An opportunity for Penn State

For 127 days, members and friends of the Nittany Valley Water Coalition occupied the land on Whitehall Road to protest the proposed Toll Brothers student housing development. The Cottages development is slated to be built on the Slab Cabin Watershed, upslope from the wellheads that supply the majority of the drinking water for State College residents. Penn State, which still owns this land, recently had the protesters evicted and announced that, after five years of letting this 44-acre parcel lie dormant, it signed a lease to rent the land to a local farmer to grow winter wheat.

This is great news and a wonderful opportunity for Penn State to be on the forefront of community and environmental cooperation! Penn State, the Toll Brothers and the Nittany Valley Coalition can come together to find another location for the Toll Brothers luxury student housing development, one that is not right next to Slab Cabin Run and the source of the community’s drinking water. This farmland also has one of the most dramatic, scenic views of all the green space in the region and is highly valued by the community for its beauty. Think what a great public relations opportunity it would be to have the university and the College of Agriculture turn this pristine land on the Whitehall Road into an agricultural learning center to support economically viable and sustainable farming and research. It’s time for Penn State to generate some positive and proactive news.

This story was originally published October 18, 2017 at 7:58 PM with the headline "An opportunity for Penn State."