Further testimony scheduled during New Hope council’s Sept. 19 meeting.
By: Linda Seida, Staff Writer
NEW HOPE The Borough Council will continue a hearing next week for a controversial proposal to open a Dunkin’ Donuts, despite a recent legal maneuver that already claims victory for the franchise.
Attorney Martin King claimed victory in a newspaper notice published Aug. 16. In it, he said his clients, Joe and Joni Glassman, have the right to open the shop because a stipulation calling for at least seven hours of testimony within 100 days had been breached.
Borough officials said they think the claim is hogwash. The Glassmans would have had their seven hours in less than 100 days if they had not requested a continuance, according to a land use appeal filed by the borough’s solicitor in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.
"To my mind, it’s a self-inflicted wound," council President Richard Hirschfield said.
The applicants’ legal maneuvering will not prejudice the council’s decision, according to Mr. Hirschfield.
Still, it has thrown another wrinkle into an already controversial mix.
Mr. Hirschfield said the borough had hoped to wrap up the hearings "fairly quickly," but "now we have to invest thousands of dollars in legal fees for this foolishness. It is what it is."
Mr. King said the borough’s appeal is "a prudent thing for them to do."
He said he believes the legal wrangling will not prejudice the council against his clients.
"I have high regard for members of the Borough Council," he said. "I think they can separate the wheat from the chaff."
The conditional use hearing began April 11. The Glassmans requested a continuance from the May hearing, which means they skipped that month. They resumed testimony in June, July and August.
Further testimony is scheduled during the council’s Sept. 19 meeting, which will begin at 7:30 p.m. The testimony is expected to include objections from the shop’s neighbors, who have already expressed worries over trash and concerns over traffic. In addition, some borough residents object to the arrival of another chain. They want to maintain the quirks and uniqueness that has long defined New Hope.
The shop at Bridge and Main streets also would include a Baskin-Robbins. It would sit diagonally across the town’s main intersection from a Starbucks.