The Bucks County Planning Commission’s annual report reveals a dramatic decrease in proposed non-residential development, which largely due to a decline in warehouse proposals across the county, officials said.
“Looking at our 2024 data, we can see that residential dwellings totaled about 637 units. That was about the same as last year,” Director of Planning Services Michael Roedig said at the Bucks County Commissioners’ meeting earlier this month. “As far as non-residential square footage, we received 1.7 million square feet of proposed non-residential square footage, and that was down from 5.8 million square feet last year.”
The drop represents a 70 percent decrease in proposed non-residential development compared to 2023.
“We can attribute this drop to the decline in proposed warehouse space,” Roedig said.
Despite the overall decline in non-residential proposals, industrial development continues to dominate the non-residential sector, accounting for 79 percent of all proposed non-residential square footage.
Institutional development follows at 14 percent, commercial development at 9 percent, and office space representing less than 1 percent of proposed development.
Falls Township leads the county in non-residential development proposals and is followed by Hilltown Township, Warrington Township, and Richland Township.
“As with last year, development in Falls Township had a significant impact on the total amount of square footage proposed, as opportunities continue to present themselves at the Keystone Trade Center,” Roedig said.
On the residential side, the 637 proposed dwelling units match 2023’s figures, with multi-family development leading the way at 44 percent of all residential proposals.
Townhouses (attached dwellings) account for 27 percent of residential proposals and were trailed by single-family detached homes at 21 percent, mobile homes at 5 percent, and twins and duplexes (semi-detached units) making up the remainder.
Upper Southampton and Middletown townships, along with Doylestown Borough and Silverdale Borough, top the list for residential development proposals in the county.
Beyond tracking development proposals, the Planning Commission remains active in various planning initiatives throughout the county. In 2024, the commission worked on four zoning ordinances, three miscellaneous community contracts, and nine comprehensive plans, said Evan Stone, executive director of the Bucks County Planning Commission.
The commission also runs the county’s household hazardous waste program, which collected 196 tons of materials from 6,000 residents across five events in 2024.
Additionally, the Planning Commission’s agricultural land preservation program preserved four farms totaling 251 acres, including the 119-acre Kirkland farm in Springfield Township.
The commission’s transportation team coordinates six regional trail projects, with two set to begin construction this year.
Looking ahead to 2025, the Planning Commission plans to focus on several key initiatives, including the hazard mitigation plan, implementation of the countywide operations sustainability plan, energy benchmarking of county buildings, and upgrading web mapping applications, Stone said.
The commission is also working to update nine separate municipal Act 167 plans into one unified county plan.
“The Act 167 plans are the basis for your stormwater management ordinances, and the goal here is to have a single unified plan that covers the entire county,” Roedig explained.
Planning Commission officials noted that the numbers represent proposals submitted for review, not actual construction permits issued or buildings completed.
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