Within the past few days, several media outlets have quoted my opponent in the upcoming election for Supervisor of Concord Township, Dominic Cappelli, as proposing that there be a referendum placed on the ballot in 2014 on whether Concord Township, on behalf of its citizen, acquire at full market cost the preserve property currently owned by Woodlawn Trustees and commonly known as Beaver Valley.
Mr. Cappelli has not personally shared his proposal with me, either as his opponent or simply as a 15-year resident of Concord, so I can only comment on what has been reported.
First, given the statements Mr. Cappelli has made as quoted in Delco Times and Chadds Ford Live, Mr. Cappelli does not appear to personally support the referendum he’s proposed. Hence, many others and I conclude he has floated this proposed referendum and spun it as a tax increase to insure it would be defeated if it ever appeared on the ballot. I, too, would not support such a measure, primarily because it is the least viable of the many, many alternatives available to preserve Beaver Valley for the benefit and enjoyment of everyone in Concord and neighboring communities.
Second, I and others conclude that Mr. Cappelli has proposed this referendum so that he and the other supervisors can point to its eventual defeat or general unpopularity as an excuse not to pursue other, more viable, possibilities to preserve Beaver Valley and other open public and recreational spaces in Concord. I won’t further speculate on his motives for making this proposal, but I do question his commitment to the highly popular sentiment in Concord and neighboring communities that Beaver Valley should not be handed to developers – as so many other tracts in our township have been – to build big-box stores and more housing developments.
The referendum I propose would be for the residents of Concord to instruct the Board of Supervisors not to change the zoning of the Beaver Valley parcels to allow developers to build 10 times as much commercial space and three times as many residences as allowed by current zoning. I support that referendum and I suspect that so would the vast majority of my Concord neighbors.
As an alternative to the straw-man proposal from my opponent, I join the defenders of Beaver Valley in seeing that its parcels are sold to a consortium of parties – including Concord Township, Delaware County, and private individuals – all committed to keeping this land substantially as it is: streams, hollows, forests, a vineyard and hay fields, with a handful of residences. Such a purchase option is within reach – with committed leaders in Concord – and would have minimal financial impact on Concord Township or its residents, while securing this property for posterity.
Parts of Beaver Valley could, ultimately, be joined to the new adjacent First State National Monument, which already includes portions of Chadds Ford. Having a small portion of Concord’s land as part of a national park property would be a source of much pride to our township and citizens.
As far as I can determine, commercial and residential development of Beaver Valley offers zero benefits for the residents of Concord, while adding traffic to an already crowded part of our township and spoiling its last pristine public recreational space. I regularly walk on Beaver Valley’s trails and invite everyone to enjoy it now and into the future.
Dan Levin
Candidate for Supervisor
Concord Township
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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