JACKSON TWP — Township supervisors rejected a proposal that would have brought more than 200 new homes to the community during a meeting Thursday, July 17.

The board denied tentative approval for Londonderry Ridge, a plan submitted by Wee Five Development that called for construction of 108 townhomes and 115 single-family homes, along with supporting infrastructure, along Route 528 and Lindsay Road.

One of the primary reasons for the denial centered on the developers requesting a number of waivers that significantly increased the impact on local infrastructure.

“It’s just that the waivers they had asked for would have resulted in more of an impact on the road,” township manager Chris Rearick explained. “The board chose to deny based on those waivers.”

The decision came nearly a month after a contentious public hearing that saw several residents bring up safety and traffic concerns, which included discrepancies over a 125-foot turning lane that would have been positioned on a blind hill.

Vice Chairman Allan Osterwise lauded those efforts from the community in helping the board perform a thorough review of all documents related to the plan.

“The work that was done on your part to bring some of these issues to our attention was good work,” he told residents. “I think we have a good solid process for vetting these developments, and I think the process worked.”

During the hearing, developers faced pushback over a required traffic study conducted in September 2021 and submitted as part of the plan. Furthermore, other elements of the plan, including traffic estimates, were based on 180 homes — not the 223 presented to supervisors.

Maura Hensler said she and several other residents were promised a new study far removed from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, that never occurred, raising several red flags for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation about the ability to safely manage traffic flow in the area.

“We’re just truly, truly grateful to those supervisors,” said Hensler, who was part of a group that applauded after the proposal was voted down. “I think they just have a lot of integrity, they really listened to us and took our concerns seriously and they prioritized the safety of the whole community. (I) was a little bit shocked, too.”

A representative for the housing plan did not attend the meeting.

Developers can appeal the rejection in the Court of Common Pleas within 30 days. There is no indication, however, that any attempt to reverse the decision would be successful, according to Rearick.