Discord at GCC Over Chelten Plaza

by Jim Foster

Publisher/Editor

The umbrella Germantown community organization, the Germantown Community Connection saw another meeting take a turn toward disharmony as issues surrounding the proposed, and now underway Chelten Plaza development positioned the general membership often at odds with reports from officers and members of a committee that has had discussions with the developer, Pat Burns of Pulaski Real Estate Partners.

This is not the first scheduled meeting where this one issue consumed the entire meeting as the GCC became the conduit for the majority of the Germantown community to voice its displeasure at how Mr. Burns development enterprise pulled what many call a “bait and switch” on a promise made and taxpayer money paid for a quality food market at that location in 2006.

While membership of the GCC has multiplied in the few months since the Chelten and Pulaski project surfaced, most thought that the GCC would continue to follow the path it had outlined at the founding and demonstrated so aptly in how it built its image around taking remedial action with the city demanding it demonstrate how all future development projects in Germantown would guarantee planning and participation with the community - - the exact opposite of what the past years with Germantown Settlement reflected.  That stage was set when GCC prioritized its goals to the mayor and he set up a relationship with the Redevelopment Authority and the GCC, and in recent months the GCC was recognized by a federal judge and given standing in Settlement’s bankruptcy proceedings where real estate assets are hoped to be put to better use.

Frustration and outright anger are the words to describe how members felt when what seem to be negotiated conclusions with Burns’ entities come forward. Most expected reports of how the agreed upon opposition to the Burns’ projects was being carried to them by committees empowered by a majority rejection of the project as structured at the GCC level.  Challenges over process, procedure and by-laws trumped agreement at the last meeting on Thursday July 13.

 Documents delivered from Burns addressed to the GCC membership that seem to imply some foregone conclusions on agreements prompted vocal outcry as members read statements from Burns like:

“The site was previously home to a downtrodden super market- - “ when the described downtrodden super market was run by Burns himself for 5 years, never upgraded as promised, but the government money helped buy him the adjacent land.

A GCC Status Report referred to a signed “Community Benefits Agreement” with Burns which no one had ever heard of.

Statements were put on the record in opposition to many of these approaches and suggestions came from all directions as to how these differences of priorities could be remedied.  President Betty Turner did remark that the elected leadership who funded and structured this deal with the Burns’ organizations was conspicuously absent from all meetings - - except for State Rep. Rosita Youngblood, who went on the record in opposition to continuing the state funding indicating that Burns fell short on may contractual requirements, not the least of which was community participation.  A sign recently posted at the site claims Governor-authorized funding, which some feel is not justified.

A zoning appeal to the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment that was filed by member and attorney Yvonne Haskins representing 6 community groups was reported in our last issue, and was brought before the GCC requesting a vote on formal support. After heated discussion it was moved and voted that the matter would be voted on at the next meeting as advance notice is required for votes in the by-laws.