Mayor: No development at Woodcrest property
This week, I would like to provide Cherry Hill’s residents with an update on the status of the Woodcrest Country Club property.
The historic golf course was in the news once again last week, as its new owners, the First Montgomery Group, appealed a decision by the state Department of Environmental Protection to exclude the course from the sewer-service area in the township.
I want to start by being very clear: I, and the members of township council, stand firm in our commitment to fight and do everything in our power to keep the country club property from being developed.
We will not allow any development at the Woodcrest Country Club property. Period. The 165-acre site must be preserved as open space for future generations.
First Montgomery’s contention that the golf course was only recently removed from the sewer-service area is contrary to fact.
The property has been excluded from the proposed plan for years, which First Montgomery knew prior to its bid.
The township and the county repeatedly indicated before the auction that development was not appropriate on this site, in part because there was no sewer service available.
Shortly after purchasing the land, First Montgomery indicated that it intended to “maintain the integrity” of the property and that its owners “value[d] Woodcrest Country Club’s historical ties to the community.” At that time, First Montgomery represented publicly that its short- and long-term goal was to keep the property as a golf course. (You can read the press release they issued three days after the May 20 auction here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/5/prweb10763924.htm.)
What First Montgomery failed to disclose at the time was its plan to seek a change to the sewer-service area so that it could develop the property — a plan that has since become apparent.
Now, First Montgomery is trying to convince the DEP that the property contains only a small amount of environmentally sensitive areas of wetlands.
We will challenge any finding of this nature, as we know the property’s environmental and historical importance goes beyond just a mere measure of wetlands.
First Montgomery has continuously tried to deceive the public as to its true intentions — and while it may have won the auction, it will not win the fight to develop the property.
Now that First Montgomery’s deception has been revealed, we want to assure you that together with the county, we will continue to fight, on every front, to protect and preserve one of our community’s largest and last remaining pieces of open space, and prevent development of this historically significant and environmentally sensitive property.
We have continuously reiterated our position to First Montgomery, as recently as last week, in plain and straightforward language: We will not allow any development on the Woodcrest Country Club property, period.
We are not taken in by First Montgomery’s disingenuous appeal, and we are hopeful that the court will recognize First Montgomery’s self-serving actions as an attempt to improperly develop land that should stay green forever.
The mayor and council stand united in this effort, and we ask you to stand strong with us to help protect one of the last green spaces in Cherry Hill.
We assure you that we will not go away. We will not give up. We will not back down. We will do the right thing for our community’s future.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call my office at (856) 488–7878, email me at [email protected], or contact Council President David Fleisher at [email protected].
