Middletown will reimburse the Pennswood Village senior living facility $6,000 after the State Supreme Court ruled the township’s “stormwater impact fee” is unconstitutional and is really a tax that doesn’t apply to nonprofits.
Other nonprofits and tax-exempt property owners also are seeking reimbursements, too, said township Solicitor Jim Esposito.
“The decision came out … in April of this year, and (the court) did rule that a similar ‘stormwater impact fee’ was considered a tax,” he told the board of supervisors at itsSeptember meeting of the court ruling for the property at 1382 Newtown-Langhorne Road.
The fee was proposed by the township’s Environmental
Advisory Board in 2024 and was enacted by the board of supervisors in November 2024. It took effect in 2025, charging homeowners a flat $60 a year, while commercial properties are assessed based on the size of impervious surfaces, such as parking lots.
While Middletown’s fee was not the subject of the lawsuit, the state Supreme Court set a binding statewide precedent on April 30, 2026, in the landmark case Borough of West Chester v. Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.
Like other municipalities in Pennsylvania, Middletown began charging residents its Stormwater Impact Fee to support township-wide infrastructure, repair drainage and meet state and federal environmental mandates.
Tax exempt and tax-immune entities, like state universities, public schools, and government properties, can opt out of paying these taxes, but what impact that will have on Middletown’s budget isn’t clear.
However, Esposito said the township is prepared to reinstate the tax on exempt properties.
“We have put in the settlement agreement that, if any case law or legislative action changes it, and we can assess such a charge to them, it will be put back into place,” he told the supervisors.
In 2024, the township’s Environmental Advisory Committee said the township needs to invest approximately $1.5 million per year in stormwater infrastructure. Additionally, the committee identified the need to improve maintenance of existing infrastructure and systems in an amount of $200,000 per year. To meet these needs, it recommended a Stormwater Impact Fee to the board of supervisors.
The stormwater tax raises about $2 million a year for Middletown.
The Courier Times sought additional information from the township on Tuesday, specifically how many other nonprofits and tax-exempt properties in the township have sought refunds, how much will it cost the township in payouts, and whether the $60 tax imposed on homeowners in 2025 will be hiked to make up for the losses.
The township did not immediately respond on Tuesday.
JD Mullane can be reached at jmullane@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Middletown to refund nonprofit after 'stormwater fee' is ruled a tax
