The $500 million, 210-acre project, at West Chester Pike and Route 252, is one of the largest to be proposed in the region. At its core is the 67-acre town center, a re-imagining of a downtown that includes restaurants, stores and residential development in what BPG president Stephen Spaeder calls a "quaint," walkable setting.
The project, which the township first considered in 2004, has seen negotiations, setbacks and sometimes-contentious public meetings.
Township supervisors appeared to be divided Thursday night, with three favoring the plan and two opposing it.
"It's not a perfect agreement. It's not a final agreement," said Joseph Catania, chairman of the board. "But it's a better plan than what they could build." Supervisors John DiPompeo and H. Ross Lambert indicated that they favored the agreement.
Supervisor Linda M. Houldin, the board's vice chairman, and Supervisor George Wood oppose the plan.
"I will not vote for this agreement," said Houldin. "It takes away our rights."
Those in favor of the center argued that development is inevitable on a plot that was formerly the home of the Charles E. Ellis School for Girls, and later owned by Athlantic Richfield Co. and the computer supplier SAP Americas. The town center plan is their best option, and some say, an "exciting" one.
Those who oppose the plan worry about the impact on traffic, infrastructure and the township's character. They also don't like the plan's being embodied in the settlement to a lawsuit, and argue that it usurps the authority of the supervisors and undercuts zoning regulations.
Catania, who participated in the settlement talks, said that although the township was giving up some steps in the normal process of land development, it would gain an agreement with the kind of specificity that would not come in zoning change procedures. It also would gain $8.6 million that the developer will contribute for traffic improvements, he said.
Houldin said the $8.6 million was "not enough" to handle the havoc the plan would cause.
The supervisors will continue to consider the agreement at a public work session tentatively scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Township Building on Bishop Hollow Road.
They may vote on the agreement at their regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22, also at the township building, Cantania said yesterday. But that depends on the status of negotiations.
Contact staff writer Kristin E. Holmes at 610-313-8211 or kholmes@phillynews.com.
