Beginning in 2016, Theurkauf Design & Planning worked with citizens of Devon in Easttown Township to influence Township decisions pertaining to zoning and new development in the historic village on Philadelphia’s Main Line.

The Township Comprehensive Plan establishes the overriding vision for Devon to provide for a mix of uses along Route 30 that are “context sensitive to adjoining residential neighborhoods”. TDP worked to assure that Township officials acted in accordance with that vision.

A 2016 proposal for the redevelopment of the Waterloo Gardens nursery included a mix of appropriate commercial uses, but also rezoning for a massive five-story apartment building and multi-level parking garage that was vastly out of scale with the surrounding modest single-family residential neighborhood and its historic fabric. TDP testified before the Township, the apartment building was removed from the proposal, and landscaping and pedestrian amenities were added to better integrate the commercial project with the community.

In 2019 and 2020, the Township considered zoning amendments to implement its Comprehensive Plan vison for Devon. However, we pointed out that the draft zoning failed to meet Comprehensive Plan goals, as it promoted an increase in residential development intensity to levels grossly incompatible with the surrounding area, and introduced incongruent land uses. The proposed public space requirements were inadequate and failed to address the defined need for a community landmark and public green space. With regard to design elements that would help create an appropriate sense of place, the proposed standards were incomplete, vague, and devoid of objective defined requirements to which a developer could be held. Armed with our reports that included analytical evidence and photographic simulations of the results of the proposal, the citizens were able to convince the Board of Supervisors to reject the zoning amendments.