Letter: Warning to neighbors
This letter serves more as a warning and a notice rather than this reader's commentary on the Springfield Township Zoning Board's decision to grant all of the variances requested by 9425 Stenton Partners at the board's meeting held Oct. 15.
The warning goes out to all Springfield Township residents who live adjacent to or close to a commercial property. By the Zoning Board's decision, anyone who owns a commercial property can now completely ignore the zoning code as long as they redevelop it into a residential property. Legal argument is not required. Burden of proof? Who needs it! Impact on the neighbors? Who cares! Developers are now allowed to more than triple the allowable density so long as the project is converted from commercial to residential. As board member Edward Fox stated, he was "sold on the luxury condos." He wasn't sold on the legal argument; it was the pretty pictures that did it for him. He also stated that the neighbors did not demonstrate any hardships that would be imposed by this proposed development. Perhaps he neglected to read the three-page letter and accompanying signatures representing close to 50 households describing the losses incurred should this development be permitted.
To all owners of commercial properties in Springfield Township — your ship has come in! Want to make lots of money developing large high density residential structures in a township with close proximity to center city and great schools? The Zoning Board is at your disposal to assist you in avoiding those cumbersome zoning codes that would prohibit you from such attractive profits in other townships. Don't worry about the neighbors, they don't matter.
I suppose we, the residents of Springfield Township, were naïve in thinking that the Zoning Board was there to protect the sanctity of our neighborhood. Now we know that they are merely a tool for developers to utilize in maximizing their profits.