The beginning of each month is a good time to look forward and think about what you plan to accomplish in the 30 or so days ahead. It's also a good time to take a look back and see how you did with the goals you set for last month.
Well, last month was a tough one. The Guardians of the Brandywine, an active group of Chester County residents who work toward keeping the Brandywine Creek and River clean and protected for future generations, were shocked and saddened by the Wallace Township Board of Supervisors' decision to approve a zoning Ordinance that would allow a Spa/Golf/Hotel Resort in an environmentally sensitive area along the Brandywine against the recommendations of the Chester County Planning Commission. Mr. Henry Rowan, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Land Use Coalition and Supervisor of Buckingham Township for 15 years has stated " This is among the very worst ordinances that I have ever seen enacted. It is poorly conceived and technically incompetent. Quite frankly, for a community that has Wallace's history of protecting its land, this ordinance is an embarrassment and is nothing short gift to developers." Many stand to be affected by this decision, and it is quite sobering when you think about it. The waters stand to be polluted and uninhabitable by current fish populations, no longer the High Quality drinking source enjoyed by residents as far as Delaware. Townships near and far stand to experience the effects of thousands of cars a day trying to navigate roads unable to handle the volume. As the population from resort vacationers and workers swells, and the emphasis becomes pleasing people who don't even live in our Townships our Rural Character and Way of Life will be taken from us. This is the decision that the Board of Supervisors has made. Not For Us. Without Us. What Do We Get? This is the decision that the Board of Supervisors has made. Out of fear of being sued by a Developer who's goal is for investors and himself to make money. What Do We Get? This is the decision that the Board of Supervisors has made. Even Though an Appeal Means Fighting the Township's Own Residents. What Do We Get?
Yes, last month seems to have been a bad month, indeed.
Well, how about this month? What are our personal goals? Collective Goals? What do you hope to accomplish this September? -adrienne
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3 comments:
Wonderful post. I am still stunned that the BOS rejected the CCPC letter/findings. As the leading county institution on planning and zoning, it is incomprehensible that the BOS ignored their advice. Even so, numerous people offered the BOS the research on 100ft+ buffers - the BOS still ignored the people and the science. After the police issue and now the PCCC adoption, what options do we have to get the BOS to listen to us – lawsuit? Recall?
I too feel we are left without a voice in Wallace. The BOS have their battalion of lawyers to answer questions when the going gets tough and we pay for them! Our civil rights have been violated as the BOS makes decisions BEFORE they have the public hearing. And will our taxes ever go up to cover the legal costs and new police department!
I agree that all residents ought to be concerned about the impact of Brandywine Valhalla. I just want to remind people to be realistic and to understand and accept the fact that the so called "rural character" of the township has been eroding over the past twenty years or more, ever since the first developers purchased farmland here (land which protected the wildlife, the woodlands and the streams, etc.)built houses on that land and then sold them to many of the current residents who are so up in arms over the proposal. The landowners at that time, some of them farmers, were greatly disheartened that these developments were destroying the rural nature of their township, something they had so avidly worked to preserve, and that, consequetly, they would have to put up with more traffic, less beauty, and the diminution of the rural nature of their township. These residents, some who still live here, had to accept the harsh reality that the only constant is change. It is not up to the people who have heavily invested in and cared for and preserved the majority of the land in the township to sacrifice a good return on their investment to protect the rural character of the township for those who participated in eroding it in the first place. No one can have his cake and eat it too. Let's look at the situation from all sides and ask ourselves truthfully what we are expecting of others and consider being grateful for what we have all enjoyed for so long at someone else's expense. No one is entitled to the beauty someone else has paid for and preserved. This is an indisputable reality. I make a motion we accept it.
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