Horsham residents attended a recent public hearing for a zoning change that could lead to 53 townhomes being built on Norristown Road.
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HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —”Traffic, traffic, traffic.”
That’s what Attorney Christen Pionzio mentioned was on the minds of residents who attended a recent public hearing before Horsham Township Council regarding a zoning change that could allow the construction of 53 townhomes that would be priced around $650,000.
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The zoning change is for a tract behind Key Bank along the intersection of Norristown and Welsh roads, which is called the Maple Glen Triangle for the congestion it causes for residents and motorists of Horsham and Upper Dublin townships.
Pionzio said the new zoning would be called commercial transition zoning and would allow for townhomes to be built on 14.5 acres that are now zoned for single-family housing. Ten acres of that land would be protected and replanted since several trees were destroyed or damaged by a September 2021 tornado that swept through the area.
The council may consider the zoning change issue at its June 14 meeting.
If the zoning change is adopted, the developer would still have to go through the township’s normal land development processes.
Developers Bruce Goodman and Sal, Dominic, and Sam Paone of Paone Builders have modified plans since the project was first presented in June 2022.
Pionzio said the plan was drafted and redrafted and recently reviewed and recommended by the Horsham Township Planning Commission for the council to adopt it.
An invitation was sent to neighbors where developers held an informal meet and greet with builders.
“There’s been comments and dialogue non-stop for over a year,” Pionzio said at the May 22 public hearing. “This has been a very public process. We’re just talking about the ordinance to get us started.”
She added that Paone has been building similar homes for decades in Montgomery County and this project would feature “significant architectural features,” a 50-foot setback from Norristown Road, and a streetscape with landscaping.
“Traffic, traffic, traffic,” Pionzio said, though, is all anyone wants to discuss regarding the project.
The developers would improve the intersection, adding a left-turn lane onto Welsh, a through lane, a right-turn lane onto Welsh Road, and an emergency access road.
Those improvements, Pionzio said, should ease the Norristown Road gridlock during peak drive times.
Several residents spoke out at the public hearing, with many split over whether the project would add congestion or ease the traffic burden. Others said the development of an area damaged by the tornado would be good for the township.