our quality of life and preserves the character of our township.”
No Buckingham Warehouse said they “welcome continued deliberations with the developer on alternate land use, however claiming this proposal as a victory for the current Township leadership is revisionist history, and yet another indication that the Board of Supervisors is more interested in retaining their own power and control, over protecting the safety of their constituents.
“This is a victory that belongs to the hard working and dedicated residents who fought so tirelessly to stop this project. We will remain vigilant as we see out this fight in the best interest of our neighbors and the community."
When residents discovered in May 2023 that a proposed 150,000 square foot truck warehouse was being proposed, they formed the No Buckingham Warehouse volunteer team to fight against the project, which they contend “clearly violates current zoning.”
That team, along with the support of thousands of community members, worked to defeat the project and expose the deficiencies in the current township board’s decision-making process.
“The fact that this project was not reviewed by the Buckingham Zoning Board, before a decision was made by the supervisors, goes against all state of Pennsylvania norms," the group argues.
According to No Buckingham Warehouse, the supervisors"decision to determine this potential construction a storage warehouse and to deny the requested waivers was escalated to the courts, where legal representation for No Buckingham Warehouse group and other plaintiffs proposed alternate land use solutions to the developer and landowner, including a housing proposal similar to the one that the supervisors are now trying to claim as their own.
“Until the developer withdraws its current appeal from the courts, the only active proposed plan for the DiGirolamo tract is a 150,000 square foot truck terminal.”
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