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Health & Fitness

The changing face of Oaks...and who cares?

Here goes the Oaks neighborhood...again! Whether you are for or against development, our political leaders will not protect your property or interests unless you show up and make your opinions known.

Just like they say at a wedding…for better or for worse, till death us do part.  That goes for development in the Township.  Once it’s done, it’s done and there’s not much that you can do to cause an ugly, useless or unnecessary shopping center to go away after the trees and houses are bulldozed and the grass is paved over. 

The public face of the Oaks area is changing rapidly.  An all-out assault or improvement, depending on your point of view, is now underway.  And it’s about to start all over again on a smaller scale just a stone’s throw from the current construction along Egypt Road.

For a long time, a lot of folks in the Oaks neighborhood have seen a continual erosion around the edges of the village, an old blue-collar mixed industrial and residential area attacked on two sides by the predominant commercial holdings of Audubon Land Development (ALD) with resulting development that hasn’t done much to improve the esthetic character of the Township or the Village.  Now we have “The Dump” along with the dumping ground for ALD’s trailers that overlook the river that are so very visible from the highway.  Maybe trailers should be part of the new Township logo?  Or as the Township Solicitor once said, rather than a nice sign at the entrance from 422, just park an advertising vehicle there.  Lack of vision is not solely the providence of the developer.

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There hasn’t been a lot of communication from the Township about the visual impact of ALD’s new development on Egypt Road, but we know it will attract more cars, generate more noise and be a lot brighter at night.  I’m not suggesting I won’t benefit from its attractions. Maybe there will be a restaurant with some redeeming qualities.  It’s not likely Wawa will beat BJ’s price for gas but not everyone has a BJ’s membership.  Historically, there hasn’t been much leadership shown by the Township Supervisors that made anyone feel good about the Township’s motivation or intentions to look out for the interests of the residents in what remains of the Village.  There is now another opportunity for you to voice your opinion, if you have one, and perhaps help shape the visual impacts of development on what remains of the Oaks Village.

When the Township drafted its so-called Comprehensive Plan, much of ALD’s business holdings were not even included for consideration about future impacts on traffic or pedestrians.  That’s how I got involved and it was like pulling teeth because the Supervisors then in power, seemed to be firmly on the side of, if not in the pocket of the developer.  After the Comp Plan, such as it is, was adopted, the Township asked its planner to develop a Village Definition that could be used to guide and hopefully protect the Oaks Village and the other two village areas of the township, Port Providence and Mont Clare.  Work on this plan is crawling along, now apparently linked to a new ADL development and zoning change request.  More on that a few lines down.  I believe dissatisfaction with Township leadership was a leading factor in the ouster of a supervisor in the last election. 

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(It’s just my opinion, but I think it is time to elect a new supervisor during the next election, too.  But that will be the subject for another posting.)

Soon a new Wawa, Wendy’s and assorted strip mall type enterprises will occupy the newly terra-formed landscape where Oaks Gardens once stood.  The trees have been razed, exposing the backs of houses in the Gumbes Road area and wholesale change is underway along Egypt Road, Black Rock Road and at the 422 off-ramps.  Those lucky neighbors will soon have the backs of commercial enterprises as their second floor views along with more noise and light despite the developer’s promises to create a barrier, of sorts.  In this case, don’t complain about this to ALD.  It was and is our Township leadership, or lack thereof, that approves and allows whatever is happening inside the development.  What we see now is all a done deal and I’m only recapping my opinion of it because it leads us to a discussion of what’s next.

So get ready for Phase 2. 

ALD wants to build another shopping area bounded by Egypt Road, Station and Brower.  Along Egypt Road, between Station Avenue and Brower Avenue, on the side opposite the Post Office, the residences, all owned by ALD, will soon be torn down, a few at first, then all.  They will make way for a widened Egypt Road with larger intersections at Station and Brower.  When completed, traffic speeds and volumes will likely increase as PennDOT projected, reaching more than 30,000 vehicles per day within the next five to eight years.  This is more than double what PennDOT says traffic volume is now.  Got it?  More cars, more trucks, etc.

They call this new enterprise Station Square and their original plan calls for a ‘big box’ anchor store, like a grocery, give or take 65,000 square feet, to be shoe-horned into the space along with small offices, restaurants or shops, more strip-mall fodder for an already architecturally challenged Township.  ALD said it plans (which is not exactly a strong verb or a firm commitment) to keep one of its small houses on Brower and convert it into an office or something similar.  But all the others will be history. They offer a sidewalk from Brower to Egypt to Station (good idea) and say they will plant more trees, also a good idea.  Within the property boundary, they hope to attract new businesses who would ideally offer meaningful services to the neighborhood.  Pardon me if I remain skeptical but who knows, I might need an office space in a year or two.

ALD is asking the Township for a zoning change to accommodate Station Square commercial development.  The Village Definition project was supposed to be finished before any more development or zoning changes take place in Oaks.  At least, that’s what the Supervisors promised.  We have to wait to see whether or not the proposed guidelines to protect the Village will be sufficient to keep ALD’s big box anchor store and their associated strip mall shops from taking root in what is now adjacent to residential plots.  Keep in mind, too, that ALD has been buying up houses on Brower Avenue.  A shrewed move since it's not likely your renters will complain lest they become homeless.  

If this new commercial development is going to be allowed (remember, the Supervisors have to approve it) then there needs to be an effective transition that limits commercial impacts adjacent to a residential zone.  ALD may or may not be in favor or that.  Then again, we don’t know yet whether the Supervisors will demand this type of transitional zoning or if they will abdicate to whatever plan ALD builds to. 

To clarify, I don’t advocate telling folks what they can or can’t do with or on their property, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the rights of the neighbors or negatively affect their property value.  That’s what we have zoning, commissions, planners and political leaders for…to figure out how to protect what we have and manage future growth with a vision that accommodates and balances everyone’s interests.  The issue here now and historically (in my opinion) is that the Supervisors just haven’t got a handle on vision.  When asked, I’ve heard them say, “We can’t tell anybody what to do on their property.”  If that’s what they think, they should resign and let someone else do the job.

Quite a few neighbors have told me that ALD has promised things in the past and either not delivered or done something totally different, often with the acquiescence of the Township Supervisors who have caved in after the fact or make them pay a fee or something like that. Whatever the real history is, the general feeling is ALD usually got its way over time and the Supervisors roll with it, at least in the past.  Only after the last election did the Supervisors seem to develop a little more backbone but the citizens need to be ever vigilant lest their property lines become boundaries for more parking spaces and strip malls and their Village streets more travelled by increased volumes of trucks and cars.  

I’ve been told there is another aspect of ALD’s future plan, building high density housing on their dirt pile behind Highland Business Center, what I call "Demise of Oaks, Phase 3", which threatens to bring even more noise and traffic to the Oaks neighborhood but that, too, will be the subject of another posting.

The Township’s Planning Commission will be hearing a presentation by ALD on Wednesday, 10 April at 7pm at the Township Hall on Black Rock Road.  ALD made a preliminary introduction about this development to the Planning Commission a few weeks ago.  There were few voices from the neighborhood present but it was heartening to hear from several of the Commission members as they pushed back a bit against some of ALD’s Station Square plans, actually aligning with the interests of the neighbors, which was very much appreciated.  Remember, these are the folks who listen, evaluate and recommend zoning and planning actions to the Supervisors, they all volunteer and put in a good deal of their own time to help shape the future of the Township.  I’m hopeful that the Commission will fairly evaluate ALD’s plans and continue to advocate for a solution that protects and preserves the Oaks Village.

The actual Planning Commission agenda is posted to the Township website, http://www.uprov-montco.org/

If you want your voice heard, you have to show up at the meeting and let your opinion be known.  No developer should get an automatic approval of their zoning variances or their plans.  But unless the Township government hears from its constituents, it has no clue what you want and you have no clue how they think or vote. Whether you are for more development, traffic, noise, light pollution, more shops, a pharmacy or whatever, without your voice being heard, you will be forever stuck the outcome.  If you don’t show up, don’t complain.

Like I said, for better or for worse.  

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