‘Heartbroken.’ Forest in Ferguson Township cleared years after controversial plans

A Ferguson Township forest that was once the subject of a controversial development proposal has been cut down in its entirety, a move that has shocked residents and left environmentalists who previously fought to save it “heartbroken.”

The Pine Hall Forest, located on two parcels of land between Blue Course Drive and Old Gatesburg Road, recently saw its dozens of acres of oak, maple, black cherry and white pine trees cleared by the Pine Hall Development Corporation, which has owned the property since 2007.

Ferguson Township interim manager Tom King said there are no active development plans or permit requests for the land. And the township’s tree preservation ordinance, which requires wooded areas “be protected to prevent unnecessary destruction,” only applies at sites where there are active plans or requests.

“Although Ferguson Township has adopted one of the most progressive tree preservation ordinances in the region, it does not apply to timbering and forestry practices as defined by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code Act 131 of 1992 and Act 68 of 2000,” King wrote in an email to the CDT.

Act 131, he wrote, “denies municipalities authorization to adopt zoning ordinances which unreasonably restrict forestry activities,” and Act 68 permits forestry activities, like the clearing of trees, “in all zoning districts for the purpose of encouraging maintenance and management of forested or wooded open space as a sound and economically viable use of forested land throughout the commonwealth.”

Because the property is privately owned, the company had the use-by-right to conduct the felling without township interference or input, King said.

The Pine Hall Development Corporation was unable to be reached for comment on why it chose to clear the forest, and what it plans it has with the land moving forward.

The razing of the trees came after years of debate on the Pine Hall Traditional Town Development, which proposed a commercial area and housing areas. Plans that were first submitted in February 2018 also called for roughly 85% of the 65-acre forest cut down to make way for the retail and food service building, hotel, residential housing and more.

That plan was rescinded in 2023 due in part to pressure from Ferguson Township residents and the Nittany Valley Environmental Coalition to save or replace at least 40% of the forest.

In September 2019, the NVEC even filed a land use appeal against the township’s decision to approve the project’s development plans, arguing that township’s ordinance was misinterpreted and incorrectly applied during the approval.

NVEC Treasurer David Stone wrote in an email to the CDT last week that members of the organization are “heartbroken” about the company’s “sobering” decision to clear the forest. The nonprofit will be keeping a very close eye on what happens to the site moving forward, he wrote.

“If, and, let’s face it, when a new development is proposed, we will pursue the matter as best we can,” Stone wrote. “Replacement trees and other landscape mitigations are still a possibility, as is a shift toward family and work force housing away from the original development plan’s focus on student housing and extensive strip mall commercial development.”

If future development plans are submitted for the parcels, they will have to undergo the township’s standard plan evaluation process. Typically, a development’s preliminary plan is sent to the township first, where the municipality’s planning commission and supervisors will make comments on and recommend potential changes to the plan.

Following that stage, the developer will return to the township with a final development plan submission, which will again be viewed by the planning commission and supervisors.

If approved, only then can construction begin on the development.