Evolution has been measured by Ages. The Stone Age. The Bronze Age. The Dark Ages. The Age of Enlightenment. The Information Age. But let's face it, we now live in the Misinformation Age. Some might say we are devolving.
You would think that with all of our technological advances, like the Internet and worldwide 24/7 media coverage, we would have unlimited access to accuracy. The problem is, there is so much misinformation out there that the "truth" is only as good as the person offering it. Credibility is everything. Caveat Emptor - buyer beware - is pretty much gone from the marketplace, but it is alive and well on the Misinformation Highway.
And the Ministers of Misinformation know this ever-so-well. Have you heard? There are definitely weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Pete Rose didn't bet on baseball. Parris Hilton didn't know the camcorder was loaded. Bill Clinton didn't inhale. Haycock Township is a model for fighting development.
A recent Letter to the Editor from a local resident made this claim about controlling construction: "Look at Haycock Township right next door. They seem to be doing a pretty good job of it". OK, nice statement. But is it fact or fiction?
Rodney Dangerfield isn't from Haycock Township, but he'd feel right at home there. Haycock gets no respect.
It has always been a quirky kind of place. It wasn't so much founded as it was scraped together, assembled in 1763 from the odds and ends left over after the surrounding townships had been organized. And with less than 2400 residents today, much of it still looks like it did back then. There is no downtown, no main street, no police department. And little controversy.
So why is this island of Shangri-la amidst the sea of development in Upper Bucks never mentioned as the site of the next Wal-mart, or housing subdivision? What has been its secret weapon to ward off developers and congestion?
The answer has a lot more to do with Mother Nature and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania than detailed township planning. Haycock has preserved only 244 acres on its own, and has no plans, and no money, for any more.
But the township is home to four major conservation areas: 5300-acre Nockamixon State Park, which includes 1450-acre Lake Nockamixon; over 2000 acres of state game lands; and the 577-acre Lake Towhee County Park. These cover about half of Haycock's 20 square miles. And, because access to such land is always limited, there are far fewer roads in Haycock than in other municipalities of similar size. The only major artery, Old Bethlehem Road, was cut off when Lake Nockamixon was created.
Even the construction of the lake itself, starting in 1968, showed Haycock no respect. Dozens of farmhouses, barns, bridges, and the small town of Tohickon were submerged under 70 feet of water.
In addition, there are several natural constraints to development. Richland, Milford, and townships to the south like Bedminster and Plumstead are rolling farmland, perfect for large-scale building. Haycock is dominated by Haycock Mountain, the second-highest point in Bucks County. There are many steep slopes, and the area is underlaid with diabase rock, making construction unwieldy and expensive. There are also heavy forests, which by law can only be cleared by twenty percent.
Because of these conditions, and because Haycock's town fathers made the decision long ago to retain the rural character of their world, there is no municipal sewer and water. Each home needs its own well and septic system. Developers can not economically build large subdivisions and shopping centers without city utilities, so they have moved on to more hospitable surroundings.
Today, many rural townships and boroughs are groping for ways to control development. But despite the fact that growth in Haycock is glacier-like, it is still Rodney Dangerfield territory. The township's success is not considered a prototype for other municipalities, since it is the product of location, topography, and beneficial decisions of state government. Unless other areas intend to flood hundreds of acres, tear out their sewer systems, and cut off their major roads, there isn't much slow-the-developers role-modeling in Haycock.
But I can think of about 2400 people who don't care if their township is a role model. With God and the Guv on their planning commission, they are in pretty good hands. Who needs bureaucratic respect when you have pines envy...winding roads, natural beauty, and country charm that is guaranteed to resist change long into the future.
A lovely sidetrip, just off the Misinformation Highway.