Ya know, the rumor mill blast e-mails have been ratcheting up lately. Around these parts it got busy fast when Lance Rogers, Lower Merion Township Commissioner and Independent said he was going to run for Connie Williams State Senate Seat. (Not that THAT is the only bit of political interest...)

Is it good or bad to be king? Have you asked those affable Radnor Friends Quakers how they feel about the spite fence erected on Conestoga Road where the development debate involving Historic Ithan rages on? What spite fence you say? Have you driven by? Is it just conincidence that the Quakers said no thank you to Wildwood style condomaximums across from them on Conestoga, and now after decades they can't park extra Sunday Meeting vehicles where the once did? Guess the fence was cheaper then the policemen who were guarding it one Sunday?

More Trouble Ahead For Righters Mill Road in Gladwyne?

The proposals are in and people are marching to the Lower Merion Township Building like ants to a picnic. But are they leaving wanting more or feeling queasy?

Let's hop right in, shall we?

Dranoff/JK Roller So where is George Jeston and his boy Elroy? Hanging with Spacely on this proposal that is too boxy, too urban, and would make Ardmore look like University City? Come on Dranoff, you have the talent, show us something we can sink our teeth into. How about starting with dropping the preposterous "E" in "Ardmore Towne Center"? Ardmorites are already townies ad if they wanted ye olde shoppes they would have names the historic business district ""Ye Olde Historic-e Business-e District"....

But speaking of teeth, what is up with Mariner?

Mariner This is a "limited proposal" response and others perusing at the counter agreed that the cover letter immediately inside was distinctly unfriendly and what is up with the Angela Murtray-$200,000 grant mention for Schauffele Plaza due to Mariner mention? But really, what is this proposal other then some sort of placecard holder? It looks like a restatement once again of Cricket Club Condos, and why is that exactly? Why isn't Cricket Club under way? Who's fault is that and if they haven't broken ground yet on that, how does this all work in conjunction with the RFP? Why are they here?

EBL&S/Lipkin et al Their interpretation of Schauffele Plaza is very welcoming, as in the community at large would want to be there. A community theater is a terrific idea, and would fill a void. This is the only plan that is inclusive as far as types of housing. They see the need for affordable, moderate, over 55 AND luxury housing. This proposal is the most comprehensive (it's HUGE like a family bible), spreads the development out proportionately throughout the town of Ardmore and doesn't suffer from clumping like kitty litter. However, more detail is needed and is the literal bridge over the tracks with buildings, etc. too ambitious and too urban?

Strategic Realty Investments Nice ideas, but not enough detail yet - looks like a RFP in progress. BUT that being said, the serious positives are that although the examples of architecture are lacking in interesting detail on completed projects (they are too stark some of them), if people look at this plan, you can see the intent to capture the small town, Main Street flavor of Ardmore....it would be better to see better examples of small yet important details of things like street lighting. What they show is like a frisbee on a pole. This people say is another plan from a lifetime local of Lower Merion, but with this plan, people see a different, more positive atttitude....

Finally...

BET Investments (Bruce Toll) Once people get past the derogatory comments about Cricket Terrace (so what does the developer really wish to do? Nuke it?), and the feeling that he thinks those folks aren't good enough? What is up with the thinly veiled comments regarding "future" development of Cricket Terrace, which is home to many fine folks? Why does BET wish to move affordable housing out of Ardmore? Why is it they capture a wonderful Cricket Ave streetscape and create an imaginative walkway treatment to a Cricket Ave garage, why is it the rest of the plan falls a little flat and is reminiscent of strip malls And what is up with the giant buildings on either side of the township like a huge unforgivable wall?

Ok, well these plans are open to the public and what is amusing is that all have different visions for Schauffele Plaza - and every citizen in Lower Merion should go look at these plans. Don't think for a minute that the development stops in Ardmore....is Bryn Mawr ready to be seriously and dangerously supersized? So many refer to Ardmore as a village. With any of these plans, we'll see if the actual village feel survives.

Speaking of Villages, if you live in Bryn Mawr or own a business there, Wednesday,
September 26th at 7 p.m. is a crucially important meeting at Lower Merion Township about proposed zoning changes - make sure to ask questions about TRID which allows a railroad to exercise eminent domain within a 1/2 mile radius of a station area....AND Monday
October 1 at 6:00 PM - The comprehensive plan update will supposedly be centered around institutions and this is a meeting that will be recorded. Live next to an institution? It can be interesting - especially when it comes to whose property rights are valued more, can't it?

The times, they are interesting around Lower Merion. Don't blink or you might miss something...

As people view the RFP, it might be helpful if people posted opinions and feedback.

This is what is called an opinion. So don't get in a lather that this opinion might not be your opinion. You are of course, entitled to post a contra opinion of you object to this opinion.....or a comment...actually comments welcomed and encouraged....this needs discussing, not more sweeping under the rug or neutralizing, right? No one is against progress, what people are against is how experts brought in from the outside all perceive our futures by their own definitions. We can develop without multistory behemoths in every town...our towns weren't designed that way....nor were they designed to be constantly redesigned just to keep developers employed, right? Hows about some growth that is educated and thoughtful because smart seems so dumb? Anyway....

It looks like the TRID train is coming down the track to Bryn Mawr and this one may be an express. TRID, transit revitalization investment district, is a legislative tool that give the railroad the power to “revitalize” by using eminent domain to acquire and develop real estate around train stations. This may sound familiar to those of the community who saw TRID being proposed as an alternative to eminent domain in Ardmore during the last few years.

Though a TRID district was never given in Ardmore it is now on the table in Bryn Mawr and residents are scared—and rightly so. Though the current Lower Merion Commissioners have promised not to use eminent domain in the township this is a de facto use of the terror weapon. If you read the legislation, and it is quite clear, when the township opts for a TRID district they give the power to the railroad to take “underutilized property" and redevelop it within a mile radius of a train station.

In historic, Victorian Cape May a battle is brewing. Development lust vs. Small Town America. Caught in the crosshairs? An old movie theatre steeped in community love and history. The historic Beach Theatre , which is a "Neocolonial Revival" is facing the wrecking ball. Will the community be able to save it? Hard to say as the sharks are literally circling. The Beach Theatre should be preserved. We all know how it affects small towns when a theatre is lost - for example, preserving the Bryn Mawr Theatre is one of the only things that might, in the end, preserve a bit of old Bryn Mawr....

A fight for the Beach
By Jacqueline L. Urgo
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Not too long ago, Villanowhere was in the news over a rape allegation.....and the story has died on the vine...no one seems interested how it took quite a few days before the rape was reported to outside authorities, no one has ever answered the question which does Villanova do their own rape kits on campus? As a matter of fact, once the alleged rapists were booted off campus and out of the school, the issue is dead on arrival - NO, no one can make the rape victim press charges, and is the question still out there on how well she was "counseled" by the school?

As the students come back and inhabit loads more student rentals (are they all approved everywhere?) and dorms, comes this latest thing: outrage over a comic the school hired. What utter pomposity. How PG-13 is a campus where alleged rapes occur anyway?

Comic Sparks Outrage at Villanova U. By Cathy Gandolfo

The rumors have finally found a voice....the glorious Philadelphia Inquirer building, a historic landmark and iconic piece of Philadelphia history is for sale to the highest bidder...along with all the layoffs, union wars, etc, etc, is this the next "sound" business decision, or merely an honest reflection of paper ownership? C'mon on now, are there or are there not developers in the investor pool/ownership of the Inquirer/Daily News? So here's the question, is the Inquirer building encumbered with debts and liens and mortgages? Or is it free and clear?

Sorry, but can it be considered that some folks sing the "me, me, me" tune once too often?

This week's Mian Line Life features an update of the Godzilla that wants to eat Ardmore. (For other "Godzillas", click here and say "hmmm, this sucks.")

So, here we are in Lower Merion, home of the teardown. What's an old house when you can build some monstrosity? Lately at risk? Lower Merion Township's heritage Victorians - refer to much covered 254 Righters Mill Rd in Gladwyne and 130 Cricket Avenue in Ardmore, o.k.? Look, once all our history is gone, it's gone. If old houses and historic districts don't really mean anything, then why bother? We'll just stucco and concrete block everything...we'll look vanilla when we were rockey road and tutti frutti swirl...maybe you won't make that mountain of money restoring an old home, maybe you'll only get a small hillock...but is it only about money these days, this place we call home? Heritage should count too.

See how in other communities, homes like these are treasured and restored and appreciated:

A vigorously Victorian restoration …In Ventnor, N.J., a couple restore a run-down century-old home and garden with oblivious and frenzied energy.
By Virginia A. Smith
Inquirer Staff Writer

She wanted a porch. He wanted a garage. They both longed to live in the older neighborhood known as St. Leonard's Tract in Ventnor, N.J.
So in 2001, Clyde and Jude Plale Yost took the plunge. They bought a run-down house one block from the beach, on the corner of Atlantic and Oxford Avenues, in the heart of this otherwise elegant enclave. It had a wraparound porch, a detached garage, and something that emboldens do-it-yourselfers everywhere: good bones.