NIMBY. Not In My Back Yard. Find it in the dictionary, and you might find a picture that, coincidentally, looks like Jane Steeley. In fact, Jane could well be called The Queen of Coincidence.
On December 19th, the Richland Zoning Hearing Board will consider Jane's challenge to the revised open space ordinance that was passed unanimously by the supervisors. A ruling in her favor, or a subsequent court appeal, could endanger all future parks and recreational facilities in the township. Why is this happening?
Jane, and husband Phil, have lived on Station Road for more than thirty years. Like much of Upper Bucks, the neighborhood has grown. Jane fought one change after another, including filing suit to keep out the new YMCA. Coincidentally, her latest legal challenge, to the open space ordinance, could also scuttle her hated Y, along with the RASA softball complex, and any new township parks and playing fields.
Coincidentally, Jane helped author the township's 1997 Comprehensive Plan, which clearly noted, "Open space parks and recreational facilities are important improvements and are vital aspects of any development proposal".
Jane has offered several reasons over the years for her opposition to the Y. "The building violates the zoning" (not anymore). "It will produce more traffic on Station Road". "We need to protect open space".
Well, before we crown Queen Jane as a selfless community activist, let's review her record. A record replete with coincidences. A record which any NIMBY would be proud of. If it doesn't benefit her, she's against it.
Let's be real. She simply doesn't want a YMCA near her home. Just like she hasn't wanted any other changes for thirty-something years - except the changes that benefit her .
Item: During the 1980's and 1990's, she was a constant critic of my Quakertown Farmers Market, even going so far as to demand that any changes ( including tenants inside the building! ) be approved by the Planning Commission - which she, coincidentally, chaired. Paul Hoot, the Richland Code Enforcement Officer at the time, stated that it appeared Jane was "carrying on a one-woman crusade" against the market.
Item: Jane's 1997 Comprehensive Plan included a proposed land use map. And that map called for planned development for most of Station Road, except for a "doughnut hole" around one small area, where development would be greatly restricted. Coincidentally, the area surrounded the home of Jane's mother-in-law.
And, coincidentally, the land where the YMCA is now proposed was labeled on the Plan as "Primary Potential Growth Area Through 2010" - the land which Jane, and the rest of the Planning Commission folks, felt was the most appropriate for development!
Item: In 1997, Jane learned that the township water authority was planning to extend their lines along a portion of Station Road, and then through open land to serve the new Quakertown Christian School on Paletown Road. The water line did not pass in front of her house, but she asked that the plan be redrawn to provide service to her. At taxpayer expense. The water authority refused.
And, what do you know - another coincidence. Jane then claimed that her well had become contaminated - by the Farmers Market! And the only way to solve the problem, she said, was to extend the water service to her home! Jeffrey Stump, the head of the water authority, had already warned her that there was absolutely no evidence to back up her accusations, but she went public anyway, misusing her position on the Planning Commission.
She didn't get her water service, and the well magically cleared up. But she did find herself as the defendant of a million-dollar defamation suit, which was withdrawn only after her resignation from the Planning Commission, and a public statement that she would never again seek public office in Richland.
Item: More coincidence : Jane's Comprehensive Plan called for township water lines to be built along the major roads of the lower end - Paletown Road, Old Beth Pike, Route 309, Trumbauersville Road, Route 313. And, coincidentally, Station Road. The same road that Jane claims to want to save from development and traffic. The same road she lives on! It seems her opposition to development wasn't quite as strong as her personal desire for township water.
Item: By 1998, it appeared that her attitude had become "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em". She wrote to the township, asking that her residential property be subdivided and rezoned to Planned Commercial. Coincidentally, no mention of the dreaded development and traffic she supposedly feared around her home. Not coincidentally, the changes she requested never happened.
Item: In 2003 she opposed the new roundabout at Station Road and Old Bethlehem Pike, and the extension of Station Road to Route 309, referring to them derisively as an "octopus". However, the new traffic pattern in the lower end has proved to be a great success, with cars moving smoothly and safely through the entire area. Coincidentally, the opposition has ceased.
Item: Last year, Jane was a vocal opponent of the proposed Front Gate age-restricted development, which would be built on the extension of Ronald Reagan Drive. In her neighborhood. No matter that age-restricted housing adds tax revenue to the township without adding students to the school system, and has been sought by both the Quakertown Area and Bucks County Planning Commissions.
Recap: Jane has sought to prevent, control, or change the YMCA, the Farmers Market, township zoning ordinances, recreational plans, Richland's water lines and water authority, the roundabout, her property's size and zoning, and age-restricted housing. All, coincidentally, in her own back yard.
If she loses at the ZHB, the next stop could be the courts. Again.
For whom? Considering Jane's history, anything she does that happens to benefit the community would be a coincidence!