Wow, we nearly fell off our chairs when we read the Op-Ed piece by the incumbent Supervisors in Chadds Ford. Talk about trying to deflect from the real issues facing Chadds Ford Township! In our flyer, Save the Valley’s graphic designer (a volunteer) meant to use the Chadds Ford Township logo as a way to identify which jurisdiction the endorsement pertained to. He mistakenly used the almost identical sewer authority logo on the Chadds Ford website home page instead (identical except for the size 4 pt. font that said “Sewer Authority”). The campaign literature stated the piece was paid for by Save the Valley. It was a mistake, for which we sincerely apologize, but to suggest anything other than that is really off base, and quite frankly insulting to Save the Valley, its supporters and the voters of Chadds Ford. It appears their letter is a lame attempt to discredit our organization as payback for the fact that one of their candidates wasn’t endorsed. How sad. Can we please focus on the things that matter instead of playing political games?
Save the Valley has expended thousands of volunteer hours over the past 2 ½ years, and considerable resources, to try and prevent a massive development project directly on the Smithbridge Road border of Chadds Ford. Concord Township, known for its developer friendly environment, approved a 171 house development that will produce over 30 million gallons of stormwater runoff, ruin ecological and historical resources, clog our roads with traffic and greatly diminish the First State National Park in Chadds Ford and Delaware. Never once did the Chadds Ford Supervisors attend a Concord Township meeting, lend a hand or take a public stand against the proposed destruction of 3500 trees and the ruination of Beaver Valley. To the contrary, they continue to utilize the services of the same Township Solicitor that Concord uses to carry out its development strategy.
Of course things could have been much worse. Save the Valley helped defeat the original rezoning which called for some 550 units. Chadds Ford Township was nowhere to be seen in that fight either.
Save the Valley will be at the polls tomorrow to answer your questions about the development project that threatens Chadds Ford. We can always use more volunteers and expertise to preserve our beautiful area. We are focused on the issues and chose to endorse candidates only because we saw what happened when Supervisors in Concord didn’t have the expertise or commitment to stand up to developers. We stand by our endorsement of Alan Horowitz and Samantha Reiner as the best candidates to protect open space in Chadds Ford. Please go to www.savethevalley.org to learn more about our organization or talk to us at the polls on Election Day.
Rob Gurnee
Chadds Ford Township
Rob Gurnee is a board member of Save the Valley
