Click on the Myth to Find out the Real Facts about Kardon Park
Myth: The new development will take away our park.
Myth: Kardon Park is perfectly safe to use as a public park right now. No remediation is necessary.
Myth: There are public grants available to remediate the site without the development.
Myth: The development will worsen traffic which is already terrible.
Myth: Our property values will go down.
Myth: There will be no loss of jobs if this project does not proceed.
Myth: The development will worsen flooding problems in the Lake Drive community.
Myth: The remediation process will be hazardous to nearby residents.
Myth: The ponds are already in a sorry state. The development will degrade them further.
Myth: We’re losing trees and the new development will worsen pollution in our area.
Myth: Downingtown needs more parks.
Myth: Single Family homes are a better choice for this site.
Myth: the market is terrible and the homes will not sell.
Myth: The new development
will take away our park.
Fact: The development not only preserves
the park but improves it. The land area devoted to park use will double
-- from approximately 10 acres used currently to approximately 22 acres
available to the public. Woods, trails and ponds will remain
and extensive new trails will be built including three new footbridges
across the millrace, opening up a multi-acre wooded meadow
for public enjoyment. For pictures of what
the park will look like after the development click here. To see the new public parking will also
be built for users of the Lions Trail and Struble Trail. Instead of cars
dangerously sprawled along Norwood Road on a busy weekend, there will
now be a safe public parking lot protected from oncoming traffic. The
existing crumbling trails will be rebuilt so they will no longer hold
muddy puddles and ice. For
the location of the new public parking and trails proposed, click
here.
Myth: Kardon Park is perfectly
safe to use as a public park right now. No remediation
is necessary.
Fact: Fact: In the early
1990’s the Borough learned from regulatory authorities that the property
it had acquired years earlier from various industrial and other land owners
was contaminated from residue of years of dumping and would require remediation. To
see the past dumping areas on the site click here. In order to avoid
burdening Downingtown taxpayers with the cost of clean up, the Borough
Council and Main Street civic leaders at the time decided to sell the property
and have a private developer remediate the site. To do so, they sought
and obtained an Act 2 clearance from the State Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP). The Borough’s consultants presented results of detailed
surveys of the nature of the use of the park to determine the exposure
levels. The surveys documented that 77% of the park users stayed on or
very near the paved trails, 74% of park visitors were adults not teenagers
or children, and the average visitor duration on the property was 10 minutes.
Based on these limited exposures, the DEP cleared the property to be used
as a passive park, delineating the areas to be off limits to the public
unless remediated. The DEP further conditioned its approval on the usage
patterns and exposures remaining consistent with the surveys. For
a copy of the map showing areas off limits to the public unless remediated
click here. For
a copy of the DEP Act 2 approval order, click here.
If the area proposed for development now were to be used for a passive park, it would have to be remediated to the same higher standard now proposed by the developer of Kardon Ponds. Should the development fall through and the land made available for use as a public park, it would have to be cleaned up at taxpayer expense.
Myth: There are public grants available
to remediate the site without the development.
Fact:Downingtown has indeed received a nearly $1 million State
matching grant to add to the developer’s contribution, to remediate the
contamination of Kardon Park. However, these funds are conditioned on
the rest of the mixed use development going through since the State seeks
to support jobs, economic development and tax revenues for the Borough
with its grant. Should the development fail to start in time in order
to spend the funds by July, 2011, Downingtown tax payers
will lose this grant. The Borough is not aware of
any other public grants available to clean up a public park alone, especially
when the large, active Kerr park is immediately nearby.
Myth: The development
will worsen traffic which is already terrible.
Fact: Traffic improvements to be paid
for by the developer will improve traffic conditions over today. Though
traffic engineering studies forecast only modest increases in traffic
from the new residents due to the site’s proximity to the Route 30 bypass
and to the ability of residents to walk to Main street and to the train,
extensive traffic improvements paid for by the developer will alleviate
current congestion as well as improve pedestrian safety. For
a list of the proposed traffic improvements click here.
Myth: Our taxes
will go up.
Fact: The new development generates
more revenues than expenses -- meaning that Borough residents receive
a net surplus of over $120,000 each year. The School district and
Chester County benefit even more. Projections show that this project
will help stabilize taxes, not cause them to
rise. Case in point: if development were in place today, Borough
Council would not have had to raise taxes over 14% the past two years
to pay for operating expenses. Further, with the large one-time revenues
generated by the land sale the Borough can pay down it’s capital debt,
resulting in less debt service each year and lower operating expenses.
Tax increases are an inevitable trend unless new residents move in to
help shoulder the tax burden or services are cut. For
a summary of the costs and revenues generated by the development as well
as the number of school children projected, click here.
Myth: Our property
values will go down.
Fact: The development should actually increase surrounding
property values. The more new residents who come to Downingtown, the
more desirable our town becomes. Also, many of the new residents are
expected to be first time homebuyers; as they start families and outgrow
their space, the most convenient choice are single family homes in the
Borough. And cleaning up the contamination and beautifying adjacent streets
will enhance property values of the surrounding residences.
Myth:There will be no loss of
jobs if this project does not proceed.
Fact: An estimated 250 jobs will
be created during the remediation and construction phase. If completed,
over 25 jobs would exist as part of the commercial establishments built
at the frontage along Pennsylvania Avenue.
Myth: The development
will worsen flooding problems in the Lake Drive community.
Fact: Storm water controls will be carefully designed and permitted
by the regulators to accommodate the new development. The ponds are actually
starved for water now and do not flood. In fact their health will benefit from
receiving the cleansed storm water generated by the new development. Any
problems existing on Lake Drive due to high ground water will not be affected
by the ponds at Kardon Park now or in the future.
Myth: We won’t have
a pleasant walking experience along the Lion’s Trail because
of the view of the new homes.
Fact: The new homes will be heavily screened
and set back from the trails. The developer has agreed to set back the
new homes further from the trail and to lower the heights of the buildings
closest to the trail as well as to add a heavily landscaped berm to buffer
the view of the new homes. The beautiful old sycamore trees along the ponds
edge today will remain in most cases due to careful hand digging. For
details on the proposed screening and the trees to be preserved, click
here.
What will change from the present day experience is the following, click here.
Myth: The remediation
process will be hazardous to nearby residents.
Fact:The clean up involves capping the site with two feet of
clean material. The State Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP)
has approved a detailed clean up plan which protects the health and safety
of the residents. The contaminants are heavy metals which tend to bind
to the soil. During the grading, dust control measures will be carefully
monitored by regulators to prevent disturbance to the air and water. For
an excerpt from the Pennsylvania DEP-approved clean up plan that deals
with controlled conditions during the capping process click here.
Myth: The ponds are
already in a sorry state. The development will degrade them further.
Fact: Currently storm water, fertilizers and pet waste
from the yards surrounding the ponds is running directly into the ponds
without filtration. The development will engineer a steady source of
fresh water to the ponds to keep them flushed. Cleaned storm water and
freshwater from Brandywine Creek will be routed to the Mill Race to feed
the ponds with fresh water.Extensive new wetlands plantings
will be added around the edges of the ponds to improve their quality.
For more information on how storm water will be managed click here. The
developer will fund and a homeowner’s association will maintain fountains
or other aeration devices to keep the water circulated.
Myth: We’re losing
trees and the new development will worsen pollution in our area.
Fact: A landscaping plan will be produced as part of the
approvals which will call for extensive new trees to be planted, many
more than will be taken down. According to environmental experts,
the quality of the existing trees on the western half of the site is
poor and invasive plants predominate. As part of the development, new
wetlands trees, shrubs and grasses will be planted all along the ponds
edges creating a more desirable habitat for flora and fauna to thrive.
Finally, the mature trees along the ponds’ edge will be maintained wherever
possible. For
the wetlands planting plan A click here. For
the wetlands planting plan B click here.
Myth: Downingtown
needs more parks.
Fact: Downingtown already has 6 public parks totaling 122.76
acres, nearly 10% of the land in the Borough. According to the Delaware
Valley Regional Planning Commission metrics, approximately 60 to 70 acres
of park land would be optimum for a community of the size of Downingtown,
or roughly half what already exists. The nearby Kerr park alone has over
60 acres of active and passive park land. For a list and description
of Downingtown’s parks, click here.
Myth: Single Family
homes are a better choice for this site.
Fact: Due to the geotechnical conditions of the soil and
the cost of cleaning up the site, it is not economically feasible to
build and sell single family homes. Nor is it certain that the State
would grant environmental approval for single family homes with private
yards on this site. According to Chester County Planning Departments
“Landscapes” and “Landscapes II” plans, as well as the Delaware Valley
Regional Planning Commission, Downingtown is one of their recommended
locations for higher density development with train service and a town
center that is walkable for residents.
Myth: The market
is terrible and the homes will not sell.
Fact: The types of homes planned for this development are
in demand. For seniors and “empty nesters” who want to stay in the area
but don’t want stairs or the maintenance burden, there are few homeownership
options. Similarly, there are few affordable close-in options for first
time homebuyers in Chester County. Communities nearby to town centers
with access to public transportation are continuing to sell. The homes
will only be built as they are sold so in no event will there be a community
of empty, unsold homes. For pictures of the proposed homes see kardonponds.com/homes/
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