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A July Victory
DELCO Planning Commission Declines to Recommend Approval
On July 16, the Delaware County Planning Commission took an important and unusual step in the review of the proposed Shoppes at Concord development: it rejected its professional staff’s recommendation to approve the revised land-development plan.
The Commission’s action followed detailed public comments from homeowners who raised concerns that had not been adequately addressed in the materials presented for review—particularly the project’s cross-municipal and regional impacts on Chadds Ford Township and surrounding communities.
One Commission member made a particularly significant statement. After learning more about the project’s effects beyond Concord Township, he indicated that, had he known about those cross-border and regional concerns when an earlier version of the application was presented in October, he would have voted against it.
Why the County Review Is Important in a Land Development Proposal
Under Pennsylvania’s Municipalities Planning Code, proposed subdivisions and land developments must be submitted to the county planning commission for review before the host municipality takes final action. Delaware County’s Planning Department prepares professional comments, but the appointed Planning Commission makes the County’s official recommendation.
The County’s recommendation is advisory. The July 16 action does not, by itself, deny the development, and final authority over the Concord Township application remains with Concord Township Council.
Nevertheless, the County review is an essential safeguard. Its purpose is to provide an independent examination of a project’s broader planning implications—especially impacts that do not stop at a municipal boundary.
Pennsylvania law defines a “development of regional significance and impact” as a land development that, because of its character, magnitude or location, substantially affects the health, safety or welfare of citizens in more than one municipality. The Shoppes at Concord raises precisely those types of concerns.
Public Participation Matters
The July 16 decision demonstrates why informed public participation is essential.
Residents brought forward documents, agency correspondence, engineering findings, and historical mapping that were not adequately reflected in the staff recommendation. The Commission listened, asked questions, and declined to simply endorse the recommendation placed before it.
That is how the public-review process is supposed to work. A development of this size and intensity should not advance based on incomplete or inaccurate information about its acreage, municipal boundaries, construction impacts, traffic effects, or permitting responsibilities.
A Meaningful Community Achievement
This decision reflects the sustained work of homeowners who have spent months reviewing plans, obtaining public records, participating in agency proceedings, and informing public officials. Residents did not merely express general opposition. They presented specific, documented concerns involving public safety, jurisdiction, transportation, stormwater, environmental resources, and regional planning.
On July 16, those efforts changed the outcome of an official County review. This is a significant achievement—but it is not the end of the process. The community must continue asking for a complete, transparent, and coordinated review before any final approval is granted.
The central principle is simple: A development whose impacts cross municipal boundaries must receive a genuinely cross-municipal review.
Fiscal Impact Analysis
Benefits to Concord
The developer’s “million-dollar” tax claim needs context. Most of the property tax revenue would go to the Garnet Valley School District—not Concord Township—and the vacant property already pays substantial taxes.
Concord’s actual recurring gain appears to be only about $50,000–$80,000 per year, while the larger 10-year figure includes one-time permit and development fees.
Before calling this a financial benefit, the Township should compare the new recurring revenue against the ongoing public costs of traffic management, stormwater enforcement, emergency response, road wear, and municipal oversight.
Gross revenue is not the same as net benefit to taxpayers.
Take Note
The July 20 meeting is cancelled. The July 28 meeting provides the community with a critical opportunity to offer meaningful feedback on the proposed land development plan and conditional use application. Now more than ever, your voice matters.
Why This Matters to Residents
Traffic Impacts at a Congested Intersection
Traffic Impacts at a Congested Intersection
The debate surrounding the Shoppes at Concord is not about opposing all development. It is about ensuring that any development of this scale is thoroughly evaluated and that its impacts are fully understood before approvals are granted.
The questions being raised by residents are fundamentally about:
- Public safety
- Health and welfare of the community
- Environmental protection
- Infrastructure capacity
- Responsible planning
These are the issues that regulatory agencies are charged with evaluating, and they will shape the future of the Route 202 and Ridge Road corridor for decades to come.
As the review process continues, Save Ridge Road remains committed to providing residents with accurate information, encouraging public participation, and advocating for a transparent and thorough review of all outstanding issues.
Traffic Impacts at a Congested Intersection
Traffic Impacts at a Congested Intersection
Traffic Impacts at a Congested Intersection
The Route 202 and Ridge Road intersection is already one of the most challenging intersections in the area. The proposed development is expected to generate thousands of additional vehicle trips each day, adding substantial pressure to an intersection that already experiences congestion and delay.
Key concerns include:
- Increased traffic volumes on Route 202 and Ridge Road
- Longer queues and delays during peak hours
- Increased crash potential at an intersection previously identified as high-risk
- Additional turning conflicts associated with multiple commercial entrances and exits
- Increased cut-through traffic on local residential roads
PennDOT's review process remains ongoing, and the project has undergone multiple review cycles and revisions given numerous concerns.
24 Acres of Nearly 70% Impervious Coverage
Traffic Impacts at a Congested Intersection
24 Acres of Nearly 70% Impervious Coverage
The current plans propose converting 24 acres into a largely paved commercial center with nearly 70% impervious surface coverage. Impervious surfaces include:
- Parking lots
- Roads
- Sidewalks
- Building rooftops
When rainfall can no longer naturally infiltrate the ground, runoff increases dramatically.
This raises concerns regarding:
- Stormwater management
- Flooding
- Water quality
- Long-term maintenance of stormwater facilities
- Increased pressure on downstream waterways
While engineering models are designed to predict performance, residents remain concerned about how these systems will perform during real-world storm events, especially as rainfall patterns intensify.
Impacts to the Environment
Scale and Intensity of Development
24 Acres of Nearly 70% Impervious Coverage
The development site contains environmental features that have been the subject of ongoing public concern, including:
- Wetlands
- Streams and drainage corridors
- Forested areas
- Wildlife habitat
- Groundwater recharge areas
Residents have also raised concerns regarding:
- Potential impacts to private wells
- Protection of the fractured-bedrock aquifer system that serves the region
- Long-term water quality impacts
- Habitat fragmentation and loss
Environmental reviews are intended to identify and mitigate these impacts, but many residents believe additional scrutiny is warranted given the scale of the project.
Scale and Intensity of Development
Scale and Intensity of Development
Scale and Intensity of Development
The proposed development would significantly alter the character of the corridor.
Current plans include a large retail center featuring major commercial tenants, extensive parking areas, multiple drive-through uses, and high levels of daily vehicle activity.
Questions raised by residents include:
- Whether the scale of development is appropriate for the location
- Whether the surrounding infrastructure can adequately support the project
- The cumulative impact of nearly 1,000 parking spaces and associated traffic
- The long-term effect on nearby residential communities
These concerns are not simply aesthetic; they relate directly to traffic, safety, infrastructure capacity, and quality of life.
Unresolved Regulatory Reviews
Scale and Intensity of Development
Scale and Intensity of Development
Perhaps the most significant concern is that several important regulatory reviews remain ongoing.
PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit Application No. 375666 has been under review for approximately one year and has progressed through multiple review cycles. As of the latest submissions, the project remained in the Traffic Impact Analysis/Traffic Impact Study (TIA/TIS) Mitigation Scope Review Phase, indicating that traffic-related issues are still being evaluated.
Residents are also closely monitoring:
- Stormwater permitting
- Environmental reviews
- Wetland and waterway approvals
- Infrastructure and utility considerations
Before major approvals are granted, residents believe it is essential that all regulatory agencies complete their reviews and that any outstanding deficiencies be fully addressed.
We are Working Hard for Our Community
Legal Representation
Environmental Advocacy
Environmental Advocacy
We have ensured the community is not on the sidelines—but formally present and legally recognized in this process.
By securing Party Status in the Concord Township Zoning Hearing through counsel representing affected homeowners, we gained the right to present evidence, question witnesses, and respond on the record—placing community concerns on equal legal footing with the applicant.
We have consistently appeared at public meetings in Concord Township and Chadds Ford Township so decision-makers hear directly from residents who will live with the consequences.
We have also filed formal written objections with the Delaware County Planning Commission, the applicant, and both Townships, ensuring our concerns are preserved in the official record for accountability and any future review.
Together, these actions protect the community’s voice, its legal rights, and its future.
Environmental Advocacy
Environmental Advocacy
Environmental Advocacy
Environmental damage, once approved and built, is often irreversible. Wetlands, mature woodlands, wildlife habitat, and natural drainage systems cannot simply be replaced once disturbed. That is why environmental reviews must rely on accurate, complete, site-specific data—not assumptions.
On June 23, the developer was issued an IPaC letter for the Shoppes at Concord. It states that consultation for the federally endangered Indiana bat “is not complete” and concludes that the project “may affect” the species.
The bog turtle determination also requires further scrutiny. It relies on a 2022 habitat assessment, and the letter does not clearly identify the lead federal agency or establish that final U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concurrence has been obtained.
There is also a significant discrepancy in acreage. The parcel is described as 23.897 acres, but the IPaC submission identifies 25.63 acres of disturbance.
The applicant should explain whether the additional acreage includes off-site roadwork, grading, drainage, easements, blasting areas, or work within Chadds Ford Township.
The letter also confirms permanent changes to groundwater or surface-water conditions and blasting near wetlands. These admissions support requiring a hydrogeologic study, baseline private-well testing, groundwater monitoring, and a detailed blasting-risk plan.
An Involved Community
Environmental Advocacy
An Involved Community
Our community effort now encompasses more than 20,000 people—proof that protecting a neighborhood is never the work of just one voice. Longtime residents, families, seniors, local workers, environmental stewards, and neighbors have come together with a shared purpose.
Over 20,000 visits to this site reflect a strong, growing demand for information and ways to get involved.
More than 1,100 residents have formally signed petitions and submitted letters, and several have taken the additional step of being represented by Save Ridge legal counsel at the Concord Township Zoning Hearings—demonstrating collective resolve, not just concern.
Beyond the numbers are thousands of coordinated actions: emails, calls, letters, meetings, and outreach to elected officials, the developer, potential tenants, and the media.
Together, these efforts reflect sustained, organized commitment from a community united in protecting the place we call home.
Community Advocacy
An Involved Community
Decisions that permanently affect a neighborhood should never happen without the people who live there fully informed and able to participate.
Through community information rallies and direct outreach—including flyers to the 250 residents closest to the proposed development—we are ensuring those most impacted understand what is proposed, when decisions are being made, and that they have rights in the process.
Visible support from homeowners and business owners—lawn signs, tee-shirts, and bumper stickers—demonstrates broad community engagement.
Public awareness drives participation, and participation is how communities protect themselves.
Media Attention
Public awareness is essential when decisions of this scale can permanently reshape a community. Zoning and land-use proceedings are complex, but their impacts on safety, the environment, and quality of life are lasting.
By engaging with local media, we have helped ensure this proposal—and the approval process behind it—remains transparent and understandable.
Published coverage has amplified resident concerns while explaining the technical process, empowering meaningful public participation.
Informed engagement is not optional. Transparency and accountability depend on a community that understands what is at stake and is prepared to speak up.
PennDOT Intervention
PennDOT intervention is critical because it ensures community concerns are formally recognized and legally considered.
By filing written objections and Petitions to Intervene regarding the proposed Highway Occupancy Permit and its deficient traffic study, we placed resident concerns directly into PennDOT’s official record—where they must be reviewed and addressed before any decision is made.
Several homeowners have already secured limited intervention status, giving them the right to receive notices, submit materials, and participate in the process. This guarantees transparency and prevents decisions from being made without public awareness.
These filings are not symbolic. They become part of PennDOT’s administrative record, meaning they must be reviewed, weighed, and addressed before any final determination is made.
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