Agreement proposed in snake habitat

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,603
8,181
Agreement proposed in snake habitat

The deal could restart work at the Sanctuary development, where endangered snakes cut off completion of a key road.

By Rusty Pray

Inquirer Staff Writer

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/10075394.htm


Environmentalists are angry about - and residents are skeptical of - a tentative agreement that could allow work to resume at the Sanctuary, the Evesham development where construction was halted two years ago to protect endangered snakes.


The proposed agreement between the Pinelands Commission and developer Iva Samost, announced Friday, would pave the way for completion of Georgia O'Keefe Way.


About a half-mile of the road, which is supposed to curl inside the development like a horseshoe, connecting the northern and southern halves, is unfinished. The unpaved portion is lined by fences and bisected by culverts designed to allow timber rattlesnakes to cross safely beneath the road.


Under the agreement, the final section of Georgia O'Keefe Way would be built over 12-foot-wide, box-type culverts for the snakes. Other measures include replacing the fencing along the road with permanent barriers.


Iva Samost also has agreed to contribute $75,000 to the commission.


The upscale development sits on 665 acres bordering Wharton State Forest, part of the Pinelands preserve. Reduced to 247 houses from the original plan of 400, it has been a battleground for developers and environmentalists for years.


The Pinelands Commission, which governs most land use in the Pine Barrens, stopped construction after a nest of the threatened Northern pine snake was found in June 2002. Some construction was allowed after the commission and another developer, Signature Homes, reached an agreement in April.


Construction also had been stopped - because of the presence of the endangered timber rattlesnake - before a 2000 settlement with the original developer, Stephen Samost.


The latest settlement would be with his mother, Iva, who filed a federal lawsuit against the commission in December after it advised Evesham not to approve construction permits until the developer took steps to protect the snakes.


The commission will vote on the proposal Nov. 12, spokesman Fran Rapa said. It has scheduled a public information session for 7 p.m. next Tuesday at the Gibson House, an Evesham community center on Tuckerton Road.


The settlement is contingent on Iva Samost's reaching a separate agreement with another developer over title to a handful of undeveloped parcels.


Carleton Montgomery, executive director of the environmental group Pinelands Preservation Alliance, called the proposed agreement "troubling" and accused the commission of forsaking public hearings in favor of out-of-court settlements as a more expedient way to resolve disputes with developers.


"They have abandoned their regulatory mandate to protect the habitat of endangered species," he said. "They have very consciously not studied these [snake] populations because they're afraid they'll find more. They don't want to know what's there. It's 'get it off our plate.' "


Rapa said the "matter has been under review for two years, so I would not categorize it as 'just get it off our plate.' "


He said the commission had consulted state Department of Environmental Protection experts and its own scientists.


"The commission would not be recommending settlement if it felt it did not meet our legal obligation to protect the snakes," he said.


Residents are wary.


"It's a step in the right direction, but as far as I'm concerned it's just a proposal," said Dan Giangiulio, a member of the homeowners' association and a resident of Georgia O'Keefe Way. "Right now, we don't have a lot of confidence in anything."


Residents say they want the road finished so their children do not have to walk or ride their bicycles along busy Hopewell Road to get from one side of the development to the other. They also contend the unfinished portion of the road prevents emergency vehicles from reaching homes quickly.
 

Bobbleton

Explorer
Mar 12, 2004
466
46
NJ
I was in the area and did a little recon. Somebody might find these interesting.

http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=244&pos=4
http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=244&pos=5

Also, these guys mean business . . .

http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=244&pos=6

The thing that disturbs me is that if i could find the place--collectors can, too. They need to not publicize things so specifically and make it a habit to have rangers frequent the area at those key times of hibernation and emergence.

-Bob
 
Top