"Judge rules against developers"

By Theresa Hegel, Intelligencer, March 22, 2010:

Bedminster officials were "cautiously optimistic" after a panel of Commonwealth Court judges sided with their zoning law, affirming a decision made by a Bucks County judge in August.

Two developers - Bedminster Associates and the Piper Group - had been seeking the ability to increase housing density in the township's agricultural preservation district to build a total of more than 500 homes, arguing that a 2002 state Supreme Court ruling on behalf of C&M Home Builders cleared the way for their plans.


C&M was able to build 234 homes in Bedminster's agricultural district because it argued successfully that the township's zoning at the time was too strict.

In August, Bucks County Judge Theodore Fritsch ruled that Bedminster Associates and the Piper Group could not "piggyback" on C&M's success.

The developers' proposals "would place the highest density development in Bedminster Township squarely in the area marked for low density development and agricultural preservation," Fritsch said. "This contravenes the township policies protecting farmland and preventing overdevelopment."

Bedminster does allow for higher-density development in its southwest corner, where the township abuts Dublin.

Commonwealth Court Judges Don Pellegrini, Johnny J. Butler and Rochelle S. Friedman affirmed Fritsch's ruling, calling it "thorough," "thoughtful" and "well-reasoned."

Township Supervisor Eric Schaffhausen said he was "very gratified at the outcome," but that he would wait and see what happens next.

"I certainly wouldn't count my chickens before they're hatched," he said.

Robert Gundlach, attorney for Bedminster Associates and the Piper Group, said his clients were planning to file a petition for review by the state Supreme Court.

"(The judges) really didn't write a decision," he said. "We're disappointed not only with the ultimate decision, but also with the lack of analysis."

But Peter Nelson, township solicitor, said the judges' opinion was short because the developers didn't really bring anything new to the table.

"Essentially, their whole argument was C&M won, and therefore, we should win," he said.

Bedminster Associates wants to build 157 homes on 164 acres at Spruce Hill Road and Route 611. The Piper Group proposed 361 dwellings on about 400 acres it owns in the township.

Bedminster zoning - revised after the Supreme Court ruling - requires developers to preserve as open space about 60 percent of the land in the agricultural preservation district. The minimum lot size for the remaining land is about three-quarters of an acre.

More than a decade ago, C&M Builders of Warrington approached Bedminster about erecting more than 400 homes in a rural part of the township. Zoning at the time would have allowed for only 57 homes - or one home per acre, plus a portion of the land set aside for open space.

C&M filed a challenge to the validity of the ordinance, which eventually worked its way up to the state Supreme Court, which ruled that the acreage requirement was too strict, through it did uphold the open space requirements.

Bedminster officials changed the zoning to allow one house per three-quarters of an acre. C&M was not affected, since its plans were submitted prior to the new law.

Less than a week after the Supreme Court decision, Bedminster Associates and the Piper Group filed curative amendment plans.

The challenges were filed before Bedminster fixed its zoning, but the judges say the township should have been given a reasonable amount of time to fix its zoning. . . .