Just wondering if there was any truth to this. About a year ago I read a courier-post article that there were endangered bog turtles and swamp pink on kresson golf course. I personally find this hard to believe, it is a nice area but bog turtles, I don't know I'm skeptical.
bog turtles on kresson golf course??
- Thread starter lostfcs
- Start date
I found the article. The link to it is below, but you will have to search.
Guy
Voorhees drives a wedge into plans for golf course
It wants to buy the land for open space, but it also gave development an OK. Allegations abound.
By Will Van Sant
INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF
VOORHEES - The preliminary approval of a development application here has raised issues of preferential treatment and roused the ire of area environmentalists.
The controversy involves the 154-acre Kresson Golf Course, which in April 2000 was chosen first on a list of 49 properties that the Voorhees Environmental Commission hoped to acquire and preserve for open space. The tract is home to endangered animal and plant species, including the swamp pink flower.
At a planning board meeting last week, the Aducat family, owners of the golf course, received preliminary approval to build 106 single-family units and 100 multifamily units on 771/2 acres of their property. No date was set for final approval, which developers have three years to seek.
Some residents and the one board member who voted against the proposal said the application was lacking in several key respects. Others pointed out that John Aducat, son of Mary Aducat, the applicant, has close ties to key members of the local Democratic Party, which holds sway in the township. John Aducat has been a contributor to the Voorhees Township Democratic Club.
An Environmental Commission review of the application during the summer found it deficient. The application failed to locate swamp-pink populations, address the effects of pesticide and herbicide use in the development, or give complete lot dimensions, the review stated.
"It was the consensus that the plan did not contain enough information to decide the feasibility of the project given its environmentally sensitive nature," said Debora Schwartz, chairwoman of the Environmental Commission.
Frank Dutton, the planning board member who voted against approval, said the application lacked some essentials, including a grading plan to show how storm-water runoff and drainage would be handled.
"I felt that things were kind of getting pushed through without the public scrutiny that comes with a complete application," he said. "There were people in the audience who got up and raised questions about political connections. Had we had a complete application, it could have been fully explored in a way that could have eliminated the appearance of favoritism."
Board solicitor Stewart Platt recused himself. His wife, Donna, is the Aducats' attorney. The move may have heightened rather than dampened suspicions among residents.
The Aducats are also negotiating to sell the parcel for open space, and some in the community contend that the development initiative is a scheme to get a higher price from the township.
Donna Platt said it was a prudent move, with no scheming involved. The Aducats would love to sell the land, which is zoned for residential development, as open space, but a fair market value must be established, she said.
"The concept of preserving and obtaining the maximum value for your property is a basic American right," Platt said. "All they are doing is what anybody else would do."
She said she and the Aducats were sensitive to the Environmental Commission's concerns and had tried to cooperate. She pointed out, however, that the commission is only an advisory body on environmental issues.
The application complied with state and federal government requirements and was deemed sufficient by the planning board, Platt said. Further, she said, final approval depends on addressing the grading-plan issue and other concerns of opponents.
Platt called "ludicrous" suggestions that the application may have been given preferential treatment because of John Aducat's relationships with local Democrats or because she is the wife of the planning board solicitor.
Will Van Sant's e-mail address is wvansant@phillynews.com.
http://members.tripod.com/veravoorhees/id23.htm
Guy
Voorhees drives a wedge into plans for golf course
It wants to buy the land for open space, but it also gave development an OK. Allegations abound.
By Will Van Sant
INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF
VOORHEES - The preliminary approval of a development application here has raised issues of preferential treatment and roused the ire of area environmentalists.
The controversy involves the 154-acre Kresson Golf Course, which in April 2000 was chosen first on a list of 49 properties that the Voorhees Environmental Commission hoped to acquire and preserve for open space. The tract is home to endangered animal and plant species, including the swamp pink flower.
At a planning board meeting last week, the Aducat family, owners of the golf course, received preliminary approval to build 106 single-family units and 100 multifamily units on 771/2 acres of their property. No date was set for final approval, which developers have three years to seek.
Some residents and the one board member who voted against the proposal said the application was lacking in several key respects. Others pointed out that John Aducat, son of Mary Aducat, the applicant, has close ties to key members of the local Democratic Party, which holds sway in the township. John Aducat has been a contributor to the Voorhees Township Democratic Club.
An Environmental Commission review of the application during the summer found it deficient. The application failed to locate swamp-pink populations, address the effects of pesticide and herbicide use in the development, or give complete lot dimensions, the review stated.
"It was the consensus that the plan did not contain enough information to decide the feasibility of the project given its environmentally sensitive nature," said Debora Schwartz, chairwoman of the Environmental Commission.
Frank Dutton, the planning board member who voted against approval, said the application lacked some essentials, including a grading plan to show how storm-water runoff and drainage would be handled.
"I felt that things were kind of getting pushed through without the public scrutiny that comes with a complete application," he said. "There were people in the audience who got up and raised questions about political connections. Had we had a complete application, it could have been fully explored in a way that could have eliminated the appearance of favoritism."
Board solicitor Stewart Platt recused himself. His wife, Donna, is the Aducats' attorney. The move may have heightened rather than dampened suspicions among residents.
The Aducats are also negotiating to sell the parcel for open space, and some in the community contend that the development initiative is a scheme to get a higher price from the township.
Donna Platt said it was a prudent move, with no scheming involved. The Aducats would love to sell the land, which is zoned for residential development, as open space, but a fair market value must be established, she said.
"The concept of preserving and obtaining the maximum value for your property is a basic American right," Platt said. "All they are doing is what anybody else would do."
She said she and the Aducats were sensitive to the Environmental Commission's concerns and had tried to cooperate. She pointed out, however, that the commission is only an advisory body on environmental issues.
The application complied with state and federal government requirements and was deemed sufficient by the planning board, Platt said. Further, she said, final approval depends on addressing the grading-plan issue and other concerns of opponents.
Platt called "ludicrous" suggestions that the application may have been given preferential treatment because of John Aducat's relationships with local Democrats or because she is the wife of the planning board solicitor.
Will Van Sant's e-mail address is wvansant@phillynews.com.
http://members.tripod.com/veravoorhees/id23.htm
Here is the article I was talking about. Thanks for the link:
Golf course may become subdivision
By STEVE LEVINE
Courier-Post Staff
Thursday, August 23, 2001
Kresson Golf Course, which is No. 2 on the township environmental commission's wish list of 50 open-space properties worth preserving, could become yet another subdivision.
The owner of the environmentally sensitive, 154-acre tract has submitted conceptual designs for 95 single-family homes and 100 multi-family units.
The 18-hole golf course is owned by Mary B. Educat and run by her son, John, both of whom live on the property but who refused to comment.
John Educat would say only that the tract has been in his family since the 1920s, and he referred all other questions to his attorney, Donna Sigel Platt.
Platt said a full site plan would be filed "in the near future" but declined to be more specific. Her husband, planning board solicitor Stewart Platt, has removed himself from hearings on the plan, she said.
The area around Kresson-Gibbsboro Road, near the golf course, is becoming increasingly high-rent. In nearby Woodland Glen, an upscale community now under construction, a house on one acre sold in March for $713,000.
Bob Lynch, a Cherry Hill golfer who has played at Kresson for the past three years, said with homes selling for that kind of money it's no wonder the Educats want to sell.
"I would be disappointed, but property is at a premium in this area so I wouldn't be surprised," he said.
Cindy Gilman, project manager for the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, said of all the properties on the environmental commission's list, only the Stafford farm off Evesham Road had more open-space potential than the golf course. The trust, whose national office is in San Francisco, this year helped broker the township's only open- space purchase from the list of 50 properties - the 50-acre Lafferty tract.
"It's a really unique natural area because of its tiered lake system," Gilman said of the course.
In addition to ample wetlands and rolling greens, Gilman said the golf course is home to several species of endangered plants and animals, including the bog turtle and swamp pink, a flowering plant in the lily family.
While Gilman credited the Aducats for being "extremely conscientious stewards of their land," she said selling it for houses would be about the worst thing they could do.
"Rather than having one turf manager who is trained, you will have 95," she said. "Homeowners are the worst abusers ( of land)."
Mayor Harry Platt, who is not related to Sigel Platt, said the Educats had development approvals in the 1990s that they never used. Platt said he hopes the owners do not follow through with their plans again.
"I'd love to see it stay as a township golf course," he said.
Platt said he does not know what the land is worth or how much the township could raise to buy it. Voters approved up to $10 million in bonds in 1998 to preserve open space, but bonds have already been issued for about $3 million, Platt said. Still, he said state and county matching funds could help the township raise $15 million or more for the purchase of the golf course.
Golf course may become subdivision
By STEVE LEVINE
Courier-Post Staff
Thursday, August 23, 2001
Kresson Golf Course, which is No. 2 on the township environmental commission's wish list of 50 open-space properties worth preserving, could become yet another subdivision.
The owner of the environmentally sensitive, 154-acre tract has submitted conceptual designs for 95 single-family homes and 100 multi-family units.
The 18-hole golf course is owned by Mary B. Educat and run by her son, John, both of whom live on the property but who refused to comment.
John Educat would say only that the tract has been in his family since the 1920s, and he referred all other questions to his attorney, Donna Sigel Platt.
Platt said a full site plan would be filed "in the near future" but declined to be more specific. Her husband, planning board solicitor Stewart Platt, has removed himself from hearings on the plan, she said.
The area around Kresson-Gibbsboro Road, near the golf course, is becoming increasingly high-rent. In nearby Woodland Glen, an upscale community now under construction, a house on one acre sold in March for $713,000.
Bob Lynch, a Cherry Hill golfer who has played at Kresson for the past three years, said with homes selling for that kind of money it's no wonder the Educats want to sell.
"I would be disappointed, but property is at a premium in this area so I wouldn't be surprised," he said.
Cindy Gilman, project manager for the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, said of all the properties on the environmental commission's list, only the Stafford farm off Evesham Road had more open-space potential than the golf course. The trust, whose national office is in San Francisco, this year helped broker the township's only open- space purchase from the list of 50 properties - the 50-acre Lafferty tract.
"It's a really unique natural area because of its tiered lake system," Gilman said of the course.
In addition to ample wetlands and rolling greens, Gilman said the golf course is home to several species of endangered plants and animals, including the bog turtle and swamp pink, a flowering plant in the lily family.
While Gilman credited the Aducats for being "extremely conscientious stewards of their land," she said selling it for houses would be about the worst thing they could do.
"Rather than having one turf manager who is trained, you will have 95," she said. "Homeowners are the worst abusers ( of land)."
Mayor Harry Platt, who is not related to Sigel Platt, said the Educats had development approvals in the 1990s that they never used. Platt said he hopes the owners do not follow through with their plans again.
"I'd love to see it stay as a township golf course," he said.
Platt said he does not know what the land is worth or how much the township could raise to buy it. Voters approved up to $10 million in bonds in 1998 to preserve open space, but bonds have already been issued for about $3 million, Platt said. Still, he said state and county matching funds could help the township raise $15 million or more for the purchase of the golf course.