Neuro-inclusive housing plan stalls after planning commission rejects rezoning request

Members of the Hilltown Township Planning Commission recently declined to recommend a zoning amendment that would have allowed Front Porch Cohousing to build a neuro-inclusive residential community along Route 113, the first of its kind in Pennsylvania.

According to Bucks County Courier Times, the proposal had drawn attention not only for its mission but for the debate it stirred over housing density and rural character.  

The nonprofit submitted a plan for a development at 1411 Route 113 and six additional parcels within the township’s Rural Residential (RR) zoning district, according to the report.

The concept called for:

• 52 units in five two-story buildings 
• The buildings would be clustered around shared common areas designed to foster community among neurotypical and neurodivergent residents
• Of those 52 units, 25 were proposed as deed-restricted for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD)
• The remaining 25 units would have been market-rate homes
• Two on-site property managers

Supporters at the hearing highlighted the growing demand for housing for adults with IDD and noted interest from nearly 300 families across Bucks County and surrounding areas, many of whom hope for a future in a neuro-inclusive community, according to the article. 

Yet, concern about increased density and the precedent a rezoning decision might set swayed the commission. 

One commissioner in the article summed up the objections, arguing that “the backbone of Hilltown” is the agricultural and rural-residential character of the township — and that altering the zoning could open the door to further development, eroding the township’s rural identity.

As a result, the Planning Commission voted not to recommend approval of the zoning change. The project will now go before the Board of Supervisors, which could decide to approve or reject the request at a future hearing likely to occur next year.

Read more on the decision here.

Front Porch Cohousing is a nonprofit founded by parents seeking long-term, community-based housing for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities. 

Its model is built around neuro-inclusive cohousing — neighborhoods where neurodivergent and neurotypical residents live side-by-side, each in private units but connected through shared spaces designed to foster daily interaction, independence, and dignity, according to its website. 

The organization promotes housing that is neither institutional nor isolating, but instead rooted in accessibility, support, and authentic neighborly relationships.