Light Industry

Ambler Planning Commission members faced the old ghost of the "White Mountains" as they considered a proposal for developing a large tract of land adjacent to the waste piles on the Nicolet Co. property. On Wednesday night, New Jersey developer and businessman Stuart Rose presented to the Ambler Borough Planning Commission a sketch plan designed to bring light industry into nearly 17 acres of buildings on the Nicolet property - the southernmost section zoned heavy industry where the borough meets Upper Dublin.

A proposed revision to Valley Township's zoning ordinance would encourage economic development in the township, a consultant has told the township Planning Commission. The township's supervisors had asked that the zoning ordinance covering planned-development districts be revised to make it "more palatable to developers," Harry Roth, of Gehringer-Roth Associates, Lancaster, told the Planning Commission Tuesday. Roth presented a revision to the ordinance that would promote suburban business development that would be "more employment-oriented," such as light industry, rather than a concentration of retail businesses.

The first developer has stepped forward with a proposal to convert the 970- acre Naval Air Warfare Center into an office and industrial park. Sheila Bass, director of the Federal Lands Reuse Authority, the agency appointed by Bucks County to search for tenants to fill the 970-acre site, said that Preferred Real Estate Investments of Conshohocken has submitted a "very serious proposal" to bring a combination of light industry, office space, high...

Buehl Field could soon be dotted with 160 houses if a developer has its way. Recently, Ryland Homes filed an application to change the zoning of the 103-acre airfield, operated by the Buehl family since 1960, from light manufacturing to residential. The private airfield, with its 3,100-foot paved landing strip, caters to small aircraft. It also offers a flight instruction program. Township supervisors are not keen on the idea of another residential development, which they say drains the tax base.

After nearly two years of public hearings, drafted and redrafted ordinances, and numerous council debates, borough officials are nearing an agreement on where elderly housing should go. The Borough Council last week agreed to a preliminary plan that would allow nursing homes and assisted-care facilities only in some residential sections of the town. The council also considered a proposal to allow housing developments for the elderly in areas zoned for light industry, but after a spirited debate, rejected an amendment introduced by Councilman Joe DeDominic.

The township settled a long-standing feud Monday, approving a final plan for a development that has been on the drawing board for seven years. At a special meeting before its work session, the Board of Commissioners approved, 6-0, a final land-development plan for Quarry Hill I, a 17-townhouse development planned for a 4.8-acre tract east of Sproul Road and south of Darby Road. Sixth Ward Commissioner Biase "Bill" A. DeSanto arrived late for the meeting and abstained from the vote.

A group of business leaders in the Fort Dix area is seeking to attract light industry to provide jobs for civilian personnel who may be out of work when the Defense Department scales down the Army training operation at the military base. Erwin Apell, a lawyer, said the township and surrounding communities would try to attract light industry and mom-and-pop businesses. Business leaders in Pemberton Township, the Browns Mills section of the township, Pemberton Borough and Wrightstown plan to unite as a revitalized group called the Pemberton Township Businessmen's Association to map strategy on the economic fallout from the base's realignment.

More shopping malls could result from a Board of Supervisors decision that allows developers to ignore current zoning if they agree to preserve a corridor through their properties for a proposed bypass to Route 202. A new zoning ordinance, approved in a 2-1 vote Monday night, would allow stores to be built on land near Montgomery Mall that is currently designated for light industry and houses. It comes less than a month before PennDot is expected to decide whether it wants to build a limited-access highway through the township.

Joining a sudden flurry of developers eager to build in the township, Realen Homes went before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday with plans to build 230 houses at Langhorne-Yardley and North Flowers Mill Road across from Buehl Field. As with other developers, the board was not excited at the idea of bringing more houses to the township. According to Bob Dwyer, vice president of Realen Homes, the plan calls for developing the 108.2-acre property with single-family houses at a density of two houses per acre.

West Deptford officials indicated yesterday that the township would reject a developer's plans for a $1 billion commercial and residential project that would include more than 4,000 homes along the Delaware River. "The deal is off," Mayor David Shields said, citing the results of a township survey mailed to West Deptford residents last month. Officials have been negotiating for two years with Arcorp Properties of Weehawken, Hudson County, which wants to build a marina, commercial center and 4,158 homes on 1,155 wooded acres.

TALK WITH DAN Hazley for 10 minutes, and you walk away thinking two things: That the next time your furnace breaks, you want the guy to fix it. And that Uncle Sam has some catching up to do. Hazley, 45, is a reservist with the U.S. Navy Seabees out of Lakehurst, N.J., and owner of Can Do Mechanical - a heating-and-cooling company he founded in 2004, right after he returned from his first deployment, to Umm Qasr, Iraq. He hired a few employees - vets, like himself - and business started to percolate.

Gone are the days when the small city next to the Walt Whitman Bridge was busy with commercial shipping. Gone, too, are the paper-mill and dye industries, which employed 10,000 workers. As a lifelong resident, Bob Gorman saw the economically depressing effects of the shutdowns in the 1970s: Stores closed, houses were left vacant, and buildings deteriorated. Now, as mayor, Gorman said he is witnessing another change - for the better - as the city looks again to the waterfront and its historic character to lure people back.

Deborah Weeks-Coleman wants her gutters. More than a year after moving from a West Philadelphia rowhouse to a new one-story rancher here at the Bonsall Village Community development, she is still waiting for them. But construction stopped 10 months ago, and it may never start again. That would put an end to a community's dream of new housing. And it could reignite an old and racially charged land dispute that pitted black residents against Darby Township and Delaware County officials for decades before a compromise was reached in federal court.

The developer of the site of the former Mercury Gun Club said yesterday that he planned to go ahead with construction of a light-industrial park there soon, possibly this summer. The move follows a vote by the Board of Commissioners Tuesday night to reject his preferred option, to build 235 townhouses on part of the land. The commissioners voted unanimously against the request for a change to residential zoning. Neighbors said in a hearing before the vote that they feared additional homes would bring more traffic and children, meaning an increase in school taxes.

Can communities prevent the Zoning Board of Adjustment from granting variances that threaten public safety? Civic and environmental groups assert that apartments on Venice Island in the floodway of the Schuylkill will put lives at risk and add a significant burden to our community. Yet we are told we will lose our zoning case. It is understandable that the city and the zoning board favor development in a struggling city like ours. However, the aim of reinvestment in Philadelphia neighborhoods should be to support the existing community, while respecting environmental and infrastructure constraints.

Feeling neglected by Camden city officials, wholesale distributor Reliable Tire Co. has been successfully stolen away by Mayor Sandi Love and her cast of merry commercial expansionists. Township officials are trying to convince businesses that Gloucester Township is an ideal place to move or open a business, and they're using every opportunity to promote their message: Growth is good. Township leaders have made it clear that they have no qualms about doing what it takes to lure businesses, and they're not ashamed to bend over backward for a prospective company.

A pair of gamboling coyotes and a host of prairie dogs briefly upstaged the mayor of Denver this week as he stood on a vast expanse of plains and formally launched an unusual urban redevelopment project. Booming Denver finds itself with 4,700 acres of virtually vacant land, close to downtown and on Interstate 70, just as the city is enjoying the strongest housing and commercial markets in decades. The huge tract is the site of the old Stapleton Airport, closed in 1995 when the new Denver International Airport opened 12 miles away.

The Borough Council has made its decision on a long-awaited plan on where to allow housing for the elderly. Retirement homes belong in tranquil residential areas, not along the abandoned railroad tracks or replacing dormant industrial parks, the council concluded. Members approved a plan Tuesday night allowing for such developments in most residential neighborhoods. The plan excludes a controversial proposed clause to allow elderly housing in areas zoned for light-industrial use. Councilwoman Marge Hunsicker said the plan was thoughtfully drawn up and carefully considered during its two years of public scrutiny and debate.

After nearly two years of public hearings, drafted and redrafted ordinances, and numerous council debates, borough officials are nearing an agreement on where elderly housing should go. The Borough Council last week agreed to a preliminary plan that would allow nursing homes and assisted-care facilities only in some residential sections of the town. The council also considered a proposal to allow housing developments for the elderly in areas zoned for light industry, but after a spirited debate, rejected an amendment introduced by Councilman Joe DeDominic.

More shopping malls could result from a Board of Supervisors decision that allows developers to ignore current zoning if they agree to preserve a corridor through their properties for a proposed bypass to Route 202. A new zoning ordinance, approved in a 2-1 vote Monday night, would allow stores to be built on land near Montgomery Mall that is currently designated for light industry and houses. It comes less than a month before PennDot is expected to decide whether it wants to build a limited-access highway through the township.