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