Opposition organizes to fight watershed development

by MICHAEL J. MISHAK

A nonprofit community group -- the Wissahickon East Project -- formed earlier this month in the hopes of heading off a proposed housing development along the Cresheim Creek in East Mt. Airy. Though the development plan, which would place 23 single-family houses on a six-acre plot, still awaits final engineering, the group isn't wasting any time.

Named for the area of the park between Germantown and Stenton avenues, the nonprofit would like to see the land they call "the last surviving piece of wild Cresheim Creek" donated to the Friends of the Wissahickon or Fairmount Park. Bala Cynwyd-based developer DeSouza Brown owns the tract, located near the intersection of Anderson Street and Woodbrook Lane.

In an interview, firm partner Bernard Brown said that unchecked rumors are responsible for misinformation in the community. Brown confirmed that his firm had drawn up conceptual plans to develop about 23 single-family lots and that the design is weeks away from completion.

About 70 neighbors mobilized at a community meeting last month in response to talk of a large-scale apartment complex. According to Wissahickon East director Howard Coale, the East Mt. Airy community defeated a development proposal six years ago when DeSouza Brown sought to sell the land to two separate developers. While one developer withdrew an application for a zoning variance without explanation, another filed and succeeded with a proposal to build two houses, said Brian Flaherty, a Woodbrook Lane resident and attorney. Flaherty represented a resident who appealed the decision in Common Pleas Court. Citing watershed setback and grading regulations, a judge reversed the Zoning Board of Adjustment's variance approval, he said. Since both developers' agreements of sale were contingent on obtaining variances, the deals failed.

Brown said he didn't recall any such litigation.

Though DeSouza Brown has owned the land for 40 years, development incentives like the 10-year tax abatement and a recent boom in urban single-family developments led the firm to revisit Wissahickon East, Brown said.

With most of its business in central Pennsylvania, the firm has not developed in Philadelphia since the 1960s, he said.

Contrary to the belief of several community leaders, Brown said his firm's plans would not require variances from the zoning code. "The zoning is in place," he said.

Joining Coale, West Mt. Airy Neighbors president Marc Stier expressed doubt. "It will never happen," Stier said of the proposed development plan. "There isn't enough space. This community will not stand for that."

According to East Mt. Airy Neighbors president Derek Green, the land is split between two residential zoning designations, each with different requirements for lot sizes, setbacks and exceptions. East Mt. Airy Neighbors' board has also expressed opposition to the project, Green said.

Through administrative aide Vernon Price, Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller said she would not support a project embattled by community opposition.

The development, Brown said, is consistent with the surrounding housing stock.

According to Brown, part of the proposed development would be located in the Wissahickon watershed.

Coale cites insufficient setback from the Wissahickon and storm water management as concerns. Also, the development would abut the proposed "rail to trail" project being advanced by the Chestnut Hill Rotary Club, among others, he said. The project seeks to connect Fairmount Park in Philadelphia with long-separated areas in Montgomery County by rehabbing trails along the abandoned Pennsylvania Railroad line.

While DeSouza Brown has not settled on a definite course of action, Brown said his firm plans to be responsive to community concerns. If the firm settles on a plan, construction could begin as soon as next spring, he said. 

"When you develop in the city you have to work with neighbors," Brown said. "We don't want to create any animosity."

While DeSouza Brown has not received any formal proposal from Wissahickon East, the development firm anticipates coordination with the community group, Brown said. "We don't want to battle," he said. "There are no secrets."

Seeking a long-term solution, Wissahickon East sees their opposition to development as the first step in an effort to rehabilitate and reforest a once-sacred area that has been sorely neglected. Presently a dumping ground that offers easy cover to criminals, the land at Woodbrook Lane and Anderson Street could be a vibrant community asset, Coale said.

Meanwhile, he is set to launch the Wissahickon East website (www.wissahickoneast.org) this week. About 75 neighbors have already expressed interest in joining the group, which will be partially funded through $20 membership fees, he said.

 "We area a close community that has organized around numerous issues for many years," the group said in a statement. "We have long been extremely concerned about the use and potential degradation of the land along Cresheim Creek ... We are monitoring activities in our neighborhood and plan to remain actively involved in all decisions that affect our community."