(GREEN) THUMBS DOWN
MARPLE UNANIMOUSLY KOS LATEST DON GUANELLA DEVELOPMENT PLAN
MARPLE » Township commissioners unanimously rejected the Village at Sproul Road preliminary plan for the former Don Guanella site and in doing so saved some of their most critical comments for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
“Clearly, this is a windfall for the archdiocese,” Commissioner Michael Molinaro, a practicing Catholic, said. “(They) never have paid anything to our township. We’ve been nothing but good to them ... And, what do they do? They keep marketing this property to developers. This is a total win-win for a developer and a total lose-lose for our township, for our county, for our state and for our country. It’s gotta stop. There’s other places to do what you want to do.”
The plan included 141 homes on 89 acres. Next week, the township planning commission is also evaluating two conditional use applications for the site, including the construction of a day care center, medical offices, a civic/community facility and a senior living facility on 71 acres and the building of 38 residential units on 52 acres near Cardinal O’Hara High School. A conditional use is needed in both because of steep sloping.
Attempts to reach Carlino Commercial Development and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Tuesday were unsuccessful.
Molinaro said some issues considered in the commissioners’ rejection was the requirement to have permit approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Projection prior to subdivision approval; the 250 trees to be removed are not all necessary to be removed and those chosen for replacement are not native or suitable for longterm survival; a comprehensive traffic plan for the Route 320 corridor has not been completed; and its lack of detail on impact on the surrounding neighborhoods.
“Personally, I see no need or particular demand for additional residential housing in Marple Township,” Molinaro said. “Let’s not minimize the loss of open countryside. (It) fails to respect and conserve natural resources such as streams, f loodplains, steep slopes and areas of unusual beauty and importance to the national ecosystem. Rather, it just gets rid of all of it.”
The commissioner said the board had a fiduciary duty to “protect and preserve the commonwealth’s natural resources ... This is it. This is the last little piece that we have and we’re not, and I’m not, going to let houses be built on it.”
Multiple advocacy groups that opposed the development plan reacted to the commissioners’ rejection.
“Marple’s residents should be very proud of their township commissioners,” Ken Hemphill, communications coordinator for Save Marple Greenspace, said. “They did what so few township officials have had the courage to do by rejecting a residential development threatening their constituents’ environment and quality of life. We know this fight is not over, but Marple’s commissioners just took a huge step to protect Marple’s natural environment for all the people including generations yet to come.”
“I was very proud of our board of commissioners last night,” Charles Protesto, president, Save Marple Greenspace, said. “They showed a great sense of community by not backing down to a developer that wants to destroy the last remaining forest in Delaware County. I look at this decision as one small baby step forward to saving this great forest for all the people of Delaware county to enjoy and use as a fantastic recreational site in the near future. Thank you to all the board of commissioners for all you’ve done for us.”
“We commend the Marple Board of Commissioners for rejecting the development plan and protecting this irreplaceable forest and the pristine Whetstone Run,” Joseph Otis Minott, executive director and chief counsel of Clean Air Council, said. “Protecting the Don Guanella woods is a win for Marple Township and a win for the Darby Creek watershed.”
“The township demonstrated real leadership in our region and state when it rejected the Don Guanella woods development project in order to ensure the commissioners honored their constitutional obligation under Article 1 Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution (Pennsylvania’s Green Amendment) to protect the environmental rights of their constituents,” Maya van Rossum of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, said. “With communities being ravaged by climate change, flooding, and other environmental threats, protecting the people’s right to clean air, pure water, and a healthy environment should be top priority for all officials. The Don Guanella woods are beloved by the local community, providing them with the environmental, health, and recreational benefits we all deserve. This was the right decision by the commissioners.”