Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com
Bucks County Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo took criticism from the public last month over a property his family owns and is selling to a developer.
DiGirolamo, alongside his uncle, Bensalem Township Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo and his wife, have agreed to sell their family’s parcel along Cold Spring Creamery Road, Burnt House Hill Road, and Progress Meadow Drive in Buckingham Township.
The property, currently zoned for industrial use, may soon be the site of a 150,000-square-foot warehouse as part of a project proposed by J.G. Petrucci Company.
Buckingham Township residents have voiced strong opposition to the project, fearing that the warehouse will significantly increase truck traffic on nearby two-lane roads.
At a Bucks County Commissioners’ meeting last month, Jeff Glauber, a Buckingham Township resident, said at last month’s Bucks County Commissioners meeting that the DiGirolamo family’s sale of the property would lead to many problems for local residents. He said the commissioner ran on preserving Bucks County and the warehouse plan doesn’t do that.
Suzanne Johnson, who lives near the property, said she believes DiGirolamo should “engage in dialogue” with those opposed to the warehouse proposal.
Buckingham Township resident JoAnne Amoroso asked the commissioner if he was going back on his pledges to keep Bucks Countians safe by selling the land for development.
“There’s not a whole lot I can say, because the property is under agreement of sale,” Commissioner DiGirolamo said.
The DiGirolamos have a long history to local farming, with their history tracing back to the early 1900s when they immigrated from Italy and began farming in Northeast Philadelphia before owning farms in Bensalem Township and Buckingham Township.
Commissioner DiGirolamo said his family has owned the Buckingham Township property since the early 1980s. He said kale and spinach were among the crops grown and then they were transported to Bensalem Township for packing. He said the family stopped farming in Buckingham Township and began renting it out to other farmers 25 years ago.
The developer has told Buckingham Township officials that the warehouse is being developed “on spec,” with no specific client lined up to lease the space, according to a report this week from TAPIntoDoylestown, a local news organization.
