Putting the cart before the horse

I believe the Patton Township Supervisors have put the cart before the horse in assessing the proposed Patton Crossing development. It’s time to hold your horses.

I appreciate the time and service the supervisors give to our community. I understand that retiring supervisors want to vote on this proposal before leaving office in December.

But there are too many unanswered questions and concerns that first need to be discussed with the community about whether this land should be rezoned at all.

How does this proposal fit into the township’s comprehensive plan?

What is the township’s commitment to preserving the residential character of Park Forest Village?

Why not keep the property as zoned — for R-3 residential with a small commercial section?

What justifies creating a special “overlay” zoning for this property to permit increased commercial use including a multistory hotel? Is this “spot zoning”? Is it being driven by the developer? (Remember developers once proposed a shopping mall for land that later was saved as Tudek Park.)

What is the township’s vision for traffic and safety? The proposed access road onto Park Forest Avenue would funnel enormous traffic through residential streets and make nearby Park Lane a bypass for North Atherton Street.

There are many other issues about the site proposal itself, but before we look at “the cart” let us first be sure the horses are going in the right direction.

Please come Wednesday to the 7 p.m. Patton Township Supervisors meeting to make your voice heard.

This story was originally published October 28, 2017 at 9:41 PM with the headline "Putting the cart before the horse."