The suit, filed in Bucks County Court by Bensalem resident Sandra Stefanowicz, claimed there were ``numerous procedural irregularities'' in the way the township advertised the ordinance. The advertisement also contained inaccurate information, the suit said.
Stefanowicz lives on Park Avenue, near the proposed site.
Bensalem Solicitor Mark Goldberg insisted the proposed ordinance was properly advertised, but said fighting the suit would have cost the township time and money.
Council President Joe Szafran agreed. ``I could defend it in court, which could cost me tens of thousands of dollars, or I could readvertise it,'' he said. ``It was economics. Period.''
Darrell Zaslow, Stefanowicz's attorney, said he was pleased by the township's decision.
``If the existing ordinance is rescinded and the new ordinance enacted, we'll resolve the issue we raised on appeal,'' he said.
Goldberg said officials would vote on the exact same ordinance they already approved. It goes before the Planning Commission next Wednesday and the Township Council on Jan. 20.
The Gateway Center has been a volatile issue in Bensalem since early summer, when the developer, Federal Realty Investment Trust, of Rockville, Md., had its first meeting with residents.
Its proposal includes 688,000 square feet of retail space, 119,000 square feet for an entertainment center, a 200-room hotel, a 2,500-seat Christian Life Center, and 6,400 parking spaces.
Residents rallied against the project this past summer, saying they feared increased traffic on several already congested arteries.
Federal Realty said it planned to buy most of the land for the project from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for $14 million. The archdiocese would retain 51 acres for new administrative offices and buildings for the St. Francis Home for Boys and De La Salle Vocational School.
