PROPOSED SPRING MILL ROAD DEVELOPMENT THREATENS HISTORIC DISTRICT IN WHITEMARSH

Written by Shirley Hanson, Board of Directors

“It is our opinion that this development project will adversely affect the historic and architectural qualities that make the project eligible. We strongly recommend that other locations be considered that are outside the historic district and will not impact this significant resource,” Kurt W. Carr of the PA Bureau for Historic Preservation wrote in a letter to the developer.

The development in question is a proposal for 27 single-family homes on the Corson tract along with a circular road with both access points on historic Spring Mill Road in Whitemarsh Township. It lies within the border of the Plymouth Meeting/Whitemarsh National Register and local Act 167 historic districts.

In an interview with urban-suburban historian and board member of the Plymouth Meeting Historical Society, Dr. David Contosta states his concern about damage to Spring Mill Road, one of the last rural roadways in the township. A professor at Chestnut Hill College for 25 years, he is the author of numerous books. Currently, he is collaborating with Carol Franklin on a book about the cultural and environmental influences of the Wissahickon Valley. He believes that “the impact of the loop road can be mitigated if the developer were to put it on Butler Pike.”

What Germantown's Decline Can Teach Montgomery County

Dr. Contosta’s research into Germantown’s history enabled him to draw lessons from its development. “I’m more and more convinced,” he said, “that what undermined Germantown was the building that occurred on every scrap of land. Germantown was a village until the 1830s when the railroad arrived, and then it grew into a pleasant suburb.

“Around 1900 open space began to disappear. This dense development had a domino effect as the more prosperous people sold out and moved to Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill. When they left, the tax base eroded.

“This could happen here in Whitemarsh,” Dr. Contosta warns. “At first, people are not aware of the effect of the losses around them. It takes about a generation to occur — and then people decide to move away from crowded and high density development and from the traffic, noise and pollution that go with it.”

Dr. Contosta’s experiences and findings suggest seven actions for residents in Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships and in all Montgomery County communities facing development pressures.

1. Educate residents about the historic resources they have. Dr. Contosta was surprised about how few people were even aware that the Spring Mill development was in a national and local historic district.

2. Actively support an easement program. You can get help to start your own program or take advantage of existing programs such as the Conservancy of Montgomery County’s Conservation Easement Program. Get the word out about the options landowners have. Let them know that donating easements can be financially rewarding to property owners.

3. Participate in meetings of your municipal Planning Commission, Zoning Board, and Supervisors. That way you’ll educate yourself about the decisions that affect you. Also, you’ll be able to advance preservation and conservation issues.

4. Add provisions in your local historic district legislation to include open space. The Historical and Architectural Review Board covering Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships does not deal with open space—it covers only new and existing buildings. Eroding the natural setting of a historic district, as the loop road in the Spring Mill development does, destroys its integrity.

5. Support political candidates who run on a platform that advocates the conservation of open space and historic structures.

6. Become educated about the true effects of highway widening, highway bypasses, and new highways. Will they help to alleviate problems or will they attract more traffic and more sprawl?

7. Look into the real costs of development — higher school taxes, the demand for more public services, and the loss of the quality of life.