The new YMCA is still on hold, at least for the time being. A Commonwealth Court panel ruled that Richland Township can not lease "open space" along Station Road to the Upper Bucks Y. But not for the reasons you might think. And maybe not permanently. But every municipality in the state will be watching.
The township will be appealing the decision, which was based on relatively minor, curable violations, and also revising the code definition of open space, so the final outcome is not certain. But what is certain is that the ruling has ramifications far beyond Richland, and a handful of selfish families may have a disastrous effect on hundreds of Pennsylvania towns.
There was never public outrage against the new Y. Jane and Phil Steeley, and Ken Hill, backed by supervisor Mike Zowniriw, Paul F.A. Maderson, Vic Stevens, and the Richland Citizens Alliance, generally oppose anything in Richland for their own political reasons, regardless of the consequences to the community at large. This suit was never about land use, it was about personal agenda.
They argued to the Court that the YMCA was not a charitable organization; that the building would be too large; that the community would not receive "significant public benefit"; that the recreational facility would violate the township's Comprehensive Plan; that "construction of a private facility on public open space" would violate the Township Code and Zoning Ordinance.
The Court didn't buy any of those arguments! In fact, the panel actually seemed to like the YMCA's plans: "... although its objectives of providing recreational facilities and child care to its citizens are laudable, this does not eliminate the need for the township to accomplish these goals in accordance with the law".
And exactly how did these plans violate the law? The court decided that parking spaces, access roads, a storm-water basin, and day care and classrooms are not allowed under the township's open space ordinance. That's it. None of those other "noble" reasons. Richland really has no choice but to appeal. Otherwise, no municipality in the state will be able to build parking areas, access roads, or water detention basins for any of their parks and recreational facilities. What good are all of these "public" lands if no one can get to them? It makes no sense.
Zowniriw, who fought his own township, and even went so far as to write an improper personal letter to the trial judge, had predictable praise for his buddies. "I think the Steeleys and Hill should be considered heroes by people in Richland Township who treasure the rural character of Richland Township and the natural open space we've been blessed with for many years."
"Heroes"? If the RCA wins, everyone else loses. The Steeleys have personal reasons for fighting Richland. Jane has been furious that the township updated the Comprehensive Plan, which she created back in the 1990's as chairperson of the Planning Commission. The plan she designed to keep development away from her house. "Natural open space"? It's an overgrown field with little meaningful vegetation. But it is the view from Jane's window.
The losers are the 4000 or so people who use the old YMCA facilities, and were looking forward to a beautiful new building. And the nearby neighbors, who would have seen the value of their homes increase. And the hundreds of community youth sports participants who had been promised free use of the athletic fields. And the rest of Richland, Quakertown, Milford, Haycock, Richlandtown, Trumbauersville, and Springfield, who would have had a state of the art community center with no taxpayer dollars!
Sure, the Y charges fees, but no more than municipalities charge to use the same type of building - and that is after taxpayers shell out millions for construction. The YMCA would have paid for everything here.
If Richland didn't appeal, every town in Pennsylvania would be stuck with the same court ruling. How do you create parks and playing fields without parking, roads, and water management?
And any story involving the RCA would not be complete without a healthy dose of hypocrisy. Zowniriw and Stevens, who opposed leasing ground to the private, non-profit YMCA, now insist that the township lease ground right next door, with a rundown school house, to the private, non-profit Richland Historical Society. For one dollar. The Society run by - Vic Stevens!
And what do they use to justify this demand? An old unsigned, undated, discarded draft of a proposed contract between the township and the historical society to transfer ownership of the school building. An agreement so incomplete that even Z concluded "obviously it had not been finalized".
Mike and Vic, here's a newsflash: Unused drafts vastly outnumber final contracts in the business world. There is a reason the document is unsigned - the parties never reached an agreement! It is not proof of a deal, it is proof that there was no deal .
Back in reality, four of the six township boards voted to keep the schoolhouse for Richland's own needs. But Zowniriw sent out an email saying that, in his opinion, only three of those boards were "appropriate committees to offer their opinion", and (surprise!) two agreed with him. Supervisor Rick Orloff replied "Who are you to say which committees votes count and which don't - tell that to the committees that don't count."
Z's answer: "My dear chairman Orloffsky, I clearly requested an opinion from all committees. Your reply is inappropriate and sounds to me like you need a long vacation."
For anyone who has been following Zowniriw's treatment of his neighbors, this type of response is no surprise. Kind of like the way the RCA is treating all of Upper Bucks.