Borough of Perkasie. Photo by James Short.
The Perkasie Borough Council Monday, Feb. 3 granted a conditional use application for a new Starbucks at the corner of 5th Street and Blooming Glen Drive.
The move permits the construction of a drive-thru on the property. Final approval, however, was tabled until the following meeting after council requested some minor modifications.
Located adjacent to the AutoZone, the proposed 4,000-square-foot building will house both a Starbucks and an attached retail space, with 46 total parking spaces and a nine-car drive-thru around the back of the building.
The site will utilize existing access points on Blooming Glen Drive and Shadywood Drive, with a left-turn only lane onto Shadywood. It will also be buffered by a six-foot noise-reducing wooden fence along the rear of the property line, said Bill Rountree, representative of developer WP Perkasie, LLC.
The anticipated hours of operation are 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m, with peak traffic expected between 7 and 9 a.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. A traffic study estimated 105 inbound vehicles during peak hours, with approximately 74 using the drive-thru, said Brian Atkins, project engineer.
At Monday’s meeting, residents of Shadywood Drive raised several concerns about the project, primarily concerning the adequacy of the privacy fence. In response, Roundtree and Atkins argued that the fence will be sufficient to buffer noise to neighboring properties but committed to meeting with residents to discuss additional buffering options.
Mayor Jeff Hollenbach also voiced unease about increased traffic, pointing to the pedestrian crossing from Shadywood Drive to the Glenwood Shopping Center. Council member Chuck Brooks responded by suggesting that the developer add high-traffic area signage as a courtesy.
Resident opposition
During public comment, residents unanimously opposed the project, expressing concerns about traffic congestion and pedestrian safety, noting that the business’s peak hours coincide with high school drop-off times.
“I’m concerned about the traffic coming out of the Starbucks. There are a lot of walkers that walk past where the Starbucks is gonna go,” said Kelly Smola. “They’re just adding a lot of craziness, an additional 74 cars in that area at that time. The whole thing is just concerning.”
“I’m 100% against Starbucks,” said Vicky Sellers. “I don’t know if you’ve been to the one in Quakertown. The cars are just lined around. You can’t even get through that parking lot. With the high school kids, the buses; the traffic is just gonna be atrocious.”
Other residents condemned the corporatization of Perkasie’s business environment and worried about the impact on small businesses.
“When you support the growth of businesses like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, you take all of the economic development out of downtown and you end up with vacant storefronts and windows,” said Colin Blaydon. “Think about every other crappy town that has nothing but drive-thrus and parking lots. It’s not good for our town.”
“Part of Perkasie’s charm is that it hasn’t been run by corporate chains, and we’ve seen multiple businesses struggle or shut down due to increased competition,” said Sofia Gonzalez. “Many people work hard to create a sense of belonging in Perkasie. That’s something a corporate chain cannot offer.”
In response, council member Chuck Brooks pointed to the borough’s “gateway business” strategy, in which chains are placed on a town’s outskirts to draw customers into the local downtown businesses.
“It’s a way of drawing them in and bringing them into the center,” said Brooks. “They are on the outskirts of our town. Our little town still continues to develop homegrown stores and storefronts.”
Council member Scott Bomboy also argued that council cannot legally prevent Starbucks from doing business in town if the developer has met the required criteria.
“I share concerns about pedestrian traffic, but I think the applicant has met the burden of proof with the traffic study,” said Bomboy.
Following some discussion, council approved the conditional use application before tabling final approval until the next council meeting.
The next Perkasie borough council meeting is on February 17 at 7 p.m. For more information, visit perkasieborough.org.
