Joshua Chast, planning and zoning manager for the township, said applicant Rockwell Drexel LLC wants to amend the zoning code to create the new community mixed use (CMU) district.<\/p>\n
Chast said the proposal is not for the project itself, but for a zoning change. The Delaware County Planning Commission would review it, and then it goes before the township council. A map amendment was also part of the discussion.<\/p>\n
Greg Lingo, owner of Delaware County-based land development firm Rockwell Development Group, came before the Upper Darby Planning Commission to speak.<\/p>\n
He said the current R-2 zoning allows 56 single family homes. The land is private property now and it\u2019s not going to remain untouched forever.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about what form future development should be,\u201d Lingo said.<\/p>\n
He said their proposal represents less impact on the schools and higher tax revenue than the existing 56-property plan.<\/p>\n
Lingo said their property would be professionally maintained, with a walking trail.<\/p>\n
Rockwell Attorney Matt McHugh said the community mixed use (CMU) district would be a new district in the township. The district would contain a mix of residential and commercial uses, including single family units, attached and detached homes, multi-family dwellings and apartments as well as first-floor commercial uses.<\/p>\n
Standards for property size, parking and green space would be included in the new CMU.<\/p>\n
The entrance to the development Rockwell presented to the property in 2025 would be directly across from the Drexeline ShopRite and would have shopping and its own parking. A pocket park and a nature trail along the riparian section would be included.<\/p>\n
The developer made some changes after meeting with neighbors, including higher fencing, a better sidewalk connection, the elimination of stacked townhomes and changes to the public trail.<\/p>\n
The mixed use plan would have 93 dwellings, of them 12 single-family homes along with 50 multi-family apartments.<\/p>\n
The development would call for 4\u00bd parking spaces for every 1,000 feet of retail. The ordinance would be a little less, developers said.<\/p>\n
Chast said the property is the right area for a mixed-use zoning. He said it integrates with sidewalks and the trail network, reduces automobile dependency and aligns with long-term environmental goals. They also like the multiple housing possibilities as well as accessibility to mass transit.<\/p>\n
He noted it was similar to approved zoning when Drexeline Shopping Center was approved and fits in with the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, we believe this is a plan that helps steer the vision of Upper Darby and helps us being in a transit-oriented community. We recommend approval \u2026 and approval for the map,\u201d Chast said, representing the township staff.<\/p>\n
The planning commission was divided, and the majority was in favor of the plan but an appendix of concerns were sent to council.<\/p>\n
At Wednesday night\u2019s council meeting, Drexel Hill resident Terri McGrath asked council members to give the people a reason to celebrate and to preserve the Mozino tract.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/DTD-L-Mazinotract-0703-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not asking you for something unreasonable. We are asking you to work toward a solution to protect one of the last remaining natural areas in our township, before it is gone forever,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Council member Kyle McIntyre said officials are doing everything in their power on the proposed property and are listening. He added there are a lot of implications in reference to that property as well as a proposed car wash nearby.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot every square inch of Upper Darby has to be built on \u2026 please find a way to preserve this space,\u201d said one resident.<\/p>\n
She suggested looking for grants, fundraising or the use of existing funds.<\/p>\n
Other issues<\/p>\n
On a related topic, council began discussions to formalize the Environmental Advisory Committee for the purpose of advising on environmental issues within the township. However, after a recess with township solicitors no action was taken.<\/p>\n
In another discussion at Wednesday night\u2019s meeting, councilman Myron McNeely asked about finding a spot on the eastern end of the township for paramedics to respond from. Stat ambulance station is on Burmont Road in Drexel Hill. McNeely said it is imperative to find a spot closer to where the majority of calls are located.<\/p>\n
At a request about police costs during public comment, McIntyre said the recent Pride event held in the township included $10,672 for police coverage that was paid for by sponsors.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot a dime comes from Upper Darby Township. It was a private event. It was completely funded through generous donors and community members that support our LGBTQ community and want to see this event thrive,\u201d McIntyre said.<\/p>\n
McIntyre said he was a bit ambitious about the proposed township flag competition. In the coming meeting it will be returning, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Upper Darby Township Council heard from residents Wednesday night over a proposed change to zoning that would allow…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235397,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[212,182,139,28,210,147,149,148,150],"class_list":["post-235396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upper-darby","tag-delaware-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-top-stories-dtd","tag-upper-darby","tag-upper-darby-headlines","tag-upper-darby-news","tag-upper-darby-township"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}