Developer seeks to bypass Springfield open-space ordinance

by PETER BEISSER

It may not have been the definitive verdict either side had hoped to hear, but Springfield Township residents now know they will soon discover the fate of a proposed upscale senior housing project after local officials agreed last week to vote on a controversial rezoning proposal next month.

A standing room only crowd filled the township’s 75-person capacity meeting room at the Springfield Board of Commissioners monthly business meeting on Sept. 14 for a public hearing on the future of the Boorse Tract. The 14-acre parcel, located along Camp Hill Road in Oreland, is the site of a planned age-restricted housing community.

For nearly four hours, the commissioners, representatives of the applicant Wayne Rosen and members of the community talked about a proposed ordinance that would allow for the building of town houses on the site, rather than the single family home format allowed under its current zoning.

Although no action was taken at the close of the hearing, the commissioners said they could possibly cast their first vote on the developer’s proposed rezoning during their next scheduled meeting on Oct. 12.

For the project to go forward, the commission must pass a new zoning regulation for the property, one that would alter its AAA zoning – a zoning ordinance enacted two years ago to discourage high density sprawl within the township.

The plan for the Boorse property calls for 39 semi-attached townhouses, revised from the original 65 units first introduced to the township in 2003. Potential buyers would be required to be above the age of 55 to be eligible to purchase the homes, which are expected to sell in the upper-$300,000 range. Without the rezoning, the developer would be able to build 15 single family homes on the property.

Board president Glenn Schaum said he believed Springfield Township “needs this kind of housing,” targeted to empty nesters who can not currently find such accommodations locally.

“I’m excited about this project,” he told the audience at the close of the hearing.

Attorney Michael Cassidy, who represents the developer, and project engineer Rick Mast began the night by recapping the two-and-a-half year process the project had taken.

Cassidy said the development would be a great economic generator for the township because it would help draw and retain affluent seniors. Without children, these residents would not put an additional strain on the local school system by increasing the student population. With an age-restricted townhouse community design, there would be greater open space, higher tax revenue and less traffic than if single-family homes were built instead, he told the commissioners.

“I am very confident our proposal is good for the township and great for the community,” Cassidy said.

Many in the audience did not agree. During time set aside for questions and testimony from the public, most of those who stayed past midnight to give their opinions were strongly opposed to both the design of the project and process in which the archeological aspects had been handled. 

Local open-space advocates in the audience – many with shirts adorned with green-colored S.O.S (Save Springfield Open Space) buttons – aired their concerns that the project was out of step with what the voters have asked for concerning the township’s remaining undeveloped areas.

The density of the Boorse property’s proposed age-restricted community, the increased traffic its development would generate, storm water issues it could create and the potentially negative impact on historic structures located on the property – believed to include a mill, house and slave quarters from the early 18th century – were all raised throughout the night.

Rosen, who sat in the audience throughout the meeting, told the speakers that members of the Springfield Historical Society had examined the property late last year and said the homes were in “terrible disrepair.” He said the information he received led him to believe “there was nothing worth saving.”

Rosen agreed during the meeting to allow the artifacts to be looked at again and sufficiently documented. A proposed historic preservation ordinance for Springfield Township has been under the review of the township’s planning and zoning commission for several years, but has not been forwarded to the commissioners.

Commissioner Kathleen Lunn continued her earlier stated opposition to the change in AAA zoning.

“Springfield Township residents, by far, made it a high priority to preserve open space,” Lunn said of the multi-year deliberation that led to the adoption of the zoning ordinance two years ago.

She also said the board should look into limiting the accessibility of the rezoning to limit the number of tracts the ordinance, if passed, could potentially be applied to in order to preserve the essence of the AAA zoning.

“I’m very concerned that what we start here will be very difficult to stop,” Lunn said.

Plans for the development of the Tecce property, 41 acres of land in the Springfield Panhandle, have seen similar opposition from local supporters of low density development. Fred Tecce, the owner of that property located at 9303 Ridge Pike, is also seeking a similar rezoning from the commission in order to build his own age-restricted community. A public hearing for that project is scheduled for Oct. 20.

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