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Posted on Thu, Mar 12, 2009

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Resident group to watchdogSycamore Street development

Group formed to watchdog Acme plans broadens their focus:Developing Sycamore

By Petra Chesner Schlatter NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP - A new group wants to have a say in the development of Sycamore Street.Newtown resident Karen Katz announced at a recent Newtown TownshipSupervisors meeting that the new group, Newtown 21st Century, was recentlyformed to participate in the development of Sycamore Street.Katz says the group grew out of a meeting at the Newtown Library Company, whenaround 30 residents came together to voice concerns over a development proposalfor the former Acme Supermarket site.On a broader scale, she said participants are generally concerned with developmentin the township and borough.Describing the first meeting as"a coffee-date," Katz said thatgathering "became a 90-minuteopen meeting of 30 people."Katz said opinions weredocumented and shared with theNewtown Township Board of Supervisors and the developer'sattorney, Ed Murphy.Murphy declined commentbefore deadline.Newtown 21st Century has itsown blog. Katz hopes that technological edge would "raise the level of awarenessaround issues affecting land development, particularly Sycamore Street. We want tocreate a 'buzz' by posting news, background information and opinions."The great thing about this 'new-fangled' communication tool is that it allows readersto respond immediately and publicly," she said.She said all responses are moderated to avoid inappropriate language andcomments.Katz said the blog invites users to add comments or e-mail posts to others. Toaccess the blog, visitwww.newtown21stvoice.b logspot.com.Initially, the group was just comprised of citizens concerned about the proposeddevelopment of the Acme site on Sycamore Street. However, Katz said the grouphas broadened its scope to Sycamore Street as a whole and is especially concernedabout congestion and "excessive commercialization" of New-town Borough andNew-town Township.Katz said, "the current state of the economy adds another layer of concern. Groupmembers and residents have informally talked about signs of distress experienced bycurrent businesses and property owners."While the profitability of individual businesses is not the concern of residents, vacantshops and unsold properties affect the lifestyles and property values of all residentsand business owners," she said.Katz said that creates a need for resident input on land use and a study to assessinterest in building a community center on Sycamore Street.Newtown 21st Century members are interested in the creation of a community center