Zoning proposal would impact Devon area

EASTTOWN >> Easttown Township officials are considering a proposal to drastically change the township’s existing zoning to allow large scale commercial development in Devon. The draft ordinance would, among other things, rezone areas from residential use to commercial use, including the entire Devon Horse Show properties in Easttown Township which are currently zoned residential.

A public meeting on the plan will take place July 9 at 7 p.m. at the Hilltop House, 570 Beaumont Road, Devon, in which members of the Devon Center Task Force will outline proposed changes to the township’s existing zoning ordinance.

Easttown Township’s outside planning consultant has presented changes to the existing zoning in the Township that would allow commercial development in Devon at a larger scale.

As proposed, the changes to the existing ordinance would also raise building height limits from the current 35 feet to 52 feet, reduce the buffers and setbacks, and increase the amount of a lot which can be built upon.

Task Force members are discussing ways to change the zoning for Devon town center to help make it more pedestrian and bicycle friendly and also capitalize on the proximity of the train station. These goals stem from the 2001 and 2018 Easttown Comprehensive Plans.

But some residents are concerned that the proposal for the entire district would change the zoning of the Devon Horse Show

and another nearby parcel, the Lehman tract, from residential to commercial, putting pressure on the horse show to sell the land. They claim the plan amounts to illegal spot zoning, and violates a 2018 Comprehensive Plan, which calls for protecting residential areas and preserving green space, open space, and community gathering areas.

Residents attending earlier meetings said priorities should be to Improve sidewalks, street lighting and landscaping along Route 30, working to improve the Devon Train Station, and finding a tenant for a coffee shop or other use. They also would like to see improvements of the open lot on Dorset Road next to the Horse Show with attractive landscaping and explore use of the lot as a community park during the times that the Horse Show is not in use.

A final meeting is set for 7 p.m. at the township building on Aug. 7. The task force will make its recommendations to the township Planning Commission and from there the zoning will be taken up by the Board of Supervisors.

SUBMITTED GRAPHIC A sketch of the proposal to change zoning in the Devon area.