Upper Pottsgrove Township officials approved by a 3-2 vote a plan to build a new municipal complex last year — on land originally purchased as open space in 2008, as angry residents continue to point out. Township commissioners, led by Board President Trace Slinkerd, say the land was never formally preserved through a deed restriction or conservation easement and that the complex will only use 1.2 acres of the 36-acre site. A group of residents filed suit in early 2023 to try to stop the complex, and a status hearing was scheduled for Feb. 7 on the civil suit. However, actions by the township this week — namely groundbreaking for the complex’s parking lot beginning Jan. 30 — have the residents seeking an emergency injunction to try to halt the work. Notice of the impending work appeared on the Upper Pottsgrove Township website. Matt Murray, a local real estate broker who filed the original suit, said the start of work was part of a “continued display of arrogance and fiscal irresponsibility.” Township Commissioner Cathy Paretti, who voted against the project, said the groundbreaking was “shortsighted, unnecessarily antagonistic, and puts our township employees in the uncomfortable position of having to carry out orders they know the residents oppose and which may end up being illegal.” Attorney Kate Harper is representing Murray. A state representative for 18 years, Harper believes the case is being watched statewide. She fears Upper Pottsgrove could be setting a precedent for other municipalities looking to use land paid for with open space money for other purposes.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 1/31/2024