HELP: Let’s not lose one of the last old-growth forests

ACTION ALERT

HELP: Let’s not lose one of the last old-growth forests and natural flood controls in Eastern Delaware County

Marple Township Board of Commissioners (ZOOM) Meeting
Monday, December 14, 2020, 6:30PM

You must pre-register to attend the virtual BOC meeting.
Go here to register for the Zoom link:
https://bit.ly/MarpleBOC

Calling all residents of Delaware County, ESPECIALLY MARPLE TOWNSHIP RESIDENTS.

The Marple Township Board of Commissioners (BOC) wants to hear from you before they make their verdict about the fate of the forest. They have heard from the consultant for the developer that is seeking approval for their Phase 1 Project of clear-cutting 89 acres of Don Guanella Woods to build 141 houses, as well as the experts from the Darby Creek Valley Association, Save Marple Greenspace, Crum Creek Neighbors, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and other environmental organizations working to preserve the forests and protect the streams.

Now they need to hear from you before they decide the fate of this beloved forest on December 14

At stake is:
Ø The loss of one of the last old growth forests of Eastern Delaware County that could be an amenity to families living in our crowded region for hiking and wildlife exploration;
Ø More traffic onto Sproul and surrounding roads and more air pollution that comes with it. Delaware County's air quality is 17th from the bottom out of 3,143 counties. Removing the forest would eliminate one of the last good air pollution filters in the county;
Ø More stormwater runoff and flooding in Marple, Springfield, Darby all the way down to Eastwick and the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, and;
Ø More non-point pollutants reaching the Darby Creek and Delaware River.

For several years the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has been attempting to sell off Don Guanella Woods for development schemes, despite hundreds of residents urging preservation of this unique forest and beloved open space where many families had recreated for decades.

Recently, Marple Township’s own Planning Commission voted (4-2) to deny recommending Sproul Road Developers Plan to the BOC because of the gross harms it would cause. Now it all comes down to the verdict of the Marple Board of Commissioners on Monday, December 14th.

The Whetstone Coalition experts found:
Ø The stormwater management plans and calculations to be inadequate leading to a massive increase in runoff – an extra 18 million gallons per year. This will harm Marple Township residents and other Darby Creek residents downstream long after the developer is gone;
Ø The DEP requires stormwater management designs to handle a two-year storm – just this past summer we had two tropical storms that exceeded those requirements;
Ø Improper engineering assumptions and calculations from lawns and rainwater infiltration from these lawns compared to forests;
Ø Thousands of trees in a taxpayer-subsidized, mature forest would be clear cut by the developer but Marple Township's own codes and tree protection ordinance requires more than 4,000 replacement trees to be planted as compensation. Given that there is no space on site to conform with Marple's requirements, the township commissioners should not grant the developer the requested waiver to a noncompliant tree replacement plan.
Ø Even with 2 three inch trees planted it would take 20 years for those two trees to reproduce stormwater management benefits for one mature tree the developer proposes to cut down. Marple township should not take it on the chin if they were to grant a waiver. The enhancement with whips/tree cuttings is a deep loss to the township and for stormwater benefits and should not be granted. Mature forest preservation is the best solution for the community.
Ø Contamination from the landfill --- leachate has not been analyzed and testing has not been done of the groundwater below the landfill and the nearby stream and wetlands.
Ø The environmental rights amendment of the PA constitution ensures the same duties be upheld as Marple Township is the trustee of the public natural resources. The PA supreme court has clearly ruled that trees, flora and fauna, groundwater, all of these entities are considered public natural resources regardless of if a property is held in private hands.
Ø Building’s first floors carved into steep slopes would leave many proposed homes’ basements below the level of drainage swales, and dewatering of existing wetlands would likely occur due to the stormwater basins that are proposed for the development.

We need your voices now to ensure this bad development plan is denied. If you are a resident of Marple Township, the Darby Creek watershed, Delaware County, a victim of flooding, or a lover of open space and old growth forests - please plan to attend and voice your concerns at this very important meeting. The future of these beautiful woodlands will be decided December 14th.

You must pre-register to attend the virtual BOC meeting. Go here to register for the Zoom link:
https://bit.ly/MarpleBOC

To share the action alert on social media and to the township please visit: https://www.delawareriverkeeper.org/node/6492/.
To hear closing arguments by the Whetstone Coalition’s attorney made on Nov 16th to the BOC visit: https://bit.ly/WhetstoneCoalition. Thank you for taking action and joining us at the virtual meeting.