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Population and Land Use
Population
Doylestown Township has undergone
tremendous change over the past thirty years. A quiet rural community
in the early 1960's, it rapidly developed into a suburban bedroom
community by the mid 1970's, continuing this trend to the present day.
Between 1930 and 1960 the population climbed gradually from 1,371 to
3,795; between 1960 and 1970 the population almost doubled reaching
6,613. During the 1970's the population growth rate reached its peak
as the Township grew to 11,824. Since that time, growth has continued
with the Township reaching 14,510 in 1990 and passing 15,000 in 1997.
A recent special census of the Township reveals the current population
in 1999 as 16,747.
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Land Use
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.
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.
A proposal
put together by Doylestown Township's Open Space committee showed
areas that should be considered for pursuit of open space or conservation
easements. Bucks County Planning Commission recognized the proposal
and added Doylestown Township to its list of municipalities to
receive monies to purchase these properties to aid in the
preservation of open space. Doylestown Township's EAC is also working
on conservation efforts along the Neshaminy Creek with funding through
Keystone Grants from PADCNR.
Doylestown
Township continues to manage land use as we move into the next
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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