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Land use in Doylestown Township has also
changed dramatically. In 1961, 51% of the Township was defined as
cropland with another 21% classified as stream valleys and vacant or
marginal land. Only 9.4% of the land was in residential use with
only 73 acres in commercial or industrial use. By 1971, residential
acreage had more than doubled and occupied almost 24% of the
Township. The comprehensive plan of 1972 noted that the bulk of the
Township housing consisted of single family dwelling on one acre
lots. Vacant and undeveloped land (including agricultural lots)
had declined from 72% to 57% of Township acreage. Most residential
development occurred south of the Borough in the Pebble Hill / Turk
Road area and in the Almshouse Road area east of the Neshaminy
Manor.
Commercial acreage increased between
1961 and 1971 from 42 to 250 acres, while industrial acreage
increased only slightly. Edison Quarry remained the only major land
area in industrial use. Most commercial development occurred along
Route 611 and near exits for the new 611 Bypass. The development
consisted of gas stations and restaurants oriented toward serving
highway traffic. In the Cross Keys area, a small commercial district
began to grow.
Recognizing that rows of large lot
housing unrelieved by parks did not adequately satisfy the need of
the community, the Township began to establish permanent open space
and recreation areas in the 1970's, as well as allowing construction
of more multi-family and single-family attached dwellings.
By 1980, almost one-third of all
dwellings in the Township consisted of apartments, condominiums or
townhouses, which were generally located near Doylestown
Borough. Average lot size dropped from 1.7 acres to just under 1
acre. Residential space occupied 34% of the Township in 1980 while
agricultural use had dropped to 30. Vacant space occupied another
14%. The development of parks by both the Township and Bucks County
increased the park and recreation space to more than 962 acres, or
9.6% of the Township. The County set aside land along Neshaminy
Creek and Pine Run in anticipation of dam construction, while the
Township acquired Sauerman and Turk I Parks. Commercial and
industrial land use also increased, with commercial use growing by
over 50% to 389 acres and industrial use more than doubling to 117
acres. The largest single addition to commercial land use was the
construction of King's Plaza Shopping Center in 1975 at the corner
of Route 611 and Almshouse Road.
This pattern of growth continued
throughout the 1980's and early 1990's. Residential developments
fill in much of the remaining vacant and agricultural land, forming
three major concentrations of single-family dwellings: a southern
area between Route 611, Route 313 and Edison-Furlong Road; the area
west of Almshouse Road; and the area between Route 611 and Pine
Run. Commercial development intensified along Route 611 with
continued development of Cross Keys and the construction of the Barn
Shopping at Almshouse Road in 1985. Park development continued with
the addition of Nemand Park, Turk II Park and finally the
acquisition and development of Central Park.
Currently, the township owns or
leases a total of 860.99 acres of preserved open space, of which
205.19 acres comprise the township’s six recreational parks. As has
been the case since 1960's, much of the remaining open space in the
Township is owned by institutions such as Delaware Valley College
and Bucks County (Neshaminy Manor, Dark Hollow and Fonthill County
Parks). The land that is now Central Park was purchased from
Delaware Valley College in order to preserve the open space for
recreational use.
Doylestown
Township continues to attempt to manage land use prudently as we
progress through the twenty-first century. While the pace of
development has slowed, demand for residential and commercial space
continues. Finding a proper balance between the various uses of
property in the Township is the challenge of our future. |
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